The Nation Newspaper

Category: Weekend Treat

  • My hubby has not slept with me for almost 4 years

    I just read your column now. Please what do I do to slim down a little, especially my tummy? My hubby has not slept with me for almost 4 years and I have a 4 year old son for him, please what can I do? I’d love to get your reply please.

    This is a serious problem. If my husband failed to touch me for four weeks without any of us being away on a journey, I’ll or on a spiritual exercise, I’d call him to a roundtable and discuss this. Have you done that? Four years? You must be kidding. But in case this is true, there are possible reasons why men do not want sex. Yes, women can go for months or years in sexless marriages but it is not normal. So, let’s take a look at some of the reasons:

    He is depressed: When a man gets depressed he may not feel like he wants to have sex: This can happen to a man, especially if they have lost their job or are going through financial difficulties, this can lower their libido. Many times a man’s ego is tied into his career. He may be feeling down because he feels he can no longer provide for his family, or is somehow less of a man.

    There is also clinical depression and if a husband is taking medication some drugs will decrease a man’s desire for sex. The other side effect is not being able to release during sex. When this happens it can cause him to develop performance anxiety. There are certainly side effects listed on many anti-depressant medications stating that it can lower libido and make it more difficult to ejaculate. Since men have their genitals front and center not being able to perform or having control over their penis can create anxiety, not wanting to let down their spouse sexuality. Some women are not sensitive to this and take it personally as though their husbands are no attracted to them…

    He is no longer attracted to his wife: You claim to have a big tummy.

    Get into a gym now or let me deal with that next week on this column about how to lose tummy fat. There are some men whose wives gain and they go off sex because of that. I remember one of my male friends refusing to touch his wife for years because according to him, ‘he can’t climb a mountain’. Men are much more visual than women when it comes to sex. A woman not taking care of herself and gaining weight may subconsciously tell her husband that she no longer cares enough about him to look good for her man. Even if a woman puts on a few pounds it is the way that she takes care of herself that matters, still taking the time to put on make-up or dress up for him on occasion. Some women after having children just let themselves go, not taking the time to look nice for their husbands or even for themselves. Feeling sexy or good about oneself is an important part of sexuality and radiating that to your partner will make him feel more attracted to her. A marriage is about two people working together and helping each other out to stay fit and healthy. If a wife does have a weight problem then her husband should try and help to motivate her to lose the weight instead of possibly punishing her by not having sex with her anymore, this in fact will only aggravate the situation even more. Couples who encourage each other positively when coming to weight gain issues or appearance have a much better sex life when done in a positive way.

    He may be having an affair: If a husband suddenly does not want to have sex with his wife and she suspects that he may be cheating on her then he probably is. A woman’s intuition is always her best friend.

    Some men are able to cheat and then come home to their wife and continue to have sex with her. As a man gets older, his sex drive may not be what it used to be, so he will not want sex as much. He may want to save having sex for his lover instead of his wife. Cheating can be a result of many issues that get unresolved in a couple’s marriage. Men cheat for different reasons, but one of the most common reasons is to feel masculine again, to have a woman make him feel good about himself.

     

  • My parents leave sex smell everywhere

    I know you will say is it too late in the night to text you, but please I need your help. Whenever my parents finish having sex everywhere begins smelling, not heat because there is always light. I am SP by name.

    Dear SP, the first thing you must realize is that you came into being through sex. For your parents to continue to build a happy home for themselves and the children involved, they must continue to have sex.

    What they do in the bedroom is their business and there’s no how you can come in. Yes, it may be very annoying if they leave annoying smell behind. Sex shouldn’t come with horrible smell anyway, except the people involved are not hygienic enough. The smell of un-deodorized armpits and dirty body can give off a foul smell after sex, and that can be ugly. You can introduce both your parents to deodorant or talc powder to use every day. Simple lessons in hygiene gently delivered to them will help take care of this smell problem.

  • 37-yr-old woman Loses two kids to kerosine explosion

    37-yr-old woman Loses two kids to kerosine explosion

    Husband critically ill

    Mrs. Jane Olisakwe’s heart bleeds. Last Wednesday when the reporter encountered the woman at a down-town pentecostal church, she was distraught. Although, she had been seen among other brethren in a concert of praise and hand-locking prayer session but when she opened her mouth to reveal her pains, her inner tears flowed like a running tap and she let the reporter know that she truly needed the divine to overcome her predicament.

    The 37-year-old trader and National Diploma holder in Business Studies has just lost two children to a ravenous fire and may also lose her husband, who hovers between life and death on hospital bed, if help eludes him.

    The Olisamekas were swindled of their relative happiness on December 26, 2012 following a kerosene explosion that rocked their two-room apartment at No 14, Ikire Street, off Akeredolu Street, Olambe, Ogun State.

    Jane’s husband, Emmanuel Olisakwe, a tricycle operator, was returning home when he asked his wife to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner. He was, however, told by his wife that there was no enough kerosene to power the stove and lantern at home.

    Emmanuel was to later branch off at filling station in Akute, Ogun State, to purchase a three -litre of kerosene and headed home. A few minutes later, he poured some of the kerosene into a lantern, while his wife was busy preparing the meal. As Emmanuel tried to light the lantern, it exploded and killed two of his children. He too sustained stubborn wounds that have not only refused to heal but left him bedridden.

    “The incident happened that day at about 7 pm. My husband had asked me to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner and I told him that there was no kerosene at home to fuel the stove. While returning home, he bought kerosene at a filling station in Akute. I was trying to slice some yam when I heard my 10-month-old baby’s cry. So, I quickly left the yam I was slicing to attend to the baby who was with one of our neighbours. Since it was nightfall, my husband was about lighting the lantern after putting kerosene into it when the lantern exploded and burnt him and my kids,” recalled Jane amid tears.

    As gathered, the fireballs landed first on the couple’s five-year-old son, Miracle, burning him beyond recognition. He died the next day. Their eight-year-old daughter, Ebube, would have escaped unhurt but the fire balls landed on her newly fixed hair and was severally burnt. She battled death for 17 days before she died in hospital.

    “My husband was trying to strike the match when the lantern exploded and fireballs caught Ebube and Miracle, who were seated beside him. They were burnt beyond recognition. Neigbours helped us to take them to Ikeja General Hospital where my daughter died the next day, while my son died precisely on January 11, 2013.”

    Life has indeed turned nightmarish for the mother of four and an indigene of Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, whose husband is now lying critically ill at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUCOM) as a result of the injury is sustained from the fire incident.

    “Since then, my husband has been lying critically ill at the Burns Unit of the hospital because his two hands and legs were severely burnt. However, his hands have healed, but his badly hurt legs have refused to heal. We have just spent the sum of N200, 000 on a surgery that was carried out on his legs yesterday. But by my calculation, I could not have spent less than N2 million so far on his treatment through the support of family members, friends and associates. Yet, we still need more money to take care of his accumulated medical bills running into about N600, 000.”

    An attempt by our reporter to speak with Olisakwe at LASUCOM was turned down by an employee of the hospital on the grounds that “the man you are looking for just underwent a surgery and cannot have access to visitors because he is to undergo strict observation for some days.”

    The gaping hole which the unfortunate incident has created in the fortune of the Olisakwes is fast rubbing off on their children.

    “We have just moved into the house about six months before the fire incident. And because of the trauma, I have since been living with our 10-year-old son, Victor, who is about entering secondary school and it has not been easy coping with other domestic responsibilities. In fact, my son’s education would have been truncated but for the intervention of the proprietress of his school and some of her teaching staff who offered him a lifeline.

    “I have been married to my husband since 2001 with four children but have lost two of them now. I have since been squatting with one of my friends because I cannot cope with living in the same house where the fire killed my son and daughter and has rendered my husband incapacitated. He is a native of Nnewi, Anambra State, and my husband was a former employee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He lost his job following a major shake up in the firm and has since been operating a commercial tricycle to earn a living.”

    Those who are willing to offer any financial assistance can forward same to Mrs. Jane Nkechi Olisakwe’s First Bank account-3069048378, while she can be reached on 08139234474.

  • My honeymoon is in danger, says South Africa returnee arrested for robbery

    ONE of two suspected armed robbers arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command has said it is wrong to tag him an armed robber when the police did not catch him in the course of the four robbery operations he participated in before he travelled to South Africa.

    Twenty-seven-year-old Gideon Obinna Ibe says the police ought to concern themselves only with recovering a Toyota Sienna car he stole from where the owner parked it. He also confessed that he sold the car in question for N250,000 and shared the proceed with the second suspect and trailer driver, Onyeka Ude (22).

    In a chat with The Nation, Ibe, a native of Okigwe, Imo State, said he was into buying and selling of cars, buses and trailer batteries.

    He said: “I have a shop where I sell these items at 42, Akogun Street along Olodi Apapa Road, Lagos. Earlier in 2012 when the Lagos State government was constructing roads and got some shops demolished, it affected my shop. But I was not discouraged. Rather, I continued to hustle to survive in Lagos.

    “I used to hang around Trinity Market to do runs. If I saw a customer who wanted to buy a car or a car battery, bus or trailer, I assisted him and collected 10 per cent as commission. When the sum I targeted to get visa, passport and ticket to South Africa could not be realised, I organised a small gang to rob traders. We used to be three or four then, but we never killed any of our victims.

    “At times, if somebody came to buy a car, bus or trailer, we would trail him or her to the bank where he would withdraw the money. The moment he came out of the bank, we would pursue him with our motorbike, cross his car and order him at gun point to hand over the money to us or risk losing his life.

    “At times, we would go for car or bus snatching. But the problem we used to have after snatching a car or bus was that the buyers at times failed to pay us the amount they agreed to buy it. For instance, If a buyer agreed to pay N500,000 for a Toyota Avensis, he would first pay N50,000 or N100,000 and the balance would be stories. Each time you go to him to collect the balance or part of it, he would tell you that he had not sold the car or that the police had taken the car. They would tell us to be patient till only God knows when.

    “Throughout the period I robbed people and snatched their cars or buses, I was never caught. We always planned our operations very well because we believed that only a person caught by the police while carrying out an operation is a thief. The police cannot prove that I am an armed robber because I was not caught. Neither was the gun our gang was using recovered.

    “I even sold the gun we were using before I travelled to South Africa. It was the money I saved from robbery and car snatching that I used to travel to South Africa. It was in South Africa that my trouble started.

    “When I got to South Africa, I saw some of the boys I knew in Nigeria, especially those who were hustling with me then. I stayed with them so that the little money I came with would not be exhausted on hotel bills.

    “Unfortunately, I did not know that the guys were into hard drug business. In fact, they were living big, feeding me and making life more comfortable for me in South Africa until the police raided our house. Being a new person in the area, I could not run when the police came. I was the only person they arrested and they took me to the police station.

    “After two weeks in the cell, I was repatriated to Nigeria. When I landed Nigeria, I went through hell to survive.

    “Before I travelled to South Africa, I was doing battery business and I used to get as much as N50,000 a day. When I lost my shop and started doing market runs like off-loading of tyres, I used to get about N2,000 after offloading about 100 car tyres. At times, I helped people to buy a car or bus, and that fetched me a commission of N50,000 or more per car or bus.

    “But when I was repatriated to Nigeria from South Africa, life became more difficult for me. Nobody wanted to assist me because I did not tell people that I was repatriated. They thought that I had money, having travelled to South Africa and came back.

    “Fortunately, I met Onyeka, a trailer driver, and he agreed to make me his ‘motor boy’. We were managing life when the devil struck again. The trailer he was driving had mechanical fault and his boss parked the trailer and collected the keys from him. In short, he was sacked because his boss said he failed to remit the agreed returns. At a point, he was not delivering even a dime to the owner. Since he collected the vehicle, we became jobless.”

    Asked why he was arrested, he said: “People used to give me vehicles to sell for them, but I sold one and spent all the money. It was a Toyota Sienna bus. I sold it for N250,000 while the actual price they asked me to sell it was N1.2 million.

    “The buyer was a pastor with a popular pentecostal church. I also sold one Toyota Camry to the pastor at the rate of N350,000. This particular money (N350,000), I did not collect a dime from it. The pastor said he would renew the expired papers of the vehicle before he would pay any money.

    “Unfortunately, the day he asked me to come and collect money was the day I wanted to travel to South Africa. So, the pastor tactically hid himself and I could not see him where he said I should come and collect the money, knowing full well that it was the day I would travel. Hence, I travelled without seeing him.

    “It was in April last year that I started hustling again at the same Trinity Market. I was arrested in April this year on Governor’s Road, Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government Area in the morning. I was arrested as I was trying to sell another vehicle.

    “I lied to the police that the vehicle in question belonged to my elder brother who lives at Yaba Street, Ondo. It was only one Sienna bus and four Toyota Camry cars that Onyeka and I had snatched and sold before we were arrested.”

    Giving details of the process that culminated in his arrest, he said: “SARS operatives had first arrested the pastor. The police used him to track me down. Pastor called me on the phone and told me to come to Governor’s Road, Ikotun to collect the money for one vehicle we had sold to him. I did not know that SARS operatives had laid an ambush there. The moment I got there, the operatives appeared and arrested me.”

    Asked what his regrets were for being arrested for armed robbery, he said: “I am not an armed robber because I was not caught during the four armed robbery operations I led before I travelled to South Africa.

    “My only regret is my wife. I am newly married to her. Our honey moon is endangered. I don’t know when this journey will end. Will they allow my wife to be visiting me in prison yard if I am eventually jailed? I am finished! Please, help me beg them to forgive me in the name of God the Father and God the Son Jesus Christ. I will never do it again. If I do it again, kill me.”

    He admitted lying to the police in order to escape arrest, saying: “The first one is that I told the police that my father had two wives and that all the vehicles I stole belonged to my stepmother’s children. I said that Onyeka and I stole the vehicles because they did not take care of me. Even my brothers were not taken care of.

    “The second lie I told was that I was a car dealer and that I bought the vehicles from Cotonou (Benin Republic). But when the police demanded for documents to prove that the cars were bought in from Cotonou, I lied to them that the documents were in Imo State and would be produced if I was given time to go and bring them.

    “The third lie I told was that my elder brother gave me N700,000 to buy for him a bus he wanted to use for commercial services in Ondo State. But when the police saw my brother’s wife, she told them that her husband never gave me any money to buy a bus for him. Even when my brother, Emma, was asked, he equally said that he never gave me any money to buy a car for him.

    “The fourth lie was that my wife went to Ishasi Police Station and reported that her husband got missing with his Toyota Camry car. The operatives of SARS followed her to my house and saw my picture which enabled SARS men to know that I had a base here in Lagos, contrary to what I had earlier told them that I was based in the East. My wife also told the police that I had a car stand at Berger on the Apapa Expressway, and that I imported cars through Apapa Wharf. When the police met my father, he told them that he had only one wife, contrary to what I earlier told police that he had many wives.”

    Onyeka Ude (22) said: “I am from Orifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State. I am a trailer driver based in Lagos and I used to scout for jobs. I used to drive from Lagos to Anambra, carrying goods.”

    Asked how he met Ibe, he said: “I knew him as a car seller. I used to see him at Berger, Apapa area where they sell vehicles. He later travelled to South Africa and before he came back, I had become a trailer driver.

    “I first met him where he was playing football at Beachland field in Apapa and I parked my trailer and went to meet him. He told me that he had not been able to secure any job since he came back from South Africa. He asked me whether I would allow him to become my conductor and I said why not?

    “I used to pay him according to how much money we made. There were days I gave him up to N5,000. Trouble started when the owner of the trailer collected it from me because of the incessant complaints that the vehicle was faulty.

    “When we exhausted the money we were managing to feed with, Gideon told me not to panic, saying he had one Sienna bus which he wanted to sell in order to get some money that we could manage with for a month.

    “When we got to Berger Cement to carry the bus, he used the master key and took it to one pastor who was waiting to buy it because he had already been told that the vehicle would be stolen and brought to him. It was even the pastor who told Gideon (Ibe) the type of bus we should snatch.

    “He bought it for N250,000. Gideon gave me N100,000 and pocketed N150,000. I later travelled to my home town in Anambra state to enjoy my money before coming back to Lagos to face hustling again. But as I was coming back to Lagos without a penny, Gideon called me on the phone and said somebody who owed him a huge sum of money had asked him to come and that I should follow him to go and collect the money. I did not know that SARS men had laid an ambush to catch me. The moment I got there, SARS men arrested me.

    “I was never involved in robbery before Gideon became my conductor. He was the one who lured me into snatching cars. My only regret is that I did not object when he brought the idea that we should go and remove a car from car park.”

     

  • I don’t have resources for marriage, but I can well handle a sexual relationship

    Mum, please I will ever live to love, support you, and assist advertise your impact on humanity; kindly help me this first time.

    Simply, I’m a grown up young man, and for now, I don’t have resources for marriage, but I can well handle a sexual relationship. But as a result of my background from childhood, I can’t talk to and convince an opposite sex for this; kindly use your position, influence and impact to approach, talk to and convince a nice lady for me or rather give a genuine connection either by sending phone number to her or show my number to whoever.

    I don’t have much to say than to ask you to wait until you have money for marriage before you start looking for sex. So, you want to sleep with people’s children, knowing fully well that you don’t have money now to marry them. You’re looking for poor girls who would donate their bodies to satisfy your fantasies. To make it worse, you’re looking for such girls through me! You try! Most good girls want marriage the moment they go into a relationship; not sex. go and convince those who will listen to you with your own mouth. Count me out of it.

  • Make a joyful sound in the bedroom

    It has come to my notice that so many of these women who cheer pastors up in their churches or make the most noise at A-Sallat programmes are deaf and dumb in the bedroom. Common, listen to me, there are so many things your religious leaders won’t tell you, which I’m giving to you

    free of charge on this page. If you like, pray to God to help you change that man so that he won’t look at other woman outside, if you’re not playing your part, his eyes and body will be forever for the woman that gives him what you can’t give him. He’s playing his roles in the house as a good husband, so play yours and give him warmth the way he wants it.

    I have committed so many years into counseling youths and making sure that they get the right lessons about life and the opportunities they have. For the sake of youths, I avoided talking openly about marital sex on my page.

    Now is the time to help couples give to themselves the best of time in and out of the bedroom and make room for a very happy home.

    So tell me, why would your husband touch you and you cringe? Why wouldn’t you express yourself in the bedroom and make him feel like a hero. Common, even if you were a virgin when he married you, the moment you had your first sex is the moment of opening up and asking for more.

    I must have listened to more than a hundred men in the last two weeks who are just putting up with their wives for the sake of the children.

    Some of these men are having their fill outside.

    Take a look at the mail I got from a fan for instance:

    “Good day ma. I read about a man whose girlfriend is demanding for sex too much. I’m a married man and I would prefer that my wife makes advances to me, but this she never does. Instead, she does what I hate during sex – she refuses me to kiss, romance or touch her breasts and worst still, there is no joy on her face during sexual acts. We have been married for years and this marriage is boring. I expect my mate to present her body joyfully before and during sex.” – Christian.

    If your man can’t touch your boobs (even if they have sagged), he cannot kiss you and no romance at all, tell me why he won’t go and look for a woman who would give him all these and more and even add love to it – a woman who would make a joyful sound to him for doing a good job.

    So, why should girls/women moan during sex?

    Alice (www.goaskalice.columbia.edu) says , “Oh, oh, yeah! Moaning is a way for people to communicate or express excitement and pleasure. Some women and men moan as a signal to let their partner know that the sensation feels good. Others utter sounds and let their bodies move freely as they “lose control” and allow themselves to be part of the sexual and satisfying experience.

    Movies, television, and music present us with idealized sex scenes or lyrics of people moaning and panting at the height of passion. In reality, while some people are vocal and may moan and groan until the sun comes up, some folks may muffle any sounds with a pillow, while others do not make a single peep. Some express themselves by twitching or moving their bodies rhythmically as a response to sexual pleasure.

    Moaning doesn’t only happen during sex. Some people make small sounds while kissing, giving or receiving a massage, or snuggling. Others don’t have to be sexually excited to make a sound. While humans don’t typically purr, some people may make a soft moaning sound when their hair or head is stroked — just like a cat might if it were being petted. There are also times when someone might be eating something really fantastic and a light “mmm…” escapes his or her lips. This sound can be used to express the way s/he’s feeling as s/he is savoring the taste.

     

     

     

    You may or may not want to expand your moaning repertoire. However, if you’re a screamer, you might want to be considerate of your neighbors and think about turning it down a notch. For more insight into moaning, read The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy in The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, or see the play, possibly playing at a theatre near you”.

    See what guys have to say about moaning

    Kind of important makes me feel like I’m doing something. All I need is a little moan nothing major. When they are screaming it gets annoying but no sound would be bad, I would have to stop because I would just feel she was not into it. – Dr. Authur.

    All moans are good. But it’s not important but it does intensify the sex. I mean when girls moan it just makes the guy feel he’s doing such an amazing job and usually he’ll do even better to get you to moan louder. It also turns on a guy more too. So it just makes it feel better. – Matthew.

    Pretty damn important. Means we are doing something right. Don’t fake it though… that’s just lame.- Alh. Gazali.

    If you’re faking it then don’t bother. A real man wants to know that his woman is truly, honestly getting off on whatever they are doing.

    Moaning, screaming and begging for more or for him to do it harder or deeper is great. A real man doesn’t want to think that he has his dick stuck into a piece of liver or that he’s doing a mattress so the more enthusiasm the better for a real man. Telling him that you are coming and begging him not to stop is powerful to the man too. – Mr. Oseni.

  • ‘No crisis in Rivers State, but wind of change is blowing’

    ‘No crisis in Rivers State, but wind of change is blowing’

    For the first time, the Minister of State for Education, BARR. EZENWO NYESOM WIKE, opened up on the crisis in Rivers State and his grouse with GOVERNOR ROTIMI AMAECHI, whom he served as Chief of Staff. Our correspondent, SANNI ONOGU was at the interview session. Excerpts:

     

     

    What is the cause of the crisis in Rivers State ?

    When you say cause of the crisis, what crisis?

    I mean the political crisis in Rivers State that has assumed a life of its own. Every day we hear one thing or the other by those in support of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and those not supporting him that even Amaechi has to say “I will talk o” and then you gave him back, “I will talk also”. What is the back ground to where we are?

    Ordinarily I try not to discuss about this type of issue. First of all, I don’t want to come from the angle that there is a crisis. What I will say is that it is natural in life that we are not agreeable to change. For example, in 2007, when there was a pronouncement that Celestine Omehia was not the governor, it was difficult for people to accept it. That is to say, when change occurs you don’t expect people to easily accept it. But with time you will find out that everybody will begin to live with it. So, it is better for people to accept change in life because the only thing that is permanent is change. If you say crisis, I will not agree with you but rather you know that in politics, if you are not in control of the party machinery, there is always fear that probably what you want will not be realised or achievable.

    Can you define the change you have just alluded to? Because like you always say that Governor Amaechi is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, whereas people are of the view that Amaechi is no longer in control of the party but rather you are the de facto leader

    No, I am not. This again is the problem. I am not the head of the party. I am not the chairman of the party. And by the Constitution of the PDP I cannot be the head except where there is no governor from that party. So I am not the leader of the party as provided in the organogram of PDP. I am not, because we have a governor who is from the party. But assuming there is no governor, as a minister I would have said that I am the leader of the party.

    Are you saying Amaechi is still your leader in PDP Rivers State?

    There are no two ways about it. Whether you like it or not, he is. Take for example today, you may not like Jonathan but will you say that he is not the leader of the party at the national level? No. So people must face the reality. If you like his face, if you don’t like his face, what it means is that by the constitution of the party, he remains the leader, except he is no longer in the party.

    You are talking about the structure of the party. You have also spoken about change. What is your basis of talking about change?

    The change I am talking about is this. People contested for positions. It is like we go for general elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission clears certain persons. Even in the people polling units. But when it gets to the general collation centres, somehow another person is declared as winner. In that case anybody who feels aggrieved goes to the tribunal to say, ‘look, by the results as announced in the various wards or polling units, I ought to be declared as the winner.’ Now when that follows, at the end of the day, the person is declared as the winner by the tribunal, you will see reactions. The person may be the governor, a senator, a House of Assembly member or the Chairman of local council as the case may be. There will be reactions. In this case, people contested elections. People said they won. The other people said they won. At the end of the day people went to court to challenge what happened and they looked at the facts and said based on these facts, I think it is this way. Having done that, you will not expect that people will keep quiet. Why? Because unfortunately we are going towards 2015. A lot of people have ambition; I have an ambition to be this, I have an ambition to be that. Now, because of what has happened, if these people are no longer there, there will be likelihood that that ambition may not be achievable or realiseable. Assuming the verdict has nothing to do with 2015, even if you change people every day, who will cry? So people are just narrating the stories as it suits their own peculiarities. So, when things of that nature happen, you expect that people must react. You expect that people will give one explanation or the other. It is a natural thing. But again, whichever way it goes, it does not remove that party’s constitutional provision on how its leaders emerge.

    Having admitted that Amaechi remains your leader in the state, are you saying that you are still answerable to Governor Amaechi?

    When you say answerable, it becomes very difficult because I am not working for the government of Rivers State now. I am working for the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But if my leader calls me that there are issues to be discussed, obviously, I will discuss and make my own input or contributions.

    Ok, are you agreeable?

    What do you mean by agreeable?

    I mean are you agreeable with the governor on the differences in the party structure. That is who won and who lost in the party setting?

    What’s the noise all about? What I am saying is that we can disagree but that does not remove the leadership from him.

    How do you reassure the people who lost out at the court that they have not lost out of the party?

    That is why I said that what they are doing is the natural thing they should do. Therefore, the party chairman should try as much as he can to ensure that they are carried along. He is now like a father. You must not say because they lost, you must not say because they are abusing you and, therefore, you say no, they should not come. No. You should be able to go there and bring them which they have started by constituting a reconciliation committee. It is a thing that if you give them the opportunity to say look, nothing is lost, we are still under the same umbrella but like you know, a typical Nigerian politician is always afraid.  It is a natural fear and that is what we are saying. Why should that fear be there? That fear should be there because of the way we are running our democracy. Because of the way we have been imposing people. Now if we allow popular choice to emerge, if we allow popular candidates to emerge you will see that nobody will entertain fear again.

    There have been so many solidarity visits to the Governor of Rivers State and again they are saying you are the leader in Abuja. How did it come to that?

    Now let me tell you, it is rather erroneous when you say Abuja. I challenge anybody in Rivers State who will say that I cannot win my village. I cannot win my ward. I cannot win my local government. I challenge anybody. The mere fact that I work in Abuja does not mean that I do not go home. If so, all the National Assembly members who live in Abuja are also Abuja people because they are working here. So if you are saying Abuja, it means all National Assembly members are also Abuja people. Is that right?

    It is instructive that you and Amaechi for the first time have publicly disagreed but if you look back at history, you were instrumental to Amaechi regaining his mandate. How did this position come to be?

    First of all, I will not say I was instrumental because God uses people at a particular time to achieve something. So it is God. God may have used me but I am not instrumental. That I made myself available to be used, I am satisfied with that. But that is why people do not understand politics. The mere fact that 15 years ago that you were all in the same page does not mean that in the next five years you will continue to be in the same page. In politics things occur. Things change. Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and Aminu Kano were in the same political party, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) but when he wanted to emerge he left Aminu Kano. But he never said Aminu Kano was not a good person. So we have to play politics of maturity. Today, at my my age, does it mean that I cannot disagree with you on any issue? Or when we disagree is it because we are enemies?

    What about the insinuation that Mr. President uses you to fight the party leader?

    That is another problem. When did the problem of Amaechi and the President start? Did it start as I became a minister? So, people forget history. If Mr. President would use me and then still leave me as a Minister of State, what do I have to gain? Mr President would use me to let me know about my political future? These insinuations are very insulting. At this level I am, I will wait for Mr. President to wake me to tell me that my political career is finished. You know there are things you just hear. Okay, like you are saying, in 2007, who sent me to fight?  In 2007 that you said I was instrumental, who sent me to fight? No one sent me to fight. I used my brain to know how I should fight. Now, because I am working with Mr President, somebody has sent me. But that time I was not working with Mr. President, nobody sent me. It is not correct. In 2007, I laid my life, who sent me? I was to be assassinated in Uromi. All those things I was doing then, who sent me? When Amaechi was in Ghana and I was taking all the bullets, who sent me? When there was no hope and people came to promise me all manner of things which I refused, who sent me? It is time Nigerians should try to accept that some people have come of age. That you have decided to do something today does not mean you have been a threat.

    So is it about your gubernatorial ambition?

    What gubernatorial ambition? I also ask: in 2007 what was my ambition? In 2011 what was my ambition? Now, because I am supporting Obuah, it is now I am having an ambition? To start with, every human being in life has an ambition. Even you have an ambition. Is it your ambition to remain the way you are? They day you were born, why did you go to school? Why did you further your education? Why do you want to marry an educated wife? Why do you want your children to go to good schools? What ambition? There is no person that does not have ambition in life. Why do you think it is governorship? Why is it not presidency that I have ambition for? Why do you think so? Why must it be governorship?

    You have called on the newly installed PDP Executive in Rivers State to reconcile aggrieved members, but fears abound that there is a plot to impeach the governor, following the crisis in the House of the Assembly where 27 members suspended five of their colleagues and the 27 were in turn suspended by the new party executives. Now how do you explain that?

    Now let me tell you, the party suspension is not meant to remove them from the Assembly. There are two different people. Let me tell you, no Assembly person can challenge me because I know how all of them came in. No one of them can look into my eyes and tell me anything. Nobody. They can say anything at my back but nobody can speak to my face. These boys are just trying to make money. They are just making money from the system. They are heating up the polity to make money.

    Which of the boys?

    The Assembly boys, that is what they are doing. I can show you some of their text messages. Most of them said this is the first time they are making money. Let the crisis continue, that they are now getting money. Every day they send one story out. They will say Amaechi wants to be impeached. In a 32-member House you have 27, who is impeaching who? There are so many ways people can be fraudulent. You can be fraudulent by getting into the chambers and trying to make money out of the system. How did the suspension come about? A democratically elected people, nobody is talking about that. You wake up one morning, sacked the 17 councillors, sacked the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. You did not even say let the HPM take charge in the interim. You brought a caretaker committee made up of politicians to take over the place. Now the party under whose platform you were elected said this is not in consonance with our beliefs. We believe in democracy. This is not democratic. Don’t do this. You flagrantly refused to obey your father, to obey your party. What can they do? You went ahead and suspended the chairman and the deputy, inaugurated a caretaker committee and then you want the people to fold their hands? Okay, you are doing a legislative work but you could not do a legislative work without the part. Therefore, for now they remain suspended from the party. They were not suspended from the Assembly. The party has no power to suspend them. The best they could do is to start a process of recall. Now, what these boys are doing, they shout wolf. Most of them now go to radio stations every day. They will say I am bold I have criticised and they will give you money.  There are all sorts of rumours flying around and I said what kind of system is this? Based on the rumours the system will bring money. They said police took over the Assembly, where? You ran away you don’t want to do your work. You are journalists, they are fighting Amaechi, they are fighting that. Take for instance, a court sacks an executive and you use a military fiat to dissolve my local government. People who were elected by the people? You sack them and nobody is saying anything. I tell anybody that the police today is the saviour of that place, not those who are speaking from Lagos. If the police had not taken over that secretariat maybe we would have heard a different story. Nobody is afraid of death because you will die one day.  Even you journalists have not asked questions. How can you dissolve or suspend elected people that can cause crisis and cause fire to engulf everywhere? Nobody is talking about that. It is like the President waking up one day and sacking a governor and all the legislators. Tell me the type of crisis that will come up? People are only shouting for nothing. You are a human rights activist, you don’t see anything wrong in the dissolution of a council or suspension of elected people. What you see wrong is that the police have taken over to ensure that there is no breach of law and order. Let the police go tomorrow and then you will see the crisis that may emanate. We should not be sentimental about this type of grievous issues.

    There are fears right now that if the crisis in Rivers State degenerates, the federal government may be forced to declare a state of emergency. How would this benefit the people?

    How long did it take the federal government to declare a state of emergency even in a war zone? You see that is what I say. This is how they try to make money from the system. Since the Boko Haram crisis in Yobe, Borno and others, the federal government did not declare a state of emergency. Now that it has been declared in three states, the political structures were left intact. Now in Rivers State, nobody is at war. Politicians are quarreling among themselves then you go and declare a state of emergency and ask the political structures to go? I mean this is nonsense. This type of rumour is stale. It is old and nobody will want to hear it.

    Where will this  supposed crisis in the state take Rivers State? What is the future of Rivers State with what is on ground there?

    The future like how? Let me tell you, PDP has always won in Rivers. PDP will continue to win Rivers. Go and check the results. As I am talking to you my local government has the highest registered voters in the state. It has over 500,000 voters followed by Port Harcourt local government. During the Presidential election my local government gave 377,000 votes. During the governorship election my local government gave about 369,000. Now this covered about 10 local government votes in that election. There is nobody that can win elections in Rivers State without winning my local government. It is not done anywhere. If you like, go and bring all the armoured tanks, it won’t work. So, Rivers State will continue to be PDP.  Don’t make any mistake.

    So when are you going to reconcile with Amaechi and the two parties?

    You see, there is no quarrel. Have you ever seen me criticise Amaechi’s government? If we have problems, probably there might be for one reason or the other the governor is not happy. But right now we are talking about politics. So I don’t have any personal problem with the governor. So if they are doing something and they invite me to Government House I will be there. People should get this clear. If the government has a function today and I am invited, I will be there.  The history is there. Rivers State does not vote for opposition, it is not done.

    Now that you say it is not a crisis, what is the solution to the disagreement?

    This is why I said people like to over-blow things. It is a political thing. We agree to disagree, disagree to agree.  That is the interesting thing in politics. You don’t know who will call who in the mid night. In the midnight anything can take place. I have told you people don’t kill yourselves. You are not in the arena. It is only those in the arena that know what happens. You will just guess. Sometimes you will guess well, other times you guess wrongly. In fact, most of the time you don’t guess well. There is one paper that reported that my governor went to Ekiti State and said Nigerians are cowards. That they don’t stand up for opposition. Now you went to dissolve a council and people are now revolting. How does the revolt occur? People are no longer cowards. People are saying, no, we don’t want to accept it and then you are blaming them.

    Where are we now in terms of actually transforming basic education to drive Nigeria ‘s development?

    You will understand it very well if you know that basic education is not in the purview of the federal government. Basic Education is wholly in the purview of states and local governments. So it would be very difficult for me to say this is where we are. What I can say is the efforts the federal government has made in supporting those whose duty is primarily to oversee basic education. So when you appreciate that you know that the federal government is doing quite a lot in complementing the efforts of states and local governments whose responsibility it is to oversee basic education. So if you come from that perspective, since this government came on board, what was the level of our performance in public exams, particularly getting five credits including English and Mathematics as at the time this government came we were 28 per cent? Today, what is the percentage? Today it has risen to 40 per cent. We are not saying that is good. What we are saying is that if we were 28 per cent and we have gotten to 40 per cent in 2013 and then if we continue that way, there is a likelihood that by 2015 that we get almost about 50 per cent or above. You will now see that government is doing quite a lot. What I am saying is this, before now most state governments do not access their funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission. As at 2011, we had not less than N70billion lying idle in government coffers un-accessed by states. Most of them had not accessed 2008 to 2009 funds. So what did we do, because not accessing these funds would not lead to the improvement of the learning infrastructure in schools that leads to enhancement in the performance of students in public exams? We embarked on aggressive campaign to reach out to reach out to state governors. You cannot be building bridges and your pupils are sitting on the floor. You can’t be building hospitals and you have not had good doctors that will be in those hospitals. Therefore, there is a need for you to access your funds and improve on the infrastructure you have in your schools that will lead to the improvement of students’ performance or improve the quality of education in the state. As at today, it is only a few states that have not accessed the 2011 funds. Eighty per cent of states have accessed the 2012 funds. This was not the case before we came. You will understand that the federal government has continuously released funds to various states to train and re-train their teachers. There is no year that we do not release to the states not less than N5billion to train their teachers in the primary and junior secondary schools. But let me tell you what has happened before we came. These funds were going to State Universal Basic Education Boards without their governors or commissioners knowing that the funds were coming. Therefore, these funds were diverted from one area or the other. I can remember when I visited one of the states, when I asked the governor that whether the chairman of SUBEB told him that they have given him this type of money? He said no. I said, okay, chairman when did they pay this money? He said about four months ago. But the governor was not aware. The governor was embarrassed. So what did we do? As these funds are being released we now write to governors that the money has been released. Now the governors are aware that such money is coming to the states. It may not be enough, but it is for you to use it to complement whatever money the state would have set aside on training and re-training of their teachers. Now in the local governments it is the policy of the federal government that most of the children who are in the public schools are poor. The government decided that we cannot allow them to be buying books. Government would take the responsibility of purchase and giving it to students and teachers to use free. But as it happens, most of the pupils would not know, most states would not know, some of them connived in spite of the security inscriptions in these books to sell these books to book vendors. So what have we done since we came? These books are now being given with the support of the State Security Services in every state. As they are distributing it in the state the SSS are taking records and from that state it goes to the local governments and how they get to the various schools we have records. So, on my way to Owerri, Sokoto or Gombe I passed through some of the schools and said can I see the books? Let me see the children using the books. I have done that several times. So I can tell you that it is no longer business as usual. The federal government has also in making sure that not just us, having access to basic education we have the problem of girl child education. In most of the states the girls do not go to school. Take for instance the north. We have the Northwest and the Northeast where we have a peculiar problem because of traditions and other things. We have to engage on aggressive advocacy by going to the states to tell them the need for them to allow their daughters to go to school because it is believed that when you train a woman you have trained a whole nation. Apart from the advocacy, the federal government said maybe because of the religion, we will build special girls’ schools to enable them to go to those schools and have education. As I am talking we have completed these projects in at least not less than 13 states of the federation. Now, you remember that the boarding schools owned by the federal government are the Federal Government Colleges. Today, you will not see the Federal Government Colleges the way they used to be. We have 104 of them and when I came, I visited not less than 80 of the schools. I went to all the six geopolitical zones in this country. In fact, I was the first Minister that went to Borno to go and see things for myself. When I went there I saw that it would not be easy for us o carry these schools at a time. We decided to do phased rehabilitation of the schools. In this year’s budget, we took 30 schools with emphasis on hostels, classrooms and laboratories. Next year we will not give these 30 schools the amount of money that we have given them. We will give them small money for maintenance. Then we will take another 30 schools for another set of rehabilitation. Now, one thing I have discovered, none of the schools has its own library. What they have is what they call reading halls. We are talking of education. No books, no library and then you are expected to perform miracle? So, one thing we must do to encourage reading habits or to encourage students to read books, make sure that the books are there. The facilities should also be there. Today, as I am talking to you all the Federal Government Colleges you see have new libraries of 450 sitting capacity. We call them E-Libraries. Some have been completed while others are ongoing. What advantage do we want to get from there? Those who live in the school, they will go and have their normal siesta while those who are day students will go and use the libraries. Now when they wake up from their siesta, they can use the library while those who are day students have used the library and have gone home. Teachers have libraries where they can prepare the exercises. What we did was go provide separate lights for these libraries which are all furnished and air-conditioned so that nobody will say we have no light. With this the reading culture will come back. With that, students will be encouraged to go to the libraries and make notes and add to what their teachers have taught them. Before, as you were coming out of the class you are going to the library. Now if you are coming out of class you are going home because there is no library to go to. That is why if you compare the results of the Federal Government Colleges and that of the state governments you will see that the difference is very clear. I am not saying that we are doing very well in what we are supposed to do, but comparatively, we can say that students in federal government schools have done better than those in state schools. Before now nobody has emphasised the training of our teachers in Federal Government Colleges. When I came on board I have made sure that every year we must train teachers in Mathematics and English. This year alone we took the teachers to the National Mathematical Centre to live there for two weeks and the feeding was free. Most teachers said for over 15 years they have been teaching, they have never gone for any training.

    In summary, what I am trying to say is that the federal government is doing quite a lot to see that basic education gets the boost and enough support that would affect them as they move forward to the other level of education because without a strong foundation in basic education no matter whatever you do at the tertiary level it will not work. This few things I can say the federal government has been able to do to improve access and quality in basic education.

    What about the special task you embarked on about the Almajiri education?

    That again is encouraging access to education. You know that out of over 60 million in the world that are out of school I think over 10 million are Nigerians. Out of that 10 million the Almajiris are about nine million. So government said this is a peculiar problem we must tackle. On the Almajiri education, we were supposed to commission some of the schools about one month ago, but because of some official engagements of Mr. President, we have to reschedule. We are going to do the commissioning at a date that is convenient for Mr. President. They schools have been built, they are well furnished. They students will be fed while in the schools because if you don’t feed them they will still be tempted to go out of the schools and go and beg.

    How many schools are involved in the Almajiri Education?

    Virtually all northern states are involved but their number differs based on the task force report on the strength of the almajiris in these various states. So the number we have in Borno cannot be the same with Nasarawa.

    Which means none of the Almajiri schools built by the federal government is functioning right now?

    Some have started functioning. We are only talking about the commissioning. What we are saying is that instead of waiting for the commissioning they can start so that they can improve on the enrollment figure.

    From the about nine million Almajiris what is your target to go back to school?

    We have not less than 100 of the Almajiri schools out of which about 60 have been furnished and the other 30 are all near completion.

    From the nine million Almajiris, how many do you target to attend these schools?

    From now till 2015 we a looking at a target of 70 per cent. We cannot say we will get all of them because that would not be realistic. But we hope to continue to improve on that.

     

  • Crime of passion (1)

    As I write this, I’m behind bars in a sordid prison somewhere in the country. I had to beg one of the wardens for some paper and biro to enable me write my tale.

    What is my purpose? To let the world know why I did what I did to Jake. Those who knew us and our relationship, our friendship that dated back to our campus days, had been shocked when they heard what had happened between us.

    That with my own hand, I had killed my best friend, my confidante and the only person apart from my mother that I trusted most in the world. Well, my wife used to be on that list. But not anymore. You will know the reason as my story unfolds.

    They say opposites attract. This was quite true in my relationship with Jake. Both physically and personality wise, we were very different. Jake was tall, slim built with good looks that could pass for those of a movie star. He also had a vibrant, outgoing personality. I, on the other hand was the quiet type who did not mix much and preferred studying to going out to parties. Despite these differences, Jake and I hit it off as soon as we met. This was how it happened. It was my second year in school and I was having problems securing accommodation. Then, a friend told me about a student who was looking for flat mates to share the apartment his family had rented for him off campus.

    I contacted him a few days later and luckily he agreed to give me one of the rooms at a reasonable amount. It was a three bedroom flat a short distance from campus. Shortly after I moved in, another student George joined us. That was how Jake and I became friends. We lived together for the rest of our stay in school in that flat and with time, we became very close. Though quite intelligent, Jake was not the studious type. Infact, he hardly bothered with classes, assignments and tests like I did. He often used to tease me about my serious attitude.

    “Guy, you are a real effico; too serious with your books. You should take it easy, sometimes. Learn to relax,” he told me one evening as I sat in my room reading for a test I had the next day.

    I looked up at him. He was dressed to go out in a nice T shirt and a pair of designer jeans. He looked great and I complimented him.

    “Thanks. I have a new ‘catch’ I’m taking out tonight,” he stated with a smirk, adjusting the collar of his top in the small mirror on the wall in my room.

    “What about Trish?” I asked. She was his girlfriend of about six months and I thought he loved her.

    Jake shrugged.

    “She’s out of town. Besides, she’s becoming too possessive. I need a break,” he noted. Knowing him so well, it was Jake’s way of saying he was tired of a relationship. That was another point of difference between us. His attitude to girls. “Love them and leave them,” he often said, with that mischievous grin of his.

    I didn’t share his views and I made that clear.

    “I don’t think its fair on the girls. I have sisters too and I won’t want any guy to mess up with them,” I told him. Yet, despite the way he treated them, girls still flocked around him like moths to a flame.

    “Well, is it my fault if the girls can’t resist me? I be fine boy now!” he would say, grinning broadly.

    “Why don’t you leave those books and come with us tonight? Catch some fun, you know,” he now said, as he made for the door.

    I shook my head.

    “I need to study for the test tomorrow. You know how tough that lecturer’s questions can be,” I stated, turning to resume reading.

    “Alright. See you later then,” he stated as he left.

    ‘You are lucky. You have rich parents so you can afford to fool around. As for me, I know where I’m coming from,’ I thought as I turned a page in my notebook. Both my parents were teachers and as the first son, they looked up to me to do well so I could help the family later. Thus I had no time for frivolities. I had to succeed in life for my family’s sake.

     

    * * * * *

    Finally, school was over and we left for the mandatory youth service programme. Jake and I were posted to different states. It was the first time in years that we were separated. By this time, we were so close, more like brothers rather than mere friends. Jake, who didn’t like the idea of my going so far away tried to influence my posting.

    “I will talk to my dad. He knows people at the headquarters and they will have you reposted to Lagos so we can be together again,” he told me one day when I called from my base in Niger State where I was serving.

    “Don’t bother, Jake. I like it here. The people are friendly and nice. Besides, it’s just for a year. It will be over soon and I will be back home before long,” I pointed.

    He reluctantly agreed and there was no more talk of my being reposted down South.

    Jake’s father, who was a business man had a lot of contacts in the business circles in the country. With his influence, he was able to get a job for his son even before the service year ended.

    I was happy and a bit envious as well when he called to give me the good news.

    “It’s a big company. They are into all kinds of stuff- manufacturing, food processing, construction,” he disclosed.

    “Lucky you. At least, you won’t be among the thousands of jobless graduates roaming the streets,” I said.

    He laughed then said:

    “You know what, Ray? I will like us to work in the same place. I will speak to my dad if he can fix you up in the company. Once he returns from his trip abroad, I’ll talk to him.”

    I liked the idea of our working together but I didn’t have much faith in my getting a job in such a big firm.

    ‘Afterall, jobs don’t grow on trees these days,’ I thought to myself as the call ended.

    So, you can imagine my surprise and excitement when he called to tell me two months later that I had been invited for an interview in the company.

    I was speechless for a while before I exclaimed:

    “But I didn’t apply! How come they are…”

    Jake laughed at my confusion.

    “Is this not Nigeria? With the right connection, you can get anything you want.”

    The job, he explained was for the post of a sales representative. “It comes with a car as you will be moving around a lot,” he stated.

    “A car? That’s great! But Jake, you talk as if I already have the job. I’ve not even done the interview yet,” I noted.

    He laughed again.

    “That, my friend is just a formality. The job is already yours!”

    We had just a month to go before we passed out as corpers. The thought of starting work as soon as we finished the youth service filled me with great joy. No endless job applications and rejections, no roaming the streets searching endlessly for jobs that did not exist with its attendant frustrations and sufferings…

    I silently thanked God for giving me a great friend like Jake. And I promised myself that I would work really hard at the job so that I would not disappoint him and his dad that had so much faith in me.

    Two months after our passing out, I resumed work at the company. Everyone, including my parents were surprised that I got a job so quickly after graduation.

    I told them about Jake’s role in it and they were very impressed.

    “He’s a good friend. Such friendship is rare these days so don’t take it lightly,” my father said. He promised to call Jake and his father and thank them for all their support.

     

    * * * * *

    My job involved marketing some of the company’s products. I had to move around a lot and the official car I was given helped in that regard. With time, I began to travel outside Lagos to other states where we had distributors of our products. I loved the job as it enabled me travel and see new places, meet new people. I preferred it to an office job where I would be sitting at a desk all day.

    It was during this period that I met Grace. She was the younger sister of one of our biggest distributors in the city. She was a final year student at the university and had come to spend the long vacation with her sister.

    I liked the girl as soon as I set eyes on her. It wasn’t just her obvious beauty alone. There was just something about her that I found so alluring.

    But despite the way I felt about her, I had not been able to speak to her about my feelings. It wasn’t that I was shy with girls or something. I just felt the time was not right.

    I always looked forward to going to the sister’s shop on business as I knew I would see Grace.

    Just seeing and looking at her made me happy.

    I was on my way there late one afternoon when I ran into Jake at the car park in the office. We were in different departments so we didn’t see that much at work. But we made up for it at weekends when we hung out together.

    He had closed for the day and was heading home.

    “My car suddenly developed problems. Battery problem likely. Guess I will have to take a cab home,” he said after we greeted.

    “No need for that,” I said. I intended closing as well once I had finished meeting Madam Betty, Grace’s sister.

    “Come with me and I will take you home later,” I offered.

    Grace was alone in the store when we arrived.

    “Sister just stepped out. She will be back shortly,” she explained.

    She served us drinks while we waited. I noticed Jake looking at her in a speculative way and my heart fell. I knew that look quite well. It was the sort of look he had whenever he saw a girl he fancied and wanted to sleep with.

    ‘Please, not this one,’ I thought as I looked at Grace. She had a new braided hairstyle which made her look even more pretty.

    When the woman returned, we sat to discuss business. I could not concentrate though. My eyes kept drifting to the front of the store. Jake was there, standing and chatting with Grace. I saw her laughing at a point and I became worried. What if she fell for Jake’s charms? Very few ladies could resist him. He was my friend but I didn’t want her to get involved with him as she would only get hurt in the end.

    We left shortly after. On the way, Jake kept talking about Grace.

    “Such a pretty girl. I’m thinking of inviting her out next weekend,” he announced.

    “What?” I exclaimed, turning from the road to glare at him.

    “Why do you look so surprised. You should know me by now. Once I see something I like, I go for it,” he said.

    I could not bear it any longer and I decided to be blunt with him

    “Jake, leave her alone,” I blurted out.

    He turned to me, surprised.

    “Why? Don’t tell me you like her too!” he said.

    “Jake, that’s not the issue now. Just don’t mess with her, that’s all I’m saying,” I implored.

    “Well, it’s too late for that. I want her. And I’m going to have her no matter what you or anyone says,” he stated firmly.

    I grew angry at his words. For the first time since we became friends, I wanted to punch him in the face…

     

    Will Grace become a source of conflict between the two friends? Watch out for the exciting details next Saturday!

     

    •Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.

    Send comments/suggestions to 08023201831(sms only) or psaduwa@yahoo.com

  • As Lady Chinyere Annie Okonkwo clocks 50 in style

    As Lady Chinyere Annie Okonkwo clocks 50 in style

    Baring any last minute hitch, Senator Annie Okonkwo’s wife, Lady Chinyere, will be celebrating her 50th birthday in a grand style .The effervescent and lovable woman will be 50 tomorrow. Celeb Watch gathered that the fashion-forward lady is set to paint their Ikoyi, Lagos home in pure gold as she and her excited husband will be playing host to the rich and famous, politicians, socialites and many others at their sprawling and exotic seaside lawn. Those who should know informed Celeb Watch that her husband, Senator Annie Okonkwo, who is sparing nothing to dramatise his gratitude for three decades of marital bliss to the celebrant, has described his wife as his priceless umbrella of care, affection and blessings, whose wealth of feminine shield no man could ever wish for more .

    “I must admit” he said, “I have been particularly lucky and blessed for what I got in my wife, Chinyere, because I married my childhood friend and first love, and therefore consider it an honour to indulge her a little as she glides her way to the golden club”. Meanwhile, Lady Chinyere, who is visibly radiant, trim and relaxed, said her style of celebration for all the love she has gotten, is to thank God with melodies of praise and raise toasts to her friends and family for their abiding affection.

  • I’m getting married soon, what can I do to gain weight?

    My name is Jenny from Calabar. I am 25 years old. I wasjust going through a magazine and I saw people talk to you about their problem. Here is mine – I am having a problems adding up weight. I have tried taking something but it’s not working. Please what do you think I should do because I will be getting married soon so I need to be full in my attire? Please help me.

    I was so happy when I read your concern. While most brides would do all crazy things to lose weight before their wedding day, you actually want to look round and healthy. Good. You must look great in the dress and in the photos because hundreds of guests would have their eyes on you and you don’t want to look hungry and too thin. We want to see those curves and not make people worry about whether you would be able to get pregnant fast. Some people are just born naturally skinny, but if you’re looking to put on a little healthy weight, there are many simple tricks you can do.

    1. Don’t go for “empty” calories. While chips and cookies look like the easiest way to put on weight, you want to put on HEALTHY weight. Go for snacks that have a fair amount of calories, but also a lot of nutritional value. Peanut butter is great for this. Mix it with carrots, crackers, apples, or anything and you have a delicious, healthy snack.

    2. Exercise. Yes, you need to exercise to gain weight. Yes! Lifting and weight training help your body gain muscle weight, which is the best kind of weight for your body to put on. Start off slowly if you aren’t used to doing this kind of training. Increase weight and decrease reps as you go along.

    Make sure to fill up on protein directly after a workout. This will help build muscle. Protein shakes are a great way to do this, and there are many different brands and flavors to try.

    3. Make sure all of your food groups are present in every meal.