The Nation Newspaper

Category: Weekend Treat

  • Maiden Ibru celebrates 70

    DESPITE feeling ill few days to her 70th birthday, Maiden Ibru, the CEO of The Guardian newspaper, put up good courage and glowed in good health as she celebrated her birthday all through last week.

    Accolade and goodwill messages poured freely from the staff that she hosted during work hours and at the grand hall of the Federal Palace Hotel where the birthday party took place.

    At 70, Maiden Ibru’s fashion and style sense indicate that she is still in the circle of pacesetters. She spoke of how she was under the tutelage of her mother, ‘Sisi’, who she believes was the first woman to wear the Indian sari in Sapele.

    Read Also: Buhari, Tinubu greet Mamman Daura at 80

    At 70, Maiden Ibru is still at work. We hear that she enjoys working till the late hours despite living in Lekki on the Lagos Island while her office is located on the Mainland.

    Maiden Ibru still attends to details and remains a key player in the board room.

  • Memorial thanksgiving service for JK Randle

    A memorial service in honour of the late Lisa of Lagos, Chief JK Randle, is scheduled to hold at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, Lagos on December 17.

    The event is adequately backed by the might of his equally successful son and accountant of repute, JK Randle Jnr, and other family members.

    Read Also: ‘Johnson, an incorruptible governor’

    The late Lisa of Lagos was in his lifetime a prominent figure in the social circles in Lagos and his influence and wealth extended around the city. He is said to have left behind a lot of property in Lagos, some of which has been in contention.

  • ENTER THE BEARD, MUSTACHE GANG

    Kehinde OLULEYE

    OF course, you must have seen what our celebs, rich and famous are doing with beards, moustaches and stubble:  Richard Mofe-Damijo, Pete Edochie, Desmond Elliot, Banky W, Jim Iyke and Okey Bakassi.

    If you have, then you probably have noticed that the popular facial hair signatures of the 80s are back and trendier than ever. This trendy styles prove that a bold, stylish and well-trimmed mustache and beard can convey timeless impression.

    In our view, this explains why Nigerian’s leading men have been rocking mustaches on and off the red carpet! These people who give out double doses of inspiration every time they appear in public are not usually generalists. They also inspire because they are masters of a particular item of style. As we run through this esteemed list this week, we hope you will not get tired of reading about these timeless style icons.

     

    Pete Edochie – Veteran actor and the dominant face in several epic movies,Pete Edochie, is a man who has rocked a signature mustache and beard for a very long time, and he manages to make them all look good.

     

    Phyno – Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike, better known by his stage name, Phyno, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Phyno sure knows that a thick beard paired with a stubble mustache is a very strong look.

     

    Falz – Grey beard and mustache have never looked so elegant and sharp, thanks to Falz’s new look. Folarin Falana, son of fiery Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN),better known by his stage name, Falz, is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter and actor.

     

    Timaya – Inetimi Timaya Odon, better known by his stage name, Timaya, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is the founder of DM Records Limited. He’s not only nicely handsome and charming; he’s also an incredibly talented artist and he loves keeping his beard luscious.

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    Iyanya – That distinctive body is almost as cute as his smile. Iyanya is a Nigerian recording artist and performer. He rose to fame after winning the first season of Project Fame West Africa, and is best known for his hit single, ‘Kukere’ and, what many women will describe as a “body to die for”.

     

    Jim Iyke – Nollywood actor, entrepreneur and master of both sublime and action-packed lover boy roles, Jim Iyke, is gorgeous, dashing and super talented. lyke always looks comfortable and cool in his beard.

     

    Harrysong – Hit maker, Harrison Tare Okiri, is as talented as he is good-looking. Better known by his stage name, Harrysong, he is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and instrumentalist and he keeps his beard simple.

     

    Banky W – Nigerian artist, actor and politician, Olubankole Wellington, aka Banky W, the Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) boss, popularly known as Banky W, is perhaps best known for his role in the film, “The wedding Party”, the music industry as well as his cute iconic beard and mustaches look.

     

    Richard Mofe-damijo – Former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State, Richard Mofe Damijo, popularly known as RMD, is one of Nigeria’s most famous and accomplished thespians. RMD’s gorimapa head, well-groomed beard and mustache look suit him perfectly.

     

    Noble Igwe – Nigerian blogger, and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 360 Group, Noble Igwe, is a master on and off the red carpet. Noble’s beard is a nice complement to his immaculately well-groomed look.

     

    Uti Nwachukwu – Uti Nwachukwu Emeka, popularly known as Sir Uti, is a Nigerian actor, model and OAP. Also, he was the winner of Big Brother Africa season. Sir Uti always looks nice with his well-groomed beard.

     

    Ebuka Obi-Uchendu – Lawyer and media personality, Ebuka Obi- Uchendu, who is best known for hosting the reality TV show, Big Brother Naija, the long running Rubbin’ Minds talk show on Channels TV as well as co-hosting The Spot and Men’s Corner on Ebonylife Television. He is one of the most successful showbiz personalities of his generation. Suave and debonair, Ebuka often appears on the list of the country’s best dressed men.

     

    Okey Bakassi – The former Senior Special Adviser on Entertainment Matters to a former Imo state Governor, Ikedi Ohakim, Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule, popularly known as Okey Bakassi, is a Nigerian stand-up comedian and actor.

     

    Don Jazzy – Michael Collins Ajereh, better known as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. Don Jazzy has made his miniature mustache and beard part of his signature look.

     

    Desmond Elliot – Actor, director and politician Elliot, fuses classic style and timeless glamour; he is the epitome of sharp sophistication.

     

    Bryan Okwara – Bryan Okwara knows that a well-maintained mustache and beard are essential to any look. Bryan is a Nigerian actor and model who won the title of Mr. Nigeria in 2007 and reached the semi-finals in the Mister World 2007 competition.

  • What is a urinary tract infection (UTI) in children? (2)

    TWO common abnormalities are: Vesicoureteral Reflux. Urine normally flows from the kidney down the ureters and into the bladder. This one-way flow is usually maintained because of a “flap-valve” where the ureter joins the bladder. With vesicoureteral reflux, the urine flows backwards from the bladder up the ureters to the kidneys. This urine may carry bacteria from the bladder up to the kidneys and cause a more serious kidney infection (pyelonephritis).

    Urinary Obstruction

    Urine flow may get blocked at many places in the urinary tract. These blockages are mostly caused by abnormal narrow areas in the urinary tract that prevent normal flow of urine out of the body.

    Can UTIs be prevented in Children?

    If your child has a normal urinary tract, certain habits can help prevent UTIs. Draining the bladder often is one of the body’s best defenses against UTIs. Drinking more fluids will increase urine flow to flush infection out of the body. Some children are more prone to getting UTIs, and low dose antibiotics can help. Treatment of constipation also helps.

    In babies and small children, changing diapers more often can help prevent UTIs. When children start toilet training, it is important to teach them good bathroom habits. After each bowel movement, girls should wipe from front to rear — not rear to front. This keeps germs from spreading from the anus to the urethra. Children should also avoid “holding it in” if they need to urinate and can reach a bathroom. Urine sitting in the bladder too long gives bacteria a good place to grow.

    Diagnosis

    If you think your child has a UTI, call your health care provider. The only way to diagnose a UTI is with a urine test. Your health care provider will collect a urine sample. The method your health care provider uses will depend on your child’s age and maturity. If your toddler is not toilet-trained, your health care provider may simply attach a plastic bag to your child’s skin to collect the sample. If your child is older, you may be asked to help catch the sample as your child urinates. It is important to keep bacteria from the skin from getting into the sample. Your health care provider may need to pass a small tube into the urethra or a needle into the lower belly to collect a good sample from inside the bladder.

    The urine sample is examined under a microscope. If there is an infection, your health care provider may be able to see bacteria and pus (white blood cells). This test takes only a few minutes. The health care provider may also order a urine culture, where bacteria from the urine are grown in a lab incubator. The bacteria can then be identified and tested to see which drugs will work best. Many kinds of bacteria can infect the urine, and different types of bacteria may need different types of antibiotics. It takes many days to get the results from the urine culture.

    Treatment

    UTIs are treated with antibiotics. If your health care provider thinks your child has a UTI, he or she will choose a drug that treats the bacteria most likely to be causing the problem. Sometimes a few days later, after your health care provider has the urine culture results, the antibiotic might be changed to one that works better against the type of bacteria that was found in your child’s urine. You can also help your child fight the infection by encouraging him or her to drink plenty of fluids and urinate often.

    The antibiotic drug, the way it is given, and the number of days it must be taken may depend on the type of infection. If your child is very sick and not able to drink, the antibiotic may need to be given as shots with your child in the hospital. Otherwise, the meds may be given by mouth. Depending on the type of antibiotic used, your child may take a single dose per day or up to 4 doses per day. You may be asked to give your child meds until further tests are finished.

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    After a few doses of the antibiotic, your child may appear much better. Most UTIs are cured within a week if treated the right way, but often it may take weeks until all the symptoms are gone. It is important that your child take the antibiotic meds as ordered by your health care provider even if the symptoms have gone away. Unless UTIs are fully treated, they may return, or your child may get another infection.

    If symptoms get worse or do not get better within 3 days, your child may need to go to the hospital.

    After Treatment

    Once the infection has cleared, your child’s health care provider may suggest more tests, particularly if your child has been treated for a kidney infection. The tests are to make sure there are no problems in the urinary tract that might keep your child’s body from fighting off infection, and to see whether there has been any damage to the kidney from the UTI. No single test can tell everything about the urinary tract that might be important to know after a UTI, so many tests are often ordered. If these tests show something abnormal in the urinary tract, your health care provider may want your child to see a pediatric urologist (a health care provider who specializes in problems of the urinary system in children).

    The tests may include:

    Kidney and/or Bladder Ultrasonography (Ultrasound)

    This test gets pictures of the kidney and bladder using sound waves. This test may show shadows that point to some kinds of abnormalities, like blockages, but can’t show all important urinary tract abnormalities. It also can’t tell how well the kidney is working.

    Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG)

    This test can show abnormalities of the inside of the urethra and bladder, and if urine flow is normal when the bladder empties. It also shows if urine from the bladder is backing up into the ureters (vesicoureteral reflux) and whether it reaches the kidneys. For this test a small, soft tube (catheter) is placed into the urethra. A liquid that can be seen on x-rays is then put into the bladder through the tube until your child urinates.

    Nuclear Scans

    There are different kinds of scans of the bladder and kidneys, and each can give different kinds of information. These scans use liquids that have tiny amounts of a radioactive tracer in them. From these tests, a health care provider can sometimes tell how well the kidneys work, the shape of the kidneys, and if the urine empties from the kidneys or bladder in a normal way. Though the liquids used have radioactive matter in them, the amount is very small and will not hurt your child.

    CT Scan or MRI

    These tests look at the bladder and kidneys in 3-D. They are sometimes used in cases where other studies are not clear and more details of these organs may be needed.

  • Should spouses tell each other everything?

    SECRET. Everybody has a secret. You know that one or two things happened in your past that you’ d rather not talk about. It could even be business plans, investments that you don’t want another to know about. It could also be that shameful act that you were once involved in.And I tell you this, a lot happened to an individual when no one is looking.

    So, now that we all get the gist of where I am going with this, what happens when you are married? Is it ideal to keep secrets secret? Are you meant to keep everything close to your chest, hoping your spouse will never know? I want to know if people tell their spouses everything. Do you have limits on what you will or won’t share? Should you tell your man if a man makes a pass at you? Should you tell your wife if another lady catches your fancy or flirts with you? If, as a lady, you are opportune to buy one or two plots of land and you can afford to put a structure or two; should you confide in and carry your man along or keep him in the dark? If, as a man, you are spending more money outside the home to support a friend or family members, should your wife be in the know? Or do you feel that, as a woman, it is really none of her business?

    Speaking generally,  in most circumstances, it is good to be open and honest with your spouses. Honesty breeds trust and trust makes for a happy, healthy home life. Unfortunately, however, according to research, there are things you just cannot afford to tell your husband or wife. Some things are really better left unsaid. Reason is because, there are pieces of information that can destroy, rather than mend your homes. Things that are to be left unsaid are issues like saying ugly things about your in-laws. Saying ugly things about your spouse’s friends is one thing, doing so regarding in-laws is considered a cardinal sin, one which  you will pay for, for as many years as you and your spouse remain married.

    Another no-go area is, when you begin to recount good memories of your ex. One thing that really makes a spouse boil  is hearing the mention of an ex in a good light. Even if everyone doesn’t admit it, every married person hopes deep down that all the ex’s your spouse might have had, should not be compared to them. This is especially true about things that go on in the bedroom. Just don’t go there. Details about your past relationships to your spouse will only end up destroying the home you have both laboured to build. Do not tell your spouse certain things about your sex life. A few things are trickier or more of a touchy topic between husband and wife  in a marriage than  sex. This is because everyone likes to think that he or she is great in bed, better than anyone else and that he or she is huge turn on for his or her spouse. If any of this is not true, pointing it out to your spouse is likely to cause not just a rift but capable of  ruining  your marital relations. A better approach will be to teach him or her how to please you in bed.

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    A neighbour of mine once told me how she taught her spouse how to make love . She said at first, her man would just pounce on her and before you knew it, he was done. For months, she was dissatisfied but being newly wedded, she was not ready to puncture her husband’s ego. So, rather that verbalize her dissatisfaction, she decided to use actions, she taught him how and where to touch to make her happy and of course, you know that naturally, if you make a woman happy, it follows that everybody in the house will be happy. Do not discuss your fantasies with your spouse. Hmmm, fantasies. It is said that having fantasies is healthy. I will say that it is healthy if you keep them to yourself. Regardless of whether they are sexual fantasies or wishful thinking, keep it to yourself because your spouse will see them as dissatisfaction of the status quo or worse as a threat to them.

    Esteemed readers, do you recall what was published recently about a messy divorce scandal between a gospel artiste and her producer / hobby? The cause of their divorce, according to her, was his sexual fantasies. Often times, he compelled her to have anal sex with her. Today, their marriage is history. Some have fantasies that cannot even begin to appear on the pages of newspapers. So, you see, some crazy fantasies should be kept within you, period.

    Having said that, there are things, that I feel must be told to one’s spouse without hesitation. Things like when one buys a parcel of land or is involved in one form of an investment or the other, your spouse must be in the know. I assure you no man will settle for less; for all you know, his input might be a very positive one and even the builders or the workers on your site will reckon with you and respect you more when you visit your site with your husband.

    Secondly, I have heard of women who will buy parcels of land and keep their husbands in the dark until after completion of the project. In my opinion, that is unacceptable. A particular case study is the secretary of a client of mine. She told me she had this land she bought over four years and that her husband knew nothing about it. I tried in my little way to dissuade her but it did not work.

    Also, do not disparage your spouse’s friends, it could come back to haunt you.

    In conclusion, there are kept secrets meant to keep harmony in the marriage, not as a first step towards lying. However, honesty and openness is still a better approach.

  • The dangers of hypersexuality in a relationship

    With Rois Ola

    Ugonna and Chris (not real names) had been dating for a year.Six months into the relationship, Chris discovered that Ugonna had a serious sex addiction problem.

    He spoke to her about getting help, but she insisted there was no issue,although  deep within herself she knew that she had a major sexual behavior challenge. She secretly did a research online and found out she was suffering from hyper sexuality also known as sexual addiction.

    One day, Ugonna had an official meeting with a few colleagues and felt a sudden urge to play with her private part. She reached out to her clitoris and gently started rubbing it. A few minutes later she got an orgasm.

    Unknown to her, a colleague had seen Ugonna dip her hand into her pant.A feeling of disgust and embarrassment seized her colleague. She soon  told other people what she saw, one of them a cousin of Chris who quickly called his attention to Ugonna’s disturbing behavior on that day.

    This is one of many examples of what people experiencing sexual addiction face.

    Others may experience compulsive masturbation and other intimate behaviors. Anyone who has a partner exhibiting such symptoms should be on the alert. These can come in various forms like

    * intense sexual fantasies and orgies that take up all your time and are out of their control, even when you try to help them.

    *You have an argument with them or they go through a tough time at work or any situation and the next thing they do is to engage in sexual behavior that has serious consequences (for instance, fondling private parts more than once unconsciously in public); or

    * you discover your partner has trouble establishing and maintaining  a healthy relationship with you, with some sexual fantasy that may not agree with you. This can lead to many complications  such as  struggling with shame.They may develop mental conditions in addition;  lie about their  situation; show signs of depression ;or engage  in sexual activity especially through the internet. In some cases, when your spouse is unable to function normally in a social gathering and environment they end up losing their job and ability to relate properly with people.They may end up  accumulating debts, or give you sexually transmitted infections.

    If you notice that your partner is spending endless hours watching pornography or , chatting on phone  while you are physically and emotionally available for her/him,then you need to act fast  to address the problem. Some have lost the will for discipline and even watch porn while at work, stay up all night watching porn and would prefer calling in sick instead of addressing how this behavior is affecting your love for them and health.

    The truth is your partner could be having issues with anxiety and depression. It could be that it is not “addictive” but a means to reduce” stress”, boredom, low mood.  Are you and your spouse having a mismatch in sex drive? It is common to accuse a partner of being sexually insatiable all the time and yet you are the one that has a low libido, so low that compared to the average person, your performance level is poor. There are cases where women set a time table for sex once in a month, probably on birthdays, Christmas day and maybe Valentine day.Anything else is no no !! The implication of this is that your spouse may end up patronizing strippers and sex workers to have as much sex as they wish.They love you and don’t want to divorce you, so would rather keep going to sex workers to keep the home. This CAN NOT LAST. Or do we talk about the men who prefer having a new sex partner every week, and decide they do not want the stress of monogamy. In some cases, if they are very attractive they ensure they indulge in sex to the full. Let’s not even talk about the ones that love “kinky sex” playing with “dangerous” life threatening “toys”.

    Read lso: How to identify your soul mate in your relationship

     

    If you think your partner may be hypersexual, ask yourself if their sexual behaviors cause you harm or distress, or impairment in your daily functions including those they relate with generally. The best way to help them overcome this behavior is to address the underlying issues driving this behavior, as opposed to focusing on the sexual nature of them. Honesty is very important here, denial of your spouse in this issue cannot help recovery.They need all the support they can get. Counselling with a mental health professional might also be helpful when working through these problems.

    As a society, (maybe because of dictates of our culture) we need to stop stigmatizing people around sex, it leads to pain and suffering. Let us address the issues from the root .If your spouse is going through self-denial, you need to be gentle in showing them the way. Or else you will be hindered in having an  open discussion which can help you know the exact help they may require. These few steps can help

    • Know and understand what the exact issue is.
    • Know what to do after identifying this issue with your spouse.
    • Help your partner know themselves.
    • Help them to be willing to communicate by showing love and not disgust.
    • Seek for counselling medical or mental, they must accept either or both of the options.
    • Avoid procrastination: if your spouse is actually enjoying the destructive nature of this challenge, and has no control, then you need to decide if you can bear it or not .Procrastination in dealing with the issues on ground can destroy you both

    A few friends always ask how can this be avoided? I don’t have an exact answer to this, but I can say some things for sure, you need to RUN from risky situations. If you are familiar with the story of Joseph when he was escaping from Potiphar’s wife, it is said that he fled for his life. RUN as fast as you can but the first thing is to own up if you or partner is facing this, that is the first stage to healing. Ensuring you avoid risky places or things that can trigger it will help with time. It is a battle your spouse may not be able to win alone, unless he or she has a very strong will to actually stop or seek help. It is a battle that can be won together!! I wish you all the best.

  • My 10 years of intrigue, blackmail as attorney-general — Ex-Abia Commissioner for Justice Umeh Kalu

    Chief Umeh Kalu, SAN, is the Head of Chambers, Seasons Law Firm. For 10 years, he held sway as the Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, becoming the longest serving state attorney general in the South East and South South.  In this interview with OKORIE UGURU, he talks about his years of advocacy for the rights of tenants in Lagos and his experience in public service as a political appointee, among other issues.

     

    YOU functioned for 10 years as Abia State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. How did you manage to stay that long in the office?

    I first of all must state that there was no time I actually planned to go into public office as an appointee. But right from time, I have always had the opportunity to offer service even as a student in the university, because I was involved in student union politics. And when I left school, I had a desire to serve through elective positions. I made one or two attempts to get into such positions.

    I actually wanted to go to the National Assembly. I had no idea that I would be appointed as an Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. It only came in the course of my involvement in party politics. I was appointed in 2009, and I must tell you too that when I went into that office, I did not know that I would stay that long. From the first day I got into the office, I was preparing for my exit.

    Was there any reason for that?

    Well, you see, when you are appointed, it is something you can never be sure of. You are there at the mercy of whoever appointed you. I am sure you know the person would be the governor. If he wakes up one day and his mood is not good and he decides to do away with his cabinet, you are out of job. So, from day one, I had that at the back of my mind and I was prepared. Surprisingly, in the course of my service, several dissolutions were made and most times, I would be asked to remain, not even reappointed.

    It happened like that about two or three times. The governor would dissolve the EXCO and there would be an announcement that I should remain in office. So, that was how it went for year one, two, three, four, and we kept counting until…

    At a stage, it seemed you were the longest serving attorney general in Nigeria…

    Well, I don’t know about Nigeria, maybe South East and South South. Far there in the North, I know there are some of my friends who spent more than 10 years in office. I know I have a colleague in Yobe State who would have spent almost the same number of years. I also know there was one in Kogi State. But in the South East and South South, most of them spent one or two years. There is a high turnover of Attorneys-General; some within six months of coming into office. To an extent, it was a record that I spent a decade of my life in that seat.

     What was your experience in that office?

    It was a golden opportunity for me to actually get to know the politics of my state, get to feel the pulse of my people, get to be in the executive council where decisions are taken, get to know how politicians actually formulate their policies, how they are executed, their mindset and all that. To a great extent, I must say I was satisfied with some and also disappointed with others, because until you get involved, you would not know the intricacies behind most of the things that happen around you.

    It equally afforded me the opportunity to see the level of incompetence in our system, even in our civil service. You know I was in charge of a ministry for 10 good years. I interacted with the civil servants. I got to know that most of them can hardly perform their duties. In totality, the experience was enriching. I now have a wealth of experience about the way things work, especially in public service; the way government runs. Most times, decisions are not taken objectively. There are so many underlining factors and issues.

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    You know I came from the private sector. I was a lawyer in Lagos, practising. In a place like Lagos, I had to be up by 5 am. If you are going to court, you are off from your residence by 6am. You have to be in court by 8:30 am because the court sits at 9am. Then you come to the public service and by 10 am, most of the offices would still be under lock and key. So, you can see there is a huge difference from your office as a lawyer, because as the head of the chamber, at the end of the month, you must pick the bills. So, you have to be on your feet.

    But back there in public service, people are just there because at the end of the month, there is no yardstick to measure performance and all that, but you will get paid.

    So, to that extent, people just move as if there is nothing at stake. I have tasted both worlds, if I must put it that way. I said it is enriching because I am now better placed to face even my private practice. If I have the opportunity of going into public service again, I will be better placed. I have a wealth of experience.

    Professionally you have got to the apex of your career as a private practice lawyer. Did you set out to achieve this milestone?

    Every professional, I’m sure, would always aspire to get to the peak of his profession. But I know most people would not get to the peak. I started practice in Lagos, and if you know how Lagos is, you can hardly find lazy lawyers there, especially in our days. I started practice in 1986. I was a struggling lawyer and I did my bit. There were models we aspired to emulate, who were in practice. I was in Lagos while the late Chief Rotimi Williams was in practice. I was there when the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi was all over the place. There were quite a number of lawyers like he late Chief G.O.K. Ajayi and others. They were all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). We would meet them in court, watch them advocate, and to that extent, you would want to be like them. So, I had it at the back of my mind that with God on my side, I would get to the apex of the profession, which is being conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    Let me say that my foray into public service was equally of tremendous assistance to me. You see, if you get to the level of being the attorney general of a state, you are the chief law officer of that state. It exposes you to a lot of cases, the contacts you make and all that. Those cases are equally the things that would add up to you. So, if you look at those who are SAN, most of them were at one time or the other attorneys general of their states. By the time you count about 50 SANs, you would be surprised that about 30 of them were at one time or the other attorneys general of their states. This is because of the exposure you get in that office. So, my being the attorney general of Abia State for 10 good years gave me that leap. If I were in practice, who knows what would have happened. I might not have been able to meet the criteria, because there are yardsticks. You do not just wake up and get that conferment.

    I know that in the early years of your career as a lawyer, you floated an NGO that fought for indigent tenants in Lagos. What made you to found the NGO?

    Well, the NGO is not active now. As I speak, we have not been able to revive it. That is one of the prices I had to pay for going into a larger public office. The body was my idea. I founded it between 1988 and 1989 as a young lawyer. That was shortly after I was called to the bar in 1968. I had joined the firm of Chike Okoro and Co, who was my principal then. That gave me the opportunity of going to court to do matters for the firm. I discovered that the courts, most times, were overflowing with landlords/tenants cases. Most times, the tenants had nobody to defend them because they had no money. I saw a lot of injustice being meted to them, because the landlord would always have a lawyer.

    Most times, it was what we called summary trial. They would ask the landlord how many months notice he wanted to give the tenant to move out of the house. He would say one month. Most times, they would ask the tenant and he would say he had no choice other than whatever the landlord wanted. Most of them ended up being given six weeks to vacate the premises. They had kids who were in school. I’m sure you would agree with me that they did that because they were entirely at the mercy of the landlord, and most times, the magistrate adjudicating would also be a landlord. So, they were equally sympathetic to the course of the landlord. I saw it as a helpless situation for the tenants in Lagos and it touched me.

    So, I said we could not leave things the way they were. I called one or two friends and suggested that we should float a body that would give some succour to poor tenants; at least let us render free legal services to them. One of them, David, said it was a good idea. We had a meeting and my office was the secretariat, and we started. We printed handbills and started distributing, asking tenants who had cases to come to us to get free legal services. It was well received by the public. We were trail blazers in that field of advocacy. I can tell you that it was quite a great assistance to indigent tenants. Some of them who had their roof tops removed by wicked landlords had the rooftops restored. We also halted some of what they called Jankara practices then. It was quite another uplifting moment for me that we were able to provide succour to people.

    What was the response of the government to your advocacy?

    The government listened. I remember the Federal Attorney General then, Clement Akpamgbo of blessed memory, gave us audience on the plight of tenants. We met with the authorities in Lagos State and that led to the amendments that they made to the rent edict. You remember the amendment of 1997 and the one preceding it. They were all as a result of efforts made by my body, the TSO. We were household names in Lagos then. People came to us and government listened to us. We were able to draw the attention of the government to the plight of tenants. I am even happy with what is happening in Lagos, because they have made some provisions since then. I know in Lagos you don’t charge more than a year’s rent. Our efforts were not in vain. For several years, I did it, up till the time I left for Abia State.

    I am thinking about which other way I can render service now that I am back to practice. It is still one of the things I want to do. But for now, I am still thinking of the level and the model it would come. It may not just be landlords/tenants; it could be some other forms of assistance to people who need legal services.

    How did your childhood prepare you for the current position of political leadership and legal advocacy?

    I was not born with a silver spoon. Neither did I come from very poor parents. I had a father who was a business man but was struggling. I come from Ohafia. We have that fighting spirit of trying to be the best anywhere we find ourselves. I have always had that at the back of my mind, and as a growing child, I was in Aba, if you know what Aba was then. If you grew up in Aba, one would expect you to be more business inclined than education. No. If you grew up in Aba, one thing you get is street sense, and having that street sense gives us advantage in whatever field of human endeavour we find ourselves. If you are in football, you would be among the best.

    I knew I had no muscles as a young man, and I knew the only way to go was school. I had quite some encouragement from my parents who were not educated but knew the value of education.

    They assisted and encouraged me.  So, to a great extent, I had that fighting spirit and motivating factor. Most importantly, however, I always have the fear of God. I am a very religious person, and I relate with God in my own way. I do my prayers and put my faith in Him, and He has never disappointed me.

    At what point did you decide that you were going to be lawyer?

    When we were living in Aba, at a place called Ogbor Hill, there was this fair complexioned lawyer who lived behind us. I used to see him every day get dressed in his good suit. He was married to a white lady. I have forgotten his name, but I used to admire him. I also had a grandfather, my maternal grandfather. I drew some inspiration from him too because he was a warrant chief. Being a warrant chief, he was in charge of settling cases and all that. He had a title, Okpealabali, meaning the man who atones and gets back late. He was a great traditional jurist and related comfortably with the white men as a warrant chief. He was renowned and very knowledgeable. I grew up under his tutelage at a point and I took after him. People who knew him would tell you. That is why I took that title from Ohafia.

    So, when I saw that lawyer, I said this is actually the way to go. Nobody talked me into becoming a lawyer. It just came naturally. I decided to read Law and God has been faithful.

    What are the key virtues that you think guided your way to the top of your career?

    One thing I must tell you is that I have always had good people around me in form of tutelage. When I started the job as a national youth corps member, I had a law firm, a very busy one too but not very flamboyant. Also my commitment to whatever I am doing. If you know people who know me, they will tell you that I am committed to whatever I make up my mind to do. I put in my best. I don’t get tired. I want to be the best of whatever I do. I equally try to be steadfast and honest in my dealings with people. If I tell you I am going to do something, I will do it.

    When you go along that line with hard work, you are prepared to put in hours to do a job and you are committed to it; you are sincere to the clients that you meet; all the clients I have dealt with in my young age as a lawyer, if you meet them, they will tell you, most of them are still my clients. We have been there for more than 30 years. They have been faithful. Now that I am back to private practice, most of them are returning their files and all that.

    In fact, as I was coming into this office, I got a call from somebody I did a matter for about 27 years ago. More importantly, on top all this is God’s faithfulness. Once He waters your path, you find things going smoothly. That does not mean I have had a smooth sail or there have never been difficulties. But each time there has been trying moments, I have always overcome.

    What moments of your life would you describe as some of the most difficult?

    I had turbulent periods in the course of my service in Abia State. That was the most turbulent. I don’t know if I want to make these things public for now, but they will be contained in my memoir. I am coming out with a memoir. Ten years in an establishment is not 10 days. A lot of things happened to me as a person. I saw intrigues. I saw blackmail. You can see the wickedness of man in most of the things that happened. Most times you are blackmailed. Most times you are misunderstood. There were times you had to go out of your way to defend things that ordinarily you would not have been in a position to defend.

    There were expectations from people. Maybe as a commissioner, people think you have the whole world in your hands; that you can perform magic. Expectations were high. Everybody who is there would want something from you—pay the school fees of their kids because you are an appointee. Some may not even know the constraints that you have. People come to you to get their son or daughter an employment, and all that. They would not know that as a commissioner, you don’t have the power. Friends would ask you for contracts when you don’t have the power to award contracts.

    Sometimes then, when I lay in my bed, I asked myself, how did I get involved in all this? Most times, you cannot explain it. You know I was doing my practice in Lagos and I was quite successful even within the limits of what we were doing then. I had peace of mind. But when you are in politics, every other day is one problem or the other, and they are unending. Most times, you have bosses who may not feel satisfied even when you are doing your best. So, those were actually challenging moments, and I was actually happy when it came to an end temporarily, because for now, I am on sabbatical. What the future holds, I don’t know. But for now, I have relative peace. I am not at anybody’s beck and call. Nobody is after me; I mean political opponents. This is because when you are in politics, you even inherit the opponents of your principal. Even things that you are not privy to, they would say it is you. This happens more when you’ve been on that seat for so long a period like I did.

    What informs your mode of dressing? I know the average Ohafia man likes traditional attires. Does that apply to you?

    It does. In fact, if I were not a lawyer, nobody would see me in suit and tie. For me, I like comfort. I feel comfortable in my traditional wears, especially the type I am wearing now. It is a form of identity, and it is simple Igbo attire. It is only when I am going for official engagements that I put on suit and tie. For me, I must tell you, our weather is not suitable for suit and tie. But I am a lawyer and there is no running away from it.

    How did you meet your wife?

    We met in school. She is a lawyer. We actually got into the university the same year. But she had to change her course from English to law, so she lost one year. She was called to the bar in 1987 while I was called in 1986.

    What are some of the qualities you admire in her?

    Well, she gives me peace at home. I tell every man there is nothing like having a peaceful home. You go back to your place and sleep. There is nothing to compare to that. A man without peace in his home is like one who is in hell. She understands me and we’ve come a long way. We have known for more than 40 years. Those who schooled with us knew from day one.

    Do you have children following in your footsteps?

    Yes, I have two sons. One is already a qualified lawyer. He has been called to the bar. The second one is in his final year in law too. It might interest you to know too that I am a grandfather. I have two grandsons from my daughter.

  • Border closure: Our people now travel to buy 5-litre fuel — Badagry council chair Onilude

    When the Federal Government recently issued an executive order preventing the supply of petroleum products to filling stations located less than 20 kilometres away from Nigeria’s borders with neighbouring countries, not a few people hailed the move as a master stroke in the effort to check the smuggling of fuel across the nation’s international borders. It is, however, not music in the ears of the residents of Nigerian communities located on the border lines, as most of them have to travel longer than the stipulated distance to buy even five litres of petrol to power their generators. To make matters worse, they are often arrested by security agencies on their way back home for smuggling petrol. The Council Chairman of Badagry Local Government Area, Hon. Olusegun Onilude, spoke with VINCENT AKANMODE about the ordeal of border communities’ dwellers in his local government.

     

    YOU have been the chairman of Badagry Local Government Area for two years. How will you describe the experience so far?

    Well, it is a grassroots experience. It is an experience that teaches one how best to deal with people and resources. So it is a worthwhile experience, though it is hectic because it is not easy pleasing human beings. Anybody who wants to put his endurance and acumen to test should go for local government chairmanship.

    Is that you opted for politics at the grassroots while many of your contemporaries are vying for positions at state and federal levels?

    I have always been a grassroots man. I was Education Secretary for Badagry Local Government. By virtue of that position, a lot of people came around and I saw their plights. I was very close to the people at the helm of affairs then. I saw what they were doing and I was convinced within myself that I could add value to Badagry.

    Initially, my thought was about the legislative arm, and that prompted me to come out in 2011 for House of Representatives. But I was not successful. I asked myself, would I be able to touch many people’s lives as a legislator? Yes, in the area of enacting laws that will have a binding effect on everyone, but the direct touch would not be there. As a local government chairman, every day, you receive nothing less than 50 to 100 people. They come and tell you their problems. You try to solve the ones you think are solvable. But it is a daily thing; the problem you solved yesterday is not the one you will solve today. That challenge was what made me to believe that I had something I could contribute. Your people could be your greatest asset if you know how to engage them.

    Badagry happens to be one of the local government areas that host communities at Nigeria’s borders with Benin Republic. Is that an advantage or a challenge?

    Living on the border with Benin Republic is supposed to be an advantage for us, because it ought to be an opportunity to dualise our relationships. You relate with the people on this side and have the opportunity to mix freely with the people on the other side. But that fortune is turning into a very big challenge for our people, especially with the happenings around us now. The closure of the border has become a problem that is better imagined than experienced. Badagry is known for fish and coconut. Our people who are involved in legitimate trade, like those selling coconut, we cannot consume everything they produce. We also cannot convert everything into coconut oil, so we have to sell some of them. But in the process of taking them to the potential buyers, Customs men seize their wares, claiming that they are smuggled products, because they also have coconut in Benin Republic and Ghana. I was with the controller of Seme-Krake border the other time and one of the things he was asking me was to bring our coconut and the one from Ghana to show his the differences between them. It is funny. What I know is that coconut is coconut. I am not a legal person, but I know that instead of allowing an innocent man to suffer, it is better to let go the culprit. That is my understanding of the spirit of the law. But for one to assume that this one must be imported and because of that you deprive the legitimate traders of their rights, it is too bad.

    Besides that, there is this new executive order that disallows supply of fuel to filling stations located less than 20 kilometres away from the border. Even this morning, some of our fishermen were complaining that they cannot even buy fuel in jerry cans for their engine boats. So they are finding it pretty difficult to even fuel their boats. They have said they will come to my office on Monday to discuss the matter. So I have to go back again to the customs, the police, the army and others and tell them that though the laws are there, we don’t have any other place to live. We can’t say because the federal government has issued an executive order we will ask all our men and women to vacate their natural abodes and start living in Lagos. This is our home; we don’t have any other place.

    So living in the border communities has become a very big challenge. We are not finding it easy. Even to light your home now is a problem. How else can we buy fuel than in a jerry can? If they limit the quantity that can be bought, that would have been better. But it is outright cancellation. So, how do I power my generator in a country where we don’t have regular supply of electricity? It calls for concern. My own take on it is that the federal government should have paid more attention to their men at the borders. They should not have allowed all these smuggled things in. All the illegal routes taken by smugglers, they should send their men there to police them instead of subjecting our people to blanket suffering. Indeed, we are suffering in Badagry. We are really suffering.

    In other words, your people are the ones suffering dysentery for the excess sugar consumed by smugglers and dubious law enforcement agents…

    Exactly! It is the effect of the activities of smugglers that is biting hard on us. I personally appreciate the measures taken to curb smuggling. At least that will help us to look inwards and make us producers on our own. But the legitimate traders should not suffer. If you see somebody carrying imported rice and you take it, nobody will complain. If you see them bringing in frozen chicken or turkey, seize it, nobody will talk. But to say we should not buy ordinary 10 litres of fuel to power own generator, it amounts to imposing hardship on us. To say my parents who are coconut sellers should not sell their produce, how do they want me and my other siblings to survive?

    Attention should be directed at the security agencies at the borders to do their jobs the way they should do them. That should curb excesses. If they see me carrying a keg of fuel and I want to cross the border with it, they should seize it. But to buy five or ten-litre fuel within my locality you arrest me that I’m breaching a policy, I’m afraid it is not the best.

    Is the closure of the land borders with Benin Republic also affecting your people?

    Yes. The border town is a market on its own. If you go there at peak hours when things were booming, you would see people coming in, buying and selling. We are not like Ekiti State where there are lots of professors. We are not Zamfara where there are gold deposits. We are not from the Niger Delta where we can do oil bunkering and illegally refine fuel. These are our people and those are the people we trade with. I think what the federal government should do is to sort of liberalise it and find a way the government itself can benefit from the legal businesses rather than say there should not be any form of business, because literally, that is what it translates to. That is where some of our people live and they don’t know any other place. Some of them at the border have not even been to Badagry town before, not to talk of Agbara or Lagos. So what will fetch them a living if the government says they cannot trade?

    Look at somebody who sells ordinary sachet water. For it to sell, he needs power to make it cold. If he cannot get fuel to do that, I wonder. I will not be surprised if soon they start arresting people for carrying imported fish. If coconut can become contraband, then we are getting to that point. A customs officer will call me to come and show the difference between the Tilapia of Badagry and that of the Republic of Benin even when it is the same water that stretches across the two countries. The funny thing is that the people don’t know the difference between the tiers of government. As far as they are concerned, government is government. So when they see some of us in political positions, they say we hope you see the punishment you are giving us? Is this how you want to pay us back for voting for you?

    For somebody who lives around Gbaji and Owode to come to Badagry just to buy five litres of fuel. There are fishermen there who come to Badagry to but 20 litres of petrol to power their boats. Then policemen will see them on the road and arrest them. Everybody from Seme or Owode would not have access to fuel until they come to Badagry town to buy. And when they buy and are returning home, they are arrested.

    What will you regard as your biggest challenges as Badagry Local Government chairman?

    Badagry Local Government being one of the foremost local governments and an indigenous local government for that matter, we are one of the biggest if not the biggest in the state. It is the only local government with 10 wards. Most local governments in Lagos are with four, five or six wards. I think the one that is closest to us is nine. But when you look at the allocation of funds, it does not favour us. Our own infrastructure, being an old local government, is not something to write home about. Most of our infrastructure has decayed.

    What we need most is funds. The formula for allocation does not favour us. The population and the utilities we have around, those are the things they use in allocating funds. Maybe aside Ikorodu, we are one of the poorest paid local governments. But look at our landscape from Seme to Owode and Agbara. You can pick four, five or six other local government areas from it. Even the size of Alimosho I’m sure is not as big as Badagry, although they have the population. But in terms of land mass, I don’t think they can match us. The implication of this is that we have a lot of areas to cover. The focus should be decongesting the urban for the seemingly rural.

    For some of my counterparts, the problem is what they would spend the money on, because most of their structures are relatively new and they don’t even have space to develop again, so, they only do maintenance. But ours here, we have a lot of space to grow and expand but we don’t have the resources. So my appeal is whether it can be done in such a way that certain concessions would be given to the rural to decongest the urban.

    Read Also: Border Closure: Benin must mend its ways with Nigeria, says Obasanjo

     

    On Wednesday, I was going for a meeting and I left Badagry around 11 am. I had linked that Oshodi-Iyana Ipaja-Sango Expressway by 1.30 pm but I couldn’t get to Gen Adeyinka Adebayo Avenue, a distance that should not take up to 20 minutes, until around 7 pm. That is the problem we have with the urban areas. I saw a Daily Times edition of 1978 where they reported that traffic in Lagos had defied solution. This is 2019 but we are still on it. So, something fundamental needs to be done, and in my opinion, the concentration of development, of social amenities, the development of roads and infrastructure is lopsided. So, inadvertently, we are the one creating it. So, if they can start disinvesting in cosmopolitan Lagos for a seemingly rural Epe, inner Ikorodu and Badagry, there may be an end to the problem.

    Alternatively, the rail should become functional. The light rail, if they had done it during the time of Jakande, maybe we would not be where we are now. The other day I wanted to see one of my leaders at Ajegunle. I started considering the traffic. I chose to go through the lagoon, and in one hour five minutes I was there. By the time I called my driver who drove the car, he said, ‘Oga, are you not going again?’ I told him I had returned and he was shocked. So, government should do more in the area of water transportation. The state government is trying to do something in this regard. But they should do more regulation.

    What would you say you have achieved as the chairman of Badagry Local Government?

    Of course, we have done a lot. We have built schools. We’ve done LA Primary School Keta West at Gberefu. We’ve done LA Primary School Iyaafin. We are in the process of fixing LA Primary School Ajido. We are making desks and benches for the pupils. We bought GCE forms for indigent students. I feel very happy when some of them call me or text their results to me. There was a man that did not even go to secondary school but he was studying at home. He studied up to the level he was supposed to sit for GCE but he could not afford the forms. We bought him the form, and when the result came, he made seven credits, including English and Mathematics. We trained them, organizing extramural classes for them. We also organize Spelling Bee and other programmes for the students. We do exercise books for them too.

    On roads, we did a road of about 800 metres at the Ajara-Sunny Ajose and other adjoining roads. The streets were lighted too with a generator to power the light. We did Agakanme Road in Badagry town. Presently, the Agric-Salu Road, we are fixing the drainages. In the area of health, we always participate in all the federal government immunization programmes. On our own, we have organised many eye screening, sugar and BP tests and we give them the medicines. We do this quarterly. Aside that, we are renovating our health centres. Presently, what we call the flagship at Ajara is undergoing renovation. We are equally putting a touch to Etopo Health Centre.

    We organise sporting activities like football for the youth. One is currently going on. On general infrastructure, we are trying to put our international motor park in proper shape. That place was built by Hon. Kiki of blessed memory when he was the local government chairman between 1991 and 1993.  The condition had become highly deplorable. We have almost finished it. In the area of markets, we have transformed Ikoga Market. It was an ancient market whose structures had become moribund. It is now a modern market. At the Badagry Roundabout, the structure built by Hon. Kiki is aged, so we are rebuilding it. We are about starting a road in Ikoga too to ease transportation. Presently, we have a customary court in Badagry. It is an ancient building, so we demolished the structure that was weak and almost falling. Although some people wonder why we would demolish such a historical structure, my own position is that even the Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem we visit, the structures are not the ones left behind by Jesus Christ and Mohammed, yet people are still going there. The city hall in Lagos is no longer in its original shape. We need to develop.

    By the grace of God, next year, the Badagry Town Hall too will get a face lift, but the current shape will be retained so that the people that come after us know that this is how it has always looked. In the area of empowerment, we do it almost regularly. And there are categories. For somebody who cannot even feed at all, if you give him or her N5000, it is a lot of money. If you go to the market, you would see somebody who came to sell cocoyam but the worth of the whole cocoyam may not be up to N1,000. Somebody who sells pure water will be very happy with a thousand naira or two. Some of them don’t even have money to buy, so they are given the pure water to sell and bring back the money after taking their commission. For such category of people, we package food items and put N5,000 on it. That N5,000, to them, it is a big thing. So, when some people ask what N5000 can do in the life of a person, it depends on the level the person is. If he or she is at the bottom rock, it could mean a lot.  Somebody who wants to sell pure water, two bags is okay for him to begin with. Why we attach food to it is that we don’t want that person to spend the money on food.

    We also look at the people in businesses and assist them accordingly. We give sewing machines to those who are tailors, for instance. We give hairdressers hairdressing equipment. We give out pepper grinding machines and give refrigerators to those who are selling fish, and so on. Those who are into farming, we give them fertilizer, sprayers, seedlings and some other things.

    In the next level, we want to look at the poorest of the poor within the community. There is a man I call my friend. He told me that since he was born, he has never slept on a mattress. He said his roof is leaking and his mat is wet. To that person, if you give fridge or pepper grinding machine, he could sell it to meet his immediate needs. So, we have set up a committee to identify people like that so that we give them funds. Or in the case of someone like that my friend, we look into fixing his house, getting him a mattress and little fund for him to move on. We want to look into giving people we know are into petty businesses about N100,000 or N200,000 so that they can boost their trades.

    It has become a regular thing to send our staff on training even abroad, probably because I am coming from the field education. We take training very seriously. Our political office holders and management staff, we have bought official vehicles for all of them to ease movement. We even plan to have a school bus for pupils. Maybe because I am a teacher, I feel bad when I see school pupils around 9 am still looking for okada (commercial motorcycle) to take them to school. It means the pupil has already missed the first two periods. We want to ease their movements by getting a bus next year to convey them to and fro.

  • Girls…girls…girls…Stop aborting great destinies!!!

    MY darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian sisters,

    I keep receiving messages from pregnant girls over and over again telling me they want to go for an abortion as they can’t cope with the pain and trauma that would come with the pregnancy! After convincing them not to terminate the pregnancy, they come back and tell me they just had an abortion!  Like they just took paracetamol to cure their head-ache! Do these types of girls ever think of the future? Do they have any conscience at all? When I emphasize the importance of sexual purity, a good number of you send me wonderful messages thanking me for “saving your lives,” only for some of you huge fans to turn your backs against my counsels!

    Here’s what one of my mentees sent to me after I encouraged her to keep another pregnancy to no avail! She wasn’t even sure who’s it was at first!  Read her-

    “He gave me native medicine to drink and told me that it makes pregnant women to strong and healthy. I took the medicine and after a short while, I began feeling excruciating pains in my stomach such that I couldn’t even walk. Before I knew it, I was bleeding and he drove me to Maitama hospital! When we got there, I was given an injection and 3 drips (intravenous fluid) then my system became calm. After the third one, some sharp instruments that looked like iron and scissors were inserted in me to bring out blood from my body. That’s how I aborted it ma.”

    Lord have mercy! A man got you cheaply to have sex with him and had the guts to convince you to take a concoction that terminated the pregnancy you were carrying! What is this world turning into? Does he think he would get away with it? Hmm…girls…girls…girls (shaking my head)!

    I have an aunty whose flower girl I was in 1995 and till today she’s still SEARCHING for a child in her 50’s. Most times I see her, she’s coming from church, and she’s been to all the prayer mountains, yet not one single conception in the last 24 years! I have seen some of world’s most beautiful and fantastically accomplished women cry in pain and do unimaginable things just to conceive to no avail! Can you now imagine a young lady who won’t stop sleeping around (even after several admonitions) getting pregnant, informing me and after telling her not to commit another abortion, she writes me “Mummy, I terminated the pregnancy today-my boyfriend gave me something to drink…”

    I’m sorry girl but I think you have a big problem and can only pray God would have mercy on you before you destroy yourself! That was not your first abortion and you won’t stop messing around! HOW CAN YOU BE POPPING PREGNANCIES LIKE BALLOONS? A WHOLE CHILD?

    Girls…girls…girls, if you’re so determined to terminate a pregnancy and wouldn’t take to my counsel, please don’t ever inform me! It’s your choice but please for my sanity’s sake-I don’t want to know! I’ve experienced this from 2 ladies in 1 month! It’s cruel and horrifying! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

    Abortion is a sin of great magnitude in the eyes of God because it entails the shedding of human life, innocent blood, a destiny and carries its consequences. Also, who knows what special assignment the terminated child was sent to carry out in the world? Perhaps a prophet sent to save his generation. King Solomon was a product of adultery, Apostle Paul’s young protege- Timothy was commended for his great kingdom works in the bible but his father was never mentioned, his grandmother- Lois and mother- Eunice were mentioned! Who knows how he got into the world? IF YOU DON’T WANT TO FIND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION YOU CAN’T HANDLE, WHY FORNICATE? What values would you give your children in future if your wombs are still intact?

    I pity a lot of girls who terminate pregnancies; they can’t all get away with it. DO YOU KNOW THE TYPE OF PAIN BARREN WOMEN GO THROUGH? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY CHILDREN YOU’RE DESTINED TO HAVE? STOP IT, STOP IT, PLEASE STOP IT IN GOD’S NAME!

    May God surprise every woman looking for the fruit of the womb before the end of this year! May we not lose our children and may god arrest the hearts of our girls, may they not suffer barrenness in Jesus name!

     

    • I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO Instagram @ Okeowo Temilolu.
  • JENNIFER UMEH: Social Media is a great tool

    JENNIFER UMEH: Social Media is a great tool

    Jennifer “Blinky Blinky” is a story of courage, and determination that always results in victory. In this interview with Adeyinka Akintunde, the 23-year-old graduate of The Federal Polytechnic, Offa tells her story of Blinky Collections, her struggles with domestic violence and her dreams for girls and young women.

     

    YOU are into a big project at a very young age, what motivates you? Do you sometimes feel discouraged or not?

    I have been pushing since I was out of secondary school. Hustling has become a lifestyle. It is something I have been doing all my life; from selling newspapers in front the school gate to publishing my own magazine. I also published a book at 100 level. I have sold fruit salad in different offices on campus too. There are times when I wanted to give up on several occasions but when I look at what I have been through, I had no choice than to keep moving.

    What has been your major challenge, so far?

    My biggest challenge so far is not having the necessary machine for advanced printing. But I am saving up to be able to buy all the necessary machines I need to advance my printing career.

    You also have an NGO. Tell us about it. 

    I started a non-profit organisation called Hope for African Girls Initiative in 2016 to transform the lives of marginalised community girls through quality education and empowerment.

    We have a duty to promote creative learning by providing platforms for girls and young women to explore and develop their innovative ideas.

    Since inception, we have been able to groom young women to be responsible citizens who can actively participate and communicate with the world in a spirit of compassion.

    Our mission is to foster an educated and compassionate new generation of young African girls who will use their education to improve their lives, help their country and contribute to the world to help maintain peace and prosperity for all.

    Who is Jennifer “Blinky Blinky”? 

    I am Jennifer Umeh, a graduate of Mass communication from The Federal Polytechnic Offa. I am also the pioneer of Hope for African Girls Initiative (HAGi), an organisation founded to educate girls to be empowered enough to stand up for themselves and to discover their self-identity through quality education and empowerment. I am also the founder of a fast-growing clothing brand that has received massive support from Nigerians on social media since inception. This vision was borne out of my bullying experience as an undergraduate.

    BlinkyCollections was the result of me being relentlessly bullied for my eye sight, because I blink frequently when I speak. My brand name means to me that it does not matter what other people think about me. It is what I think about myself and I will not let anybody tell shut me down. The bullying has not stopped. It goes on each day on social media from same set of people. This has not worn me down; instead it is a motivation to me.

    How did the bullying start?

    The bullying started in school when I stood for what was right. When I got bullied then, I did nothing but most times I developed mood swings. I played and pretended as if the name calling was not affecting me in class, but when I get home from school. I cried my eyes out.

    How did you overcome bullying?

    My facebook friends helped me. They kept telling me powerful words and giving me different illustrations of how great the name Blinky would be when turned into a brand name. When my bullies started messing with me, I shared my experience on my Facebook wall updating my friends what was going on. I am really thankful to my Facebook friends. They are my number one fans.

    What’s your latest campaign against bullying?

    My latest campaign against bullying was using my T-shirt to send a message to the world. With the inscriptions (Blink Against Bullying, Bullying ends with me, You are beautiful just the way you are).

    Have you taken any steps against it; what is your message to bullies out there?

    I took some legal step recently. The bullying has graduated to the next level. I get bullied everyday by same people. This time it has resulted to cyber bullying. Taking my pictures and writing terrible things about me and posting on social media. I was recently attacked too on my way back from work.

    But recently two of them had reached out to me to apologise. I reached out to my legal adviser to tell him. He said I should be careful and be on the lookout for them. The apology might be a setup to be able to carry out another attack on me. But till then I am looking out to know if the apology is actually real or not.

    Where do we see Jennifer in the next five years, professionally?

    In five years, I want to be able to get bigger contract from big companies and organisations. I want to own a fashion house, where I can print all kind of T-shirts, polos, hoodies with no restrictions. I want to be able to collaborate with big organisations to help champion the war against bullying by making different designs of beautiful T-shirts that people can order on our website and rock to promote the fight against bullying.