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Tag: 2015

  • Talents to watch in 2015

    Talents to watch in 2015

    At last, the world has said goodbye to 2014. But just like in every sphere of life, the music industry has thrown up amazing talents last year. The works by some of these singers, we believe will continue to rule the air waves in 2015.

    PATORANKING: This dance hall artiste is perhaps the biggest prospect witnessed in the Nigerian music sphere in 2014, when he recorded and released his single, Alubarika ft Timaya.

    The success of Alubarika was soon followed by another smash hit single, Girlie o, which later featured Tiwa Savage in the remix. Patoranking soon found his way to music lovers’ hearts, both home and abroad, as they kept demanding for more. Interestingly, he gave a double response to their yearnings with Early Momo and Happy Day. With a unique voice that brings life to any reggae dance hall beat, he jumps on, couple with his uncanny ability to ink lyrics that cut across demographics, as well as the multiple collaborations he has had the previous year.  2015 will surely give this young star a listening ear.

    YEMI ALADE

    In showbiz, it is said that sex sells, and if this is so, then Yemi Alade has no fear to aim high in 2015.

    A look at the songstress on stage, one will clearly see a sexy vocalist, dancer and an all-round entertainer who blossomed in 2014 and who is ready to take her game to the next level.

    For years, after emerging winner at Peak Talent hunt, Yemi struggled to find her rhythm until she found a blend of high life and Makosa with which she delivered  intoxicating tracks such as Johnnie and kissing, produced by Sele Bobo.

    With her reported hard work, captivating voice, her breathtaking dance steps, the singer may be one of the queens that will rule Nigerian music in 2015

    CYNTHIA MORGAN

    There seems to be a direct connection between Cythia’s change of skin complexion and her fortunes in the music industry. Before travelling to the United States, the dark-skinned singer did burst into the music scene, featuring in Jhybo’s Run their mouth, upon her return from the U.S., Cynthia wasted no time in making a statement with the release of Break my heart, and soon followed it up with the release of Am Taken. Signed to North Side Records, a label owned by P-Square’s elder brother and manager, Jude Okoye, Cynthia, it appears, will not lack the necessary muscle to race up the ladder in the music scene in 2015, giving her great understanding of reggae dance hall and her flexibility of singing and rapping effortlessly.

    HARRYSONG SONG

    Success for Five Star Music act, Harrysong, looks as certain as the rising of the morning sun, giving his talents as a music producer, multi  instrumentalist and vocalist.

    For years, Harrysong looked the under achiever in the Nigerian music industry but that tagged soon changed when he wrote the ground-breaking hit single Limpopo for KC.  Harrysong further enhanced his status as an authentic talent when he recorded the hit caller tune-Mandela for telecommunications company, MTN, as tribute to the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela.

    The successes of the aforementioned coupled with the release of Better Pikin and Kolombo   are likely to impact Harrysong musical fortunes in 2015.

    ORITSE FEMI

    Going by the popular saying that ‘everything has got its time and season’, Oritse Femi’s journey into music has been filled with twists and turns. He has always been a constant figure in the scene, but his songs have always been minor hits up until the period he released Better for every man, a song that touched  the core of human existence and hence the popularity of the track. He soon followed that up with Fela Anikulapo’s inspired track Double Wahala. After this, the story changed for the better for the artiste who soon began rocking music stages across the world.

    The confidence he has drawn from his recent success will definitely serve as a spring board for Oritse Femi to do bigger things next year.

  • Fashion designers to watch in 2015

    WE can’t start the New Year without mentioning some of the fashion designers who will set the pace in 2015.

    The fact remains that the story of the fast-growing fashion industry is not complete without the contributions of these designers whose works are winning the respect and admiration of fashion stakeholders at home and abroad.

    Nigeria has its share of talent in the ever-changing fashion industry. Here are just a few designers that are helping keep Nigeria on the map in the world of fashion.

    Deola Ade-Ojo of Deola (Formerly DS)

    THERE is no denying the fact that Madam Deola is one of the highly talented fashion designers who churn out amazing styles all year round.

    The creative director of Deola, popularly referred to as the designer to the rich and famous, stepped on to the then very young fashion industry in Nigeria in twenty five years ago with pieces that instantly caught on with women because they were created to be visually stunning, distinctive with painstaking attention to detail.

    Her custom made designs for her clients and models are each one made to fit the wearer’s personality and body type.

    She is known for her limited and unique designs and creating fashion items of timeless style attitude.

    Folake Coker of  Tiffany Amber

    FOLAKE COKER of Tiffany Amber broke into the fashion scene and took the fashion community by pleasant storm. She sparked a new revolution in the fashion industry some years ago.

    She made a name by churning out fantastic designs. For years, Tiffany Amber has collaborated with both local and international designers.

    Folake has sculpted quite a personal style for herself since appearing on the fashion scene.

    Ohimai Atafo of  Mai Atafo inspired

    THIS award-winning Nigerian male designer, Mai Atafo, is a Nigerian bespoke fashion tailor. He caught the attention of the fashion industry for the creation of his brand, Mai Atafo Inspired.

    With over a decade experience in the fashion industry, Ohimai is arguably the number one clothing line for evening, bridal and runway outfits.

    With a vision to be ranked among the best in the world and the very best in Africa, Ohimai boasts a large number of celebrity figures in Nigeria.

    He has really come a long way. He has received much acclaim for his iconic evening designers which have been seen on notable fashionistas and Funke Akindele’s wedding gown.

    Kunbi Oyelese of  April by Kunbi

    IMAGINATIVE designer, Kunbi, knows the ABC of the fashion industry. The red carpet look designer has carved out a niche for herself. Kunbi worked mainly with high quality and exquisite fabrics, showcasing the beauty of chord, chiffon, satin, etc.

    She uses quality, vibrant and shimmery fabrics together with other mixture of fabrics and accessories to produce eccentric designs that are her signature.

    Almost all the ladies of style have two or more of her designs in their wardrobe.

    Kunbi is one lady who’s changing the way we look at the African fashion designer.  She is one of the most-sough-after designers in Nigeria.

    Lanre Dasilva-Ajayi  of LDA

    AS she is well known, Lanre is one of the Nigeria’s foremost fashion designers that have being rocking the fashion scene for some years now with glamorous regal outfits.

    Talented Lanre woke us from our slumber a few years ago to the world of classic, vintage and Victorian inspired outfits.

    She started the vintage style re-awakening. And a fashion expert says  her collections are distinguished by a diverse fusion of art and history.

    With many nostalgic elements reminiscent of the 50s and 60s, yet simultaneously modern and appealing to the contemporary woman.

    Ejiro Amos Tafiri

    EJIRO AMOS TAFIRI is one of the fastest growing brands in the Nigerian fashion industry, having stormed the fashion world after emerging the best student from the Arts and Garment Technology Department of Yaba College of Technology in 2009.

    She had the honour of designing for top fashion labels before setting up her own.

    That she draws inspiration from a myriad of sources is evident in her skilful blending of styles, textures and fabrics from around the globe.

    Her designs rocked on and off the fashion runway in 2014 both locally and internationally.

  • 2015 through the crystal ball

    FORTUNE-telling is not for ordinary mortals. It is for men who are schooled in the art of looking into the seeds of time to tell which grains will grow and which will not as the witches did to Macbeth in the Shakespeare play of the same name on his return from battle with Banquo. The witches predicted that Macbeth will be king, but had no message for Banquo until he challenged them to use their power to look into the future for him. They did before they vanished right before the eyes of both men.

    Their disappearance provoked an argument between Macbeth and Banquo on what the witches told them. As it was then, so it is today. Like Macbeth, many today believe in the power of seers, who go by many funny names nowadays. Those who believe in them can swear by them. They take what these seers tell them as the gospel truth, which must come to pass.

    So, they go to any length to ensure that predictions concerning them are fulfilled. In ensuring the fulfilment of these predictions, they are ready to kill, if need be. Seers play on the gullibility of their clients. They know that people want to be told about nice things that would happen to them and would also do anything to avert evil. So, our soothsayers cash in on this to fleece their clients. But to them, it is all good business.

    This is the time of year that business used to boom for them in the past. Parapsychologists were the darling of the media in the not too distant past. In those halcyon days, newspapers devoted a lot of space to capture what they have to say about the incoming year. Their predictions border on the good, the bad and the ugly. For the nation, institution and individuals, especially the affluent and influential among them, they are one or two messages for them. So, as 2015 dawns today, we will gaze into the crystal ball to see what the year has in store for our dear country. Will it be a year to remember for good or for ill?

    As the year begins, with as usual, prayers across the country, our utmost wish should be for a peaceful Nigeria where equity, justice and fair play reign. 2015 is a critical year. It is the year of crucial elections. Many are afraid that the elections will be a do or die, but it is heartening that President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking reelection, has been assuring Nigerians that he is not ready to shed blood in order to return to office.

    It is heartwarming that such statement is coming from him, but he has to call his loyalists to order. The President may mean well in his desire for a free and fair poll, but can we say the same of his followers, some of whom are already seeing him as winner of the February 14 election? The President has much work to do to ensure that the impending elections do not split the country. As President and Commander-in-Chief, he is the de facto and de jure leader of the country. The buck stops at his table.

    To ensure that there is no rancour during the elections, he must tell his men, who are spilling bile, to apply the brakes in order not to overheat the polity. We should be spared such statements as ‘’in 2015, it is either goodluck or bad luck’’. Such inciting pun on the President’s name is uncalled for. It will be to Jonathan’s eternal glory if Nigeria comes out of the elections still united. At least, the so-called experts on Sub-Sahara Africa, who expressed fear that the country may break up in 2015 if we do not get things right, will come to see that their fear was needless after all.

    If the elections do not break the country, what about the Boko Haram monster? We have been battling the menace without success in the past five years. Rather than being tamed, the monster keeps growing, threatening the social fabric of the country. Boko Haram strikes virtually every day in the Northeast, killing and maiming. Gombe and Bauchi states, which were hitherto considered safe in the Northeast, are now facing the heat from Boko Haram. These states and Abuja harbour many of those displaced by the sect from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    With Bauchi and Gombe now feeling the brunt of Boko Haram insurgency, the entire Northeast has come under siege. The Jonathan administration must address the problem in 2015. It can no longer afford to sit on its hand over this matter. Enough of looking for an easy way out of a problem, which requires thinking outside the box. There is nothing that portrayed the government’s lack of seriousness in ending the insurgency than the calibre of boys that milked it of millions of dollars.

    Where were our security agents when these boys were running rings round top government officials, collecting money from them under the guise of getting the Boko Haram leadership to ceasefire? The government fell for the scam by announcing a ceasefire that never was. Today, they are holding those boys as criminals when those that should be arrested are our security operatives who failed to do real intelligence work when it mattered most.

    And how can we forget the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls who have been in Boko Haram enclave since April 15. Will the government bring back our girls this year? These girls have suffered enough and we cannot continue to go on with life as if everything is okay. Things are bad, extremely bad. As the mother of one of the girls put it during an interview with the Cable News Network (CNN) shortly before Christmas, ‘’it’s a bad Christmas’’. It may end up being a bad year if at the end of 2015, these girls are still in captivity. Happy New Year, Nigeria.

  • My wish list for 2015

    If you’re reading this it means you’ve ‘crossed over’ into 2015. Welcome to 2015, the year doomsayers predict Nigeria will cease to exist. They often base their “prediction” on the 17-page summary of a one-day conference of ‘US experts on Africa’ convened in January 2005 and sponsored by the United States of America’s National Intelligence Council to discuss likely trends in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next 15 years. This document titled, ‘Mapping Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future’ is freely available on the Internet http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/nic/africa_future.pdf.

    In its “Downside Risks” section the report said: “The most important would be the outright collapse of Nigeria(emphasis included). While currently Nigeria’s leaders are locked in a bad marriage that all dislike but dare not leave, there are possibilities that coulddisrupt the precarious equilibrium in Abuja. The most important would be a junior officer coup that coulddestabilize the country to the extent that open warfare breaks out in many places in a sustainedmanner. If Nigeria were to become a failedstate, it could drag down a large part of the West African region. Even state failure in small countries such as Liberia has the effect of destabilizing entire neighborhoods. If millions were to flee a collapsed Nigeria, the surrounding countries, up to andincluding Ghana, would be destabilized. Further, a failedNigeria probably couldnot be reconstitutedfor many years – if ever – and not without massive international assistance.”

    If you’re a Nigerian who lived through the famous June 12 crises and the Abacha years you must have trained your nerves to relax and know that “God is a Nigerian” as a popular saying goes. That saying emanated from the dramatic way the Abacha issue was resolved. Just when Nigerians threw up their hands in helpless despondency waiting for what befell other African countries to start emanating, Abacha died a sudden death! For once, we saw Nigerians “disrespecting the dead” by pouring into the street to jubilate.

    But some would say the dynamics of the present state of the nation is totally different from the Abacha years, that we have never been more divided than now and that the level of religious and ethnic distrust is on an all-time high. To add to our woes, we have an insurgency that has gotten out of hand. This is the scenario as Nigeria will be holding one of the most hotly contested elections this country has seen in recent times next month.

    Five years after the NIC’s report, McKinsey and Company released its own forecast on the potentials of African economies – including Nigeria – and how they will grow by 2020.Titled “Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies” and released in June 2010, it pointed out that future economic growth will be supported by Africa’s increasing ties to the global economy.Rising demand for commodities will drive buyers around the world to pay dearly for Africa’s natural riches and to forge new types of partnerships with producers.

    In another report released in July 2014, the company noted that despite our ongoing struggles with terrorism and poverty, oil and gas will remain critical sources of government income and of exports;however, Agriculture and trade are larger and faster growing. It “believe that Nigeria can build on the momentum of the past decade and, if all goes well, achieve 7.1 percent annual GDP growth through 2030. The country is well positioned to benefit from trends such as rising demand from emerging economies, growing global demand for resources, and the spread of the digital economy. Nigeria also has a young and rapidly growing population and an advantageous geographic location in West Africa, which enables trade within the continent, as well as with Europe and North and South America.”

    McKinsey and Company concludes its report with this: “If Nigeria can achieve the upside economic-growth scenario, it could lift 70 million people out of poverty…To tie growth to rising living standards across the economy, the country will have to raise farm incomes and create more formal urban jobs…The most important step that government can take, in our analysis, is to improve its delivery of programs and services. A critical initiative for Nigeria, then, will be to adopt the best practices that have been well established around the world for doing just that.”

    I have presented two reports here; one negative and the other positive. So how come many Nigerians believe the report of a potential breakup and not that of economic rejuvenation that has the potentials of lifting a substantial portion of the population from poverty? Recollect that some analysts predicted chaos and violence in the 2014 Ekiti and Osun state elections. They were proven wrong as the elections came and went without major incidences.

    There is no doubt that we live in perilous times and the clouds may look hazy following hate speeches and threat from certain characters who do not wish the country well, but my take is that the elections will come and go and Nigeria will remain. I’m glad that most Nigerians are beginning to see beyond religion and ethnicity because we now know that these are not our real problems.

    Our youths want jobs; millions living in poverty want to come out of it, thousands’ travelling to India to access health facilities would wish to assess same here; we all want to see a vibrant and diversified economy, we want to see an education system that would provide solutions to the myriad of challenges we face, and we want to see our varsities compete favourably on the global scene once more. Religion and ethnicity – as far as I’m concerned – will not make these and many more happen.

    First on my wish list for 2015 is to witness a free, fair and credible elections and for the losers to congratulate winners. Even though we still have a small minority that see things from the prism of religion and ethnicity, I wish to see how the two major parties – the APC and PDP – will tackle the security question, end insurgency and how the parents of the close to 300 abducted Chibok girls will get their daughters back.

    The critical roles of INEC and the security forces in the conduct of credible and violence-free elections cannot be over emphasised. When INEC officials arrive polling centres on time and with adequate materials, conduct elections in open and transparent manner and tally results accurately – as it did commendably in Ekiti and Osun states last year – it is easier for losers to come to terms with, and accept, their loss. I pray they repeat the feat.

    Next on my wish list is for our public universities to compete on a global plane, and for us to promote undergraduate teaching that match global standard, produce research that solves problems, encourage faculty to be part of a global academy where research and productivity are measured in qualitative ways. I also wish we could bring back the Nigerian varsities that produced the likes of Wole Soyinka, Late Chinua Achebe, Ola Rotimi, J.P Clark, late Bala Yusuf, Obaro Ikime, Eskor Toyo, Emmanuel Alayande and a host of Nigerian intellectuals who first “cut their teeth” in Nigerian varsities before proceeding abroad for further degrees.

    This might be a tall order now because we cannot separate the diminution of our public universities from the degradation of the public sector and the recycling of inept and visionless leaders across board. If the quality of leadership is mediocre, its vision and instructions will be severely limiting. If elite behaviour is morally bankrupt, its value will affect everything the institutions do. This however is not an impossible wish as we have the opportunity to choose leaders we believe have potentials of at least putting us on the right track once again.

    I wish to see our leaders follow the developmental states of Asia who devote a substantial share of national revenue to funding education; some even surpass the 26 per cent stipulated by UNESCO. I desire that our public universities are repositioned to take their rightful place in the knowledge economy especiallyin the training and remuneration of teachers. I wish we can adopt the Japanese model where graduate teachers are the best paid public servants.

    These would suffice for now.

  • Towards peaceful 2015 elections

    Towards peaceful 2015 elections

    Members of Liberty Chamber, a students’ group at the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have held a public lecture on security agencies’ role in the forthcoming general elections. TOYIN ALI (300-Level Law) reports.

    What is the role of security agencies in ensuring a violence-free general election? This was the thrust of discussion at a public lecture organised by Liberty Chambers, a students’ group at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

    The lecture with the theme: Security agencies and the management of electoral violence in Nigeria: Lessons for 2015 general election was held in honour of Mr Kolapo Aliyu Abdulkadir, a lawyer and Deputy Registrar at the National Maritime Authority.

    While declaring the event opened, the faculty’s Dean, Dr Yusuf Arowosaye, extolled the honoree’s virtues for his professionalism, which he said made him to become an authority in maritime law and administration.

    The dean praised members of the Liberty Chamber for charting the course for what he called “intellectual discussion” on how the election would be successful and free of controversy.

    The guest lecturer, Dr Adegboyega Kareem of the Institute for Security Studies in Lagos, said the conduct of security agents would determine whether the 2015 general elections would be peaceful, stressing that security agents must shun partisanship in order not to derail the democracy.

    He said: “As the 2015 elections draw closer, it is expected that the security agencies define their responsibilities and prevent, intercept and control electoral violence. Their conduct and loyalty to the constitution would contribute to the sustenance of democracy in the country.”

    While canvassing for a free and credible process, Kareem urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use technology to conduct the elections. He said INEC should deploy electronic gadgets, such as video recorder to monitor campaign rallies, parties’ conventions and distribution of electoral materials during the elections.

    “These electronic gadgets would assist the INEC to prosecute violators of the numerous extant laws governing the elections as well as bring about orderliness in the process,” he added.

    The lecture was followed by the launch of Advocatus, a magazine published by staff and students of the faculty. While launching the magazine, Abdulkadir donated N100,000 in addition to other gift items given to the students.

    The honoree was presented an award for his contribution to the development of maritime law.

    Some students, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, praised the chamber for the event, describing it as “intellectual exercise”.

    Ali Ibrahim, a 200-Law student, said: “I am very proud to be part of this excellent team in the school. As this would be the first time a chamber of the faculty would produce a magazine.”

    Sodik Kolapo, also in 200-Level Law, described the event as unprecedented, saying it took determination and hard work to hold such event.

    In his remarks, the chamber’s president, Bamigbola Jimoh, a 400-Level Law student, thanked the honoree for personally attending the event, saying: “Your name will continue to tread in the foot print of humanity.”

    The event, held in the newly commissioned Faculty of Art Lecture Theatre, was attended by guests from within and outside the campus.

  • 2015: Tompolo meets with Olu of Warri, 11 Urhobo monarchs

    2015: Tompolo meets with Olu of Warri, 11 Urhobo monarchs

    Former Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) leader Chief Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) yesterday went on a peace mission to aggrieved ethnic groups in Delta State.

    The move is said to be part of the plan to shore up the thinning support for President Goodluck Jonathan and other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Delta State.

    The meeting, it was learnt, followed the announcement of Tompolo’s anointed candidate and cousin, Chief Kingsley Otuaro, as the running mate to Delta State PDP candidate Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.

    Our correspondent learnt that Tompolo met with the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II and 11 Urhobo monarchs in Delta Central Senatorial District.

    A source at the palace of the Olu of Warri, who spoke in confidence, said: “It is true. Tompolo came here today (Tuesday) and he indeed met with the Olu and notable members of the Warri Traditional Council. The meeting lasted about five hours.”

    Tompolo had met with several notable Urhobo monarchs at the palace of the Ovie of Idjere Kingdom in Jesse, Ethiope West Local Government Area.

    A prominent political leader in the area, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said those at the meeting included: the Ovie of Uvwie, HRM Abe I; the Ovie of Mosogar, HRM Samson Okirhiobo; his counterparts from Oghara, HRM Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, Uku–Ogharaname, Orefe III and the host monarch, the Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, Erhiekevwe 1.

    The source said: “The traditional rulers of Abraka clans and the Ovie of Agbarho-Otor were also present at the meeting. The kernel of discussion was the need to support President Jonathan’s re-election and the success of the PDP candidate in Delta, Dr Okowa.”

    Delta PDP has been hit by a series of crisis.

    Specifically, the Itsekiri are unhappy with the President over the abortion of the November groundbreaking ceremony of the $16 billion Delta Gas City Project at Ogidigben, Warri South West Local Government Area.

    Ironically, the abortion of the ceremony was blamed on Tompolo’s alleged threat and demand of his Gbaramatu kinsmen on the project’s name, among others.

    A source at the Olu’s palace (Aghofen) in Warri said the former warlord explained his alleged role in the EPZ crisis and appealed to the monarch to support President Jonathan and other PDP candidates.

    “He told the monarch that he (Tompolo) was his (Olu’s) son. He begged him not to rely on hearsay on issues concerning him. He begged the Olu to try to hear his side of any story on issues concerning Ijaw/Itsekiri relationship,” the source added.

     

  • 2015: Nigeria’s year of decision

    2015: Nigeria’s year of decision

    Year 2015 is a desicive year. It is a year that will determine the hopes and aspirations of millions of Nigerians, young and old and even, generation yet unborn. It is a golden opportunity for our political leaders to decide for the majority, whether we are going to fulfill the American prophecy that Nigeria’ existence may be terminated or we shall throw such prophecy into the trash can.

    The situation in Nigeria today is not rosy, but we cannot continue to lament over the economic downturn,  insecurity of lives and property, mass youth unemployment, poor infrastructure, haphazard educational policy and poor power supply to sustain industries. What needs to be done is to review our political leaders’ efforts in the last 15 years and x-ray the opportunities they have had to better our lots, and do a comparative analysis of the missed opportunities and look ahead to attempt at correcting the wrongs of the past.

    According to John F. Kennedy: “ Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past; let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

    Our responsibility therefore will be to put a round peg in a round hole. We have arrived at a point where ethnic consideration must be jettisoned for merit. We must drop the campaign on the platform of religion for the factor that will not only save our much-fought-for democracy, but our nation from total disintegration. We as a people must recruit men and women of timber and calibre;  men that office cannot buy nor wealth corrupt, statesmen that the nation needs in order to get out of the present economic mess and insecurity that is currently overwhelming the military.

    “We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last,” says J. Kennedy. “That power is the power of the electorate”.  As February 2015 approaches,  we must come out and use the power that the powerless majority has over the powerful minority that are our representatives in various political offices. From the office of the President to that of the state House of Assembly,  we must vote only for the best in an hour and times like this.

    Boko Haram insurgency that has eliminated thousands of innocent people, and  displaced millions in the North-east calls for concerted effort  among all Nigerians. Our neighbouring countries are today living in fear and apprehension,  just as we are. Our internal insecurity has now snowballed into regional insecurity. We must keep reaching out to our neighbours in the sub region that we need them to secure our boders. World peace, Kennedy said is “like community peace, that does not require that each man loves his neighbour; it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals,  does not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbours. “ For instance, Ife and Modakeke in Osun State fought themselves for several years. Today, they are harmoniously living together under the dynamic Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Before then, who would have thought that Osun would be one of the most peaceful states in the country as it is today? The Zango Kataf in Kaduna State shed blood among themselves before they eventually agreed to sheath their swords. For over 50 years, the United States and Cuba were arch-enemies; but President Obama has put an end to it.

    President Goodluck Jonathan must rise above party politics between now and January 2015 and mobilize all security agents to see that they are well-equipped to terminate the insurgencies in Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, Kano Bauchi, Gombe with all sense of urgency. Election must hold in the above-mentioned states, otherwise, it may be wrongly insinuated that the ruling party intends to disenfranchise the electorate in that region to the disadvantage of the opposition . As Chief Security Officer, the President must see to the  return of peace in the said states.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must wake up to its responsibilities, as we have less than two months to the elections. Just as the commission did its best in the conduct of Osun gubernatorial election which its chairman acknowledged to be the best ever, the nation’s peace and political stability depends on the INEC in 2015. The body must not give room for any excuse. It must be transparent in all its operations. Any of its officials, whose integrity cannot be guaranteed, should be removed before the elections. The commission must not allow politicians, whose trade mark is “do or die” to have their way. This nation is greater than any individual.  Evil prophecy must not be allowed to come to pass. We as a nation cannot afford to disgrace the black race.

    Already, there are signs that 2015 election may be violence-prone. Four people were reported to have been killed during the primary of a political party at Ebute Meta, Lagos. Asari Dokubo has promised war should the incubent President lose out in the election but no security agent has attempted to arest him or invite him over such statement. If we love our nation, must we kill and maim to get power?  Violence beget violence; we must avoid it and not just paying lip-service to the rejection of violence in our polity. We the people must condemn any political leader that provokes violence in any form and mark them out for rejection. The media must not be silent. The innocent Nigerians that were killed during the 2011 elections,  particularly, the case of NYSC members in the North that were killed, is still fresh in our memory. Their blood is still crying to God for vegeance.

    Patriotic Nigerians must support Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi’s appeal to President Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari over the perceived fear over 2015 elections where he asserted: “The certainty of violence afer the 2015 elections is higher than it was in 2011. If President Jonathan wins, the North will erupt into violence as it did in 2011. If Gen. Buhari wins, the Niger Delta will erupt into violence….. The violence of 2015 is going to be horrendous and worse than the one of 2011 for the simple reason that the illegal, massive importation of weapons of into the country has reached such alaming proportions that I really wonder which is better armed; the militias on one hand or the official armed forces.”

    Akinyemi’ clarion call to political actors must not be ignored as we approach 2015 elections.. We must bear it in mind that just as it was in the First Republic, when some politicians set the nation ablaze and fled abroad,  leaving the common man to bear the brunt. We must not allow history to repeat itself.

    Politicians should focus on issues rather than on individuals.  It is issue-based politicking that can change our country for good. Tell the nation how our economy will be improved upon. Tell the youths how unemployment will  be reduced drastically. To do otherwise, and be raining abusive language on the political opponents will be an open invitation to violence. It will also show the stuff in which such politician is made of. Enough of bloodshed, we must bring hope and good tidings to the people, heralding a new era in a country that has long awaited its hour of redemption from the multiple challenges.

    • Obaditan writes from Osogbo, Osun State

     

     

  • ‘Nigeria won’t break up in 2015’

    Many seem to have peered into the future and seen a country broken up and crumbling under the weight of many challenges. But that’s nonsense, said the Senior Pastor and Leader of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement in Kubwa, Apostle Alex Ogundipe. He said that Nigeria will not break up come 2015 even though the country is surrounded by so much gloom.

    He has warned Nigerians against  prophesies of doom, saying that even though the country seems to be spiralling downward, God’s gift to man in the form of His son Jesus, tells us that there is hope even in the mist of darkness.

    Ogundipe added that God promised his son as the solution to us receiving salvation, righteousness, redemption and blessings and we do not have to do anything other than believe in his son.

    He stated this over the weekend in Abuja, at the Carol of nine lessons and declaration service, where he said that the celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the arrival of hope in the mist of so much darkness.

    He said, “I urge Nigerians not to join them to issue threats that we will be consumed and that Nigeria will scatter; let us stop the negative and profess the positive because this country will not fall apart in 2015. This country will not die in 2015, let us show our love by what we give because God showed us His love.

    “My message to Nigerians Isaiah 9 verse 1 says, never the less, this gloom shall not prevail; verse 2 says a light has shone on the people that walk in darkness that live in the shadow of death; for Nigeria it might look like we are living in the shadow of death, there is no solution or leadership but we should not focus on the know, focus on the option that is available, that Christ if you know him, you will not be engulfed by it.

    “Just like we have now, we are living in a season where there are so many deaths in the country, where the economic gloom is heavy, but in the mist of this, this celebration is to tell you there is hope, it is to tell you not to be connected with the economy of this earth but of heaven.

    “You might look at 2015 and see Boko Haram on the horizon, you see the election in the horizon, you see those involved in baby factories on the horizon and you ask when are we going to get out of this, ten years ago it was the same narrative, the only hope we have is the gift that God gave man, if you can believe him, you can access this gift.

    “To the Politicians, it is only the power of God that can get a man into any position and God is on the throne for Nigeria, politicians did not create Nigeria, God created Nigeria and he is still on the throne working in the favour of Nigeria, every evil scheme will fail, you will be surprised at how God will enthrone the government of his choice.”

    He also said, “But then God promised his son as the solution to us receiving salvation, righteousness, redemption and blessings and we do not have to do anything, that is what his words says, we do not have to do anything other than to believe that son, it is a gift.

    “It is a celebration; often time’s people have asked why do we celebrate Christmas? We are celebrating the arrival of hope, there is so much darkness all over, same was in the past, people tried religion, self righteousness and all sorts of things and there was no way out and the same thing they did is what we do now.

    “And so when you see us celebrating during Christmas, it is to state the narrative of how we got there and what where the promises.

    “When you look at the carol of nine lessons, it narrates, from the fall of man to the promise that God gave and what man needs to do to access it. It is total gift and you do not have to do anything other than to believe Jesus is the son of God which earns you redemption.

    “We are celebrating that somebody is giving you a wonderful gift of releasing you from darkness, when you have no hope for tomorrow.”

  • 2015: INEC redeploys RECs

    2015: INEC redeploys RECs

    Ahead of the 2015 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday announced a major shake up in the commission.

    The electoral body moved round all the Resident Electoral Commissioners in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    INEC, according to its daily in house news letter, “Daily Bulletin” said news on the redeployments was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu.

    The scribe directed that all handing and taking over formalities be concluded by December 31.

    The RECs and their new postings are listed below:

    Prof. O.E. Onukaogu from Abia to Enugu; Prof. Tukur Sa’ad – Adamawa to Bauchi; Ahmed Makama – Bauchi toTaraba; Mike Igini – Delta to Edo; Selina Omagha Oko – Ebonyi to Abia; Edwin Offor Nwatarali – Enugu to Anambra; Sadiq Abubakar Musa from Kaduna to Sokoto; Jibrin Ibrahim Zarewa – Kano to Kebbi; Hussaini Ahmed Mahuta – Katsina to Kaduna and Abubakar Umar Garba Wara – Kebbi to Zamfara.

    Others are – Emmanuel Onucheyo – Kogi to Kwara; Rufus O. Akeju – Lagos to Oyo; Abdullahi Umar Danyaya – Niger to Nasarawa; Timothy A. Ibitoye – Osun to Ogun; A.L. Ogunmola – Oyo to Osun; Barito Lenusikpugi Kphagih – Rivers to Bayelsa; Haliru A. Tambuwal – Sokoto to Jigawa; Kassim Gana Geidam – Yobe to Gombe; Ibrahim Bagobiri Marafa -Zamfara to Katsina and Aniedi Ikoiwak- Akwa-Ibom to Delta.

    The remaining redeployments announced by INEC are – Habu Zarma- Gombe to Yobe; Akin Orebiyi- Ogun to Lagos; Hussaini Halilu Pai -FCT to Kogi; Kwanga Godwin Mbatsavbee- Benue to Plateau; Sylvester Okey Ezeani – Anambra to Cross River; Minkaila Abdullahi – Jigawa to Kano; Lawrence Azubuike – Imo to Ebonyi; Sam Olugbadebo Olumekun – Ondo to Ekiti; Istifanus Ishaku Dafwang- Plateau to Benue Gesila Khan – Bayelsa to Rivers; Samuel Madaki – Taraba to Borno; Gabriel Ada – Cross River to Imo; Jacob Shekwonudu Jatau – Nasarawa to FCT; Baba Abba Yusuf- Borno to Adamawa; Segun Agbaje- Ekiti to Ondo; Nasir Ayilara- Kwara to Niger and Austine Okojie – Edo to Akwa-Ibom.

     

  • 2015: Nigerians need peace

    “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.” –  Bob Marley

    The die has been cast; the drums have been rolled out and the dancers have already taken the centre stage. It is a very rough road that leads to Armageddon and some may never even reach there. We have crossed this bridge before and it was not an easy way to Terabithia. General elections in Nigeria are a very serious business – too serious to be left in the hands of politicians alone.

    In the past few weeks, political parties were preoccupied with party primaries across all level of governance. Party tickets have been won and lost. The winners are engulfed with joy and they are looking forward to form more alliances ahead of the February general elections, while some losers are still aggrieved, dissatisfied and angry. Some are even looking for ways to cause chaos during the elections. Only a few of them understood the real meaning of sportsmanship in politics and that brings us to where we presently find ourselves. Many politicians in Nigeria are very selfish and they are always ready at any given time to do whatever it takes to get elected. The life of the poor in our society and the peace of the nation mean nothing to them in as much as the elections did not go in their favour. The opposition will do everything within their arsenals to muscle their way into power, while the incumbents will also use all armaments to keep power. All the dirty tricks in the books will be deployed by all and at the end of the day they leave blood in the streets. Oh yes! We have crossed this bridge before and it never leads to Terabithia.

    The 2011 general elections was marred with wide spread post-election violence in some sections of the country. The Federal Government constituted a 22-man committee headed by a Minna-based former Grand Khadi, Sheikh Ahmad Lemu. Nobody was in any doubt when the highly respected Sheikh presented a very meticulous report with insightful recommendations on how to forestall future occurrences. But very typical of this administration, the report, just like many other committee reports before it, was dumped in a shelf somewhere in a corner of Aso Rock villa. No surprise that nobody heard anything about the Lemu’s report or its recommendations that was submitted to the current president. Ironically, this and many other good intentioned works for promoting peace and religious understanding earned the Sheikh the 2014 King Faisal Prize at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Since then many things have change in this country. The Fulani man carrying a stick before is now carrying a gun. The repentant Niger Delta militants carrying guns before are now warship importers. The Boko Haram carrying AK47 before are now controlling Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and the Ombatse militia of Nasarawa State are now gun runners. Our territories have been annexed by religious extremists that claimed to be fighting for Islam. Weapons, weapons, everywhere, but not enough for the army. Of great concern are the recent serial jailbreaks that took place at different locations in the country. The pattern of these prison breaks have political colouration written all over them. Everyday there is a terror story in Nigeria and no one is feeling secure. Unfortunately, the government of the day has its priorities and providing security to the citizenry is not at the top of their scale of preference. Winning election and retaining their offices is all they have ear for. At the top of these all we are facing a general election in an uncertain, insecure, vulnerable and defenceless situation.

    It is important to point out that no politician is worth dying for and no one deserve to die because of an election. Rewind: actually, not even an ant deserves to die because of an election. I also believe that the security of lives and properties of the citizenry is the responsibility of all, but the buck lies on the table of the Commander-in-Chief and the governors of the states. History shows that the utterances of some political gladiators during electioneering are clear pointers that motivate violent tendencies in the electorates. Therefore, it is high time we start holding our leaders responsible for their unguarded utterances in the run-up to elections. The way and manner some electorates easily become willing tools for political manipulations to cause violence during or after elections calls for a serious concern. It still beat my imaginations that in this year and age some people still participate in political thuggery without their political godfathers and their children leading the way in the streets. It is totally against the law of fairness for politicians to incite the masses to kill themselves on the streets during elections while their children are sent to the most expensive schools abroad studying. Indeed, common sense is not always common.

    The politics of tribe, religion and region is a very sensitive thing to play with in Nigeria, but unfortunately that is what the politicians are using to divide us. The moment any of these is mention, we quickly loose our senses. We quickly take sides depending on which side of the argument we come from. The election is just around the corner, but no one is discussing issues yet. No one is discussing the peace and security of the electorates before, during and after the elections. As far as I am concerned, the security of lives and properties of the citizenry is far more important than the value attached to winning elections. Without peace and security in the nation, there will be no country to rule.

    Let us be our brother’s keepers and let’s shun any act of violence that will jeopardize the peace and tranquillity of the nation. Vote wisely because your vote is your right. This is my #PieceOfPeace.

    • Hamidu wrote in from the Federal University of Technology Minna.