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  • Niger Delta declares ‘War on Books’

    Niger Delta declares ‘War on Books’

    • “A book must stir you up to do something. To be, we have to think.” ~ Ken Saro-Wiwa”

    For decades, the Niger Delta has been engaged in agitations over the exploitation and neglect of the region by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The region is responsible for over 90% of the revenue that accrues to the Nigerian State.

    Isaac Boro, an Ijaw Nationalist is a forerunner of the Niger Delta struggle. Being a man of conviction, youthful passion and exuberance, he led the region into an historic declaration of the Niger Delta Republic characterized by arms bearing which has since defined the Niger Delta struggle.

    But things are changing in the Niger Delta, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man became President of Nigeria and the zone was pacified.

    Niger Delta Books 2The former President, who launched a National bring back the books campaign and oversaw a Niger Delta amnesty programme that witnessed a lot of emphasis on education and training, seems to have set an agenda for his people unsuspectingly.

    Mr. Udengs Eradiri, the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) who was preceded by the fiery Asari Dokubo and Kaima declaration signatory, Mr. Felix Tuodolo has taken up the charge and has decided to declare a war on books in an attempt to change the course of the struggle in changing times.

    What is not lost upon him is the simple quote ‘Knowledge is Power’ and Mr. Eradiri has taken this message to the Niger Delta youths as the new alternative to violence, arms bearing and insurgency.

    Eradiri’s IYC has sent a strong message to impress this philosophy with the launch of a Library and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre at the Ijaw House in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. He said ‘First of all, they must be educated’ and added that the initiative was set up ‘to create an environment to develop young people’, he said the motives of  ‘a library and an ICT centre’ is primarily ‘to change the perception of our young people’ while it o provide costless means of studying and quality research through internet-linked laptops and computers.

    Mr. Eradiri, said that the center will be used as a resource and also a training hub for youths while noting that it shall develop programmes and ‘enter into agreements to encourage learning among the youths’.Niger Delta Book 1

    Mr. Eradiri’s IYC has entered into partnership with Books to Africa, a UK based international Non-governmental Organization, which donated about 1000 books that formed the first stock of the library and ICT center which has dozens of Computers. The NGO is known to give books from donors majorly in the UK to need areas in Africa.

    The library was named in the honor of the late Dr. Oronto Douglas, a renowned intellectual and writer who has traversed the globe in pursuit of the Niger Delta struggle.

    The Ijaw Youth Council pledged to contribute its quota to ‘ensuring that it (the forum) becomes a breeding ground for leadership.’

    ‘And how do you breed leaders?’ asked Eradiri who intimated the people present at the launch of the facility of the Educational Endowment which his leadership has instituted. He challenged other eminent indigenes and business interests  in the Niger Delta region to contribute to the endowment funds.

    Meanwhile the fortunes of Oil which the bedrock of the agitation is in steady reversal. The instruments of the impending Ijaw resurgence will be data not bazookas.

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  • From guns to books

    From guns to books

    •IYC rebrands Ijaw struggle

    They were known for militancy, brigandage, thuggery and violence. Their sight used to evoke foreboding and uncertainty. But, now Ijaw youths want to be known as peacemakers, nation-builders and patriotic Nigerians.

    The youths of the oil-rich Niger Delta are learning a new approach to their struggles for true federalism, self-determination and resource control. Instead of firing guns, they are exploring intellectualism as a new paradigm for their agitation.

    In fact, the disposition of the current umbrella body of the youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide,  has contributed immensely to the paradigm shift. The IYC led by a vibrant and vocal engineer, Mr.  Udens Eradiri, has introduced intellectual pursuit as the best approach to prepare the youths for a better rule of engagement with the rest of the country.

    So, Eradiri and his team including the council’s Spokesman, Comrade Eric Omare, who is also a lawyer, are setting up facilities, engaging in programmes and signing agreements to encourage learning among the youths.

    Recently, Eradiri’s IYC surprisingly built and inaugurated a library and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and named it after the late icon of Ijaw struggle, Oronto Douglas. The late Douglas was famously known for intellectually placing the Ijaw agitation in the global map. He criss-crossed the world, writing books, holding discussions and speaking in various conferences to promote the cause of the Ijaw.

    The library is domiciled at the headquarters of the IYC located in the Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The brief ceremony to open the library for public use was attended by the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, an aide to the governor, Mr. Kennedy West,  IYC executive members and other youth leaders.

    Eradiri extolled the virtues of prominent persons who were products of the IYC such as Douglas, the former NIMASA Director-General,  Patrick Akpobulokemi, and Dr. Felix Tuodolor, who represented Dickson in the event.

    He said: “ IYC is an institution that builds men that have actually make things happen in the country. And so if we have such an instituition and today we are at the helms of leadership then  we must also contribute our quota to ensuring that it becomes a breeding ground for leadership. And how do you breed leaders?

    “First of all, they must be educated because all these leaders that I have mentioned have education. And so the least we can do is to create an environment to develop young people.  And that is why we thought that a library and an ICT centre will go a long way to change the perception of our young people”.

    He said the library and ICT Centre were built to provide costless means of studying and quality research through internet-linked laptops and computers. He described the facilities as the best way to evolve future leaders adding that IYC should be rated based on its ability to add values to the society.

    He said his leadership recently launched an educational endowment and appealed to everyone doing business in the Niger Delta region to contribute to the endowment funds. “If the IYC today is standing as an instituition to protect our people, our people must be responsible enough to support it”,  he said.

     

  • Books battle politics at arts festival

    Books battle politics at arts festival

    Discussions at this year’s Ake Arts and Book Festival, with the theme, Engaging the fringe, were revealing. Taboos, transgender issues, marginalisation, conflicts, oppression and personal experiences were debated at the festival, which featured Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai and Prof Niyi Osundare, among others, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports. 

    It was a gathering of the literati.The written word was the binding factor. No fewer than 16 books by renowned and emerging authors were discussed in eight chats that featured works, such as Mona Elthahaway’s Head Scarves and Hymens, Pius Adesanmi’s Naija No Dey Carry Last, Igonni Barret’s Black Ass, Helon Habila’s Oil on water and Tendai Huchu’s The Maestro.

    The event was the third Ake Arts and Book Festival held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    Of the 81 guest-artistes, authors and writers at the five-day festival, none found book and literature strange or boring. But, Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai confessed that books have taken the back seat in his life.

    el-Rufai, who spoke alongside Prof Howard French on Minding the Business of Africa, lamented that, these days, he hardly found time to sleep well or read a book in a week. Reason? “Battling with politics and policies,” he said.

    “I used to read one book a week, but in the last few years I have been battling with opposition and new policies… These days I do not sleep well; maybe because of the peculiar unemployment problems in the state that I am thinking of,” he added.

    Reacting to questions on effects of climate change, he said, much as climate change is real, “I don’t worry about it because I will be dead when the glazier will melt. What is important is that as long as human exists, you will always see places giving way for urbanisation. Humanity will find solution to that.”

    On planning, El-Rufai said Nigeria is on the cliff financially and “we must first survive tomorrow before planning for 20 years,” noting that he cannot speak for the Federal Government on matters of planning the future because his primarily concern is the state.

    He said, as a government, “we are thinking of the next four years which we are accountable for. As at today, Nigeria spends about 70 per cent of its income on food and fuel. These are the issues that concern us today before we think of attending to climate change.”

    According to him, “the challenge for me is what do I do to create jobs in Kaduna for the youth because no one will sleep in peace if.”

    The former FCT Minister said the problem in the Northeast where the Boko Haram holds sway is huge, blaming it on the absence of federal investments in the area.

    “Three out of four people in Yobe don’t have education. From this, you should know there is danger. The problem is huge in the area and federal investment has been lacking. What we are dealing with now is the neglect by past administrations,” El-Rufai added.

    While El-Rufai was losing sleep and unable to read a book in a week, renowned poet and scholar Prof Niyi Osundare talks, lives and reads books every day even the Holy Bible, which he said, connects easily with ‘our folklore.” He recalled that he encountered the works of William Shakespeare on the streets of Ikere-Ekiti, and that today, when he writes, he feels the impact of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and JP Clark. “I encountered Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in 1965 as it was part of the West African School Certificate Examination syllabus,” he said.

    His Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun earlier tasked corporate Nigeria to support the promotion of reading culture among youths. He said such commitment, which is critical for humanity’s benefit cannot all be provided by the government. He said corporate organisations should complement the efforts of the government in the fight against decline in reading culture among the youths, saying it is only true such collaborations that the situation can be redressed.

    “Literature is the soul of life. It does a lot of things, provokes many issues of interest to mankind. I am happy our young ones are being carried along at the festival and as such promote reading culture.  This is the only way we can get it right. We must encourage our young ones in reading because you don’t give what you don’t have. And from what they learnt, they can transfer into governance in future,” he added.

    He, however, noted that critics must offer constructive criticisms, which he said, is an impetus to good governance.

    European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Michael Arrion, described culture as smart economy and that “you cannot invest in water, health and education if you don’t understand the people’s culture.”

    He commended the organisers of the festival for raising issues that are taboos, be they corruption, language, politics among others in this year’s theme; Engages the fringe.

    He said, issues such as winner takes all syndromes, importance of language in politics, the seeming divide between French and English are very relevant to this year’s theme. He described democracy as when the majority is ruling and minority is being taken care of.

    Interestingly, Osundare reiterated that humanity is at the core of his books, which serve as voices for the poor because he sees a bent world. “The world I saw before me was bent, so I thought I should be part of correcting it. Our society is so unjust. I am still trying to find answers to some of these questions. If you fill your hands with arms and wealth, you will not have space for humanity. In everything, humanity must be put first,” he said.

    He recalled that three of his books were dedicated to his teachers in the primary, secondary and university, saying that ‘teaching is the most important vocation in the world and that it is a calling. I had teachers who gave their all.’

    On his inspiration, he said: “I don’t have problem linking all my readings from the world to what I inherited in my local Ikere. I also savour the messages by classical musicians from across the globe, including Nigeria. In fact, music and poetry are fist cousin and I see my lines with my ears.”

    He noted that there are many Biafras in the country, which must be handled with care. He however said the relationship between Mike Awoyinfa and the late Dimgba Igwe shows that the handshake can really be extended across the Niger.

    He stressed that oppression and conflict can never end in human society but warned: “We must find a way of fighting them. Civilisation and democracy are very young. We will get there but we must change our ways.”

  • Books on my mind (2)

    The well-coordinated ISIS terrorist attacks that took place in Paris, France last week has once again shown how unsafe the world has become. The fallout of the attacks – as expected – has dominated the headlines of global media for over a week now. Before it could fully sink in, Russia revealed that its Metrojet plane that came down in Sinai, Egypt was brought down by a bomb which ISIS had earlier claimed responsibility.

    Back home, we read – and are tired of reading – about similar atrocities committed by Boko Haram. As Nigerians were engrossed with the tragic news from Paris, former adviser on new media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri took to his twitter handle to berate Nigerians who are quick to identify with events thousands of miles away, but are unconcerned with similar events that take place right in their own backyard.

    Are recent global events that surprising? With things happening at alarming rate globally I’d like to go back a book to try and find answers.I find Samuel Huntington’s”The Clash of Civilizations?” which later became a book, “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” apt for the times. Huntingtonwas one of America’s greatest political scientists. In 1993, he published the sensational essay in “Foreign Affairs”where he argued that the post-cold war world would be marked by civilizational conflict.

    Human beings, He wrote, are divided along cultural lines – Western, Islamic, Hindu and so on. There is no universal civilization. Instead, there are these cultural blocks, each within its own distinct set of values.

    The Islamic civilization, he stated, is the most troublesome. People in the Arab world do not share the general suppositions of the western world. Their primary attachment is to their religion, not to their nation-state. Their culture is inhospitable to certain liberal ideals, like pluralism, individualism and democracy.

    Huntington correctly foresaw that the ‘Arab strongman regimes’ were fragile and were threatened by the masses of unemployed young men. He thought these regimes could fall, but he did not believe that the nations would modernise in a Western direction. Amid the tumult of regime change, the rebels would selectively borrow tools from the West, but their borrowing would be refracted through their own beliefs. They would follow their own trajectory and not become more Western.

    The Muslim world has bloody borders, he continued. There are wars and tensions where the Muslim world comes into conflict with other civilizations. Even if decrepit regimes fell, he suggested, there would still be a fundamental clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. The Western nations would do well to keep their distance from Muslim affairs. The more the two civilizations intermingle, the worse the tensions will be.

    Huntington’s thesis later set off a furious debate. But with the historic changes that swept through the Arab world in the last couple of years, it will be illuminating to go back and read his argument again today.

    In retrospect, Huntington’sargumentare convincing except that people in Arab lands are intrinsically not nationalistic. He argued that they do not hunger for pluralism and democracy in the way these things are understood in the West. But from indications, it now appears as though they were simply living in circumstances that did not allow their patriotism to bubble to the surface. Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Syria and other places where they rose against authoritarian regimes is a pointer to the notion that they were held down by a ‘strongman.’

    The Middle East is a very complex region where people have multiple authentic selves. In some circumstances, one set of identities manifests itself, but when those circumstances change, other equally authentic identities and desires get activated. Who would have predicted that a group more extreme than Al-Queda would emerge? But today, there is ISIS.

    For most of the past few decades, people in Arab nations were living under regimes that rule by fear. In these circumstances, these regimes pitched citizens against one another leading to political passivity. But when the fear lessened, and the opportunity for change arose, different aspirations were energised. Arab people passionately attached to their national identitiesespecially through religion.

    Huntington minimized the power of universal political values and hyped the influence of distinct cultural values. It’s easy to see why he did this. He was arguing against global elites who sometimes refuse to acknowledge the power of culture at all. But it seems clear that many people in Arab nations do share a universal hunger for liberty. They feel the presence of universal human rights and feel insulted when they are not accorded them.

    Culture – no doubt – is important, but underneath cultural differences there are these universal aspirations for dignity, for political systems that listen to, respond to and respect the will of the people. He also misunderstood the nature of historical change. In his book, he describes transformations that move along linear, projectable trajectories. But that’s not how things work in times of tumult. Instead, one person moves a step. Then the next person moves a step. Pretty soon, millions are caught up in a contagion, activating passions they had but dimly perceived just weeks before. They get swept up in momentums that often times spiral out of control.

    Events in Syria clearly typify this. World leaders are at a loss on what to do with Syria. Should President Assad be part of a new Syria after the calamity of the last three years? If he would not, is there a concrete arrangement toward a power shift? If there is, who are the people that would take over? The Libyan scenario after Muammar Ghaddafi is still fresh.

    In all these, there are simply no easy answers. Back home, we are concerned that BH has pledged allegiance to ISIS. We hope and pray it ends there.

     

    Re: Books on my mind

    I find your article in The Nation of November 12, 2015 quite illuminating and praise worthy. I don’t care how voluminous provided there is a lot to learn from them. The books you selected were truly excellent. In this regard, I urge you to get and read my two recent books: “Making of an African Giant: State, Politics and Public Policy In Nigeria Vol 1 & 2 (2015). They are available on www.amazon.com Let us know what you think of them.

    Dr. Dan Mou

    I wish to commend you Sir, for this wonderful piece! I must confess, though I read papers daily and very well aware of your column but I can’t remember if I had ever read any piece done by you the whole length apart from this one! Apart from introducing the need for reading which ordinarily wet my appetite, you have also introduced and reviewed four books in this short piece. What a great job! Please keep it up! God bless you.

    Emoruwa O. Kenny

    Your article in The Nation of November 12, 2015, was quite precise and made me admire your style of writing. Please where and how can I buy the four wonderful books you so excellently reviewed? The article made my day and from now henceforth I won’t miss your column.

    Ojumu U. Issac

     

     

     

  • Books on my mind

    Nothing can add to our intellectual development more than reading books.  Inside them, we can experience new things that we would not ordinarily be able to experience. With an active imagination, you can go to other worlds as if you are physically there. Books can change our lives and other people’s lives. In essence, reading can make us more intelligent. Without reading we wouldn’t know most things that we know today.

    As individuals, we are capable of inventing new ideas, creating manuals to teach others virtually everything under the sun. – writing books to teach our children about history, other cultures, the world around us and setting up new laws that will forever change our lives and the lives of others. We have educated ourselves beyond our ancestors by reading and studying books and various manuals.

    I read and reread four books recently which I feel are crucial to where we are as a nation today. I’ll use this space today to highlight them. I found the 2012 book, “Why Nations Fail,” quite fascinating when I partially read through in mid-2013. The more I read, the more I appreciated the thoughts that went into it. Co-authored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist Daron Acemoglu and the Harvard University political scientist James A. Robinson, the book argues that the key differentiator between countries is “institutions.” Nations thrive when they develop “inclusive” political and economic institutions, and they fail when those institutions become “extractive” and concentrate power and opportunity in the hands of only a few.

    So why is Nigeria and most of African countries poor? Africa, from their perspective,  is poor because it has suffered from a long history of “extractive economic and political institutions.” These are part of deeply rooted historical processes which manifested in slow development. The negative impact of the slave trade, which had a devastating institutional impact, the “extractive nature” of colonial rule and the legacy of colonialism since independence equally formed part of why we are poor.

    They raised two salient and age old questions: Why is it that some parts of the world are much richer and more successful economically than other parts of the world? What can poor countries do to make themselves richer? To answer these simple, yet difficult questions, they propose a theory based on differences in economic and political institutions. “Institutions” are defined as the rules (both formal – written laws and the constitution – and informal – like social norms) that structure economic, political and social life and generate different patterns of incentives, rewards, benefits and costs.

    The “extractive political institutions” that was in place for a better part of our post-independence period took the form of military dictatorship which led to a weak state unable to raise taxes, enforce law and control violence as is evident with the Boko Haram insurgency and the spate of kidnappings and armed robbery. This weak state is at its best creating monopolies for the politically connected. But as expected, the result has been economic decline.

    What is their solution? The broader evidence is the need to move towards “inclusive” institutions. “Our framework emphasizes that this is not a technocratic economic problem, this is a political problem. Focus first on developing inclusive political institutions and the economics will sort itself out. All countries which now have inclusive institutions historically had extractive institutions. How did they change them? We emphasize the emergence of a broad coalition which pushes for and underpins inclusive institutions (e.g. The British Glorious Revolution of 1688).”

    In a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, Matt Ridley, the New York Times-bestselling author, makes the case for an economics of hope in “The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves,” arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change – what he calls cultural evolution – will inevitably increase human prosperity.

    Over the years, the word “market” tends to set off what is akin to a religious war. Opponents accuse proponents of blind faith in the ‘Miracle of the Market.’ The proponents too often seem to confirm this accusation by overpromising and underproving what the market can do. Each side recites its creeds.

    In the book, Ridley argues for markets as the dominant source of human progress. He synthesizes a great deal of material, spinning the history of humanity from the stone ax to the computer mouse. The chapters tracing the human story from 50,000 years ago through the 17th century are themselves worth the price of reading. With vivid storytelling he illuminates the huge role of markets and trade in material progress.

    Ridley’s key concept is gains from exchange, which make possible gains from specialisation, which in turn make possible technological innovation. Gains from exchange and specialisation certainly rank as the most important economic ideas of all time. Combining technologies to make new technologies is another favourite idea of Ridley. If we look beyond his too casual metaphors he makes sense. How about his cringe-inducing metaphor, “ideas have sex.” For example, the telephone had carnal relations with the computer, and their love child was the Internet.

    He strains to fit the notion of ideas having sex into what he calls the “Procrustean bed” of his “gains from exchange” story of progress. But sharing ideas is not the same as exchanging goods. It is often accidental and involuntary: it’s hard to keep a good idea a secret, so strangers are likely to gain from your idea without your getting anything in exchange. The dissemination of ideas is therefore more mysterious than the gains from exchange of goods.

    I also find “Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day,” written by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford and Orlanda Ruthven a nice read. It is based on the analysis of financial diaries, tracking every financial transaction of individual households, taken from studies between 1999 and 2005 in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh, India, and South Africa.

    A key strength of their analysis is that it is “bottom up,” starting with how people actually live, and not narrowly focused on the evaluation of interventions. A central role for finance is in smoothing out income fluctuations to ensure that there is enough money to provide food and other basic requirements on a daily basis. To this end households use savings and borrowings simultaneously, mixing informal, interest free loans from friends and family, wage advances and rent arrears, semi-formal (microfinance) loans, and in occasional cases formal (bank) services. Here the cash flow analysis captures what matters, not the balance-sheet.

    This leads into some suggestions for ways in which microfinance could be improved. There’s demand for a cash-flow management facility that combines the ability to make small savings of any size at any time with loans of modest value that can be accessed quickly.

    Finally, in “The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Moisés Naím argues that power is not merely shifting and dispersing, it is also decaying. Those in power today are more constrained in what they can do with it and more at risk of losing it than ever before.

    He illuminates the struggle between once-dominant megaplayers and the new micropowers challenging them in every field of human endeavour. Drawing on provocative, original research, Naim shows how the antiestablishment drive of micropowers can topple tyrants, dislodge monopolies, and open remarkable new opportunities, but it can also lead to chaos and paralysis. The author deftly covers the seismic changes underway in business, religion, education, within families, and in all matters of war and peace. Accessible and captivating, Naim offers a revolutionary look at the inevitable end of power – and how it will change your world.

    He acknowledges that wealth is now more concentrated than ever in the hands of elites and the institutions they control. But he argues further that the ability of elites to use their assets to influence and shape the world has dissipated. Rather, power now manifests itself in new ways and places. New technologies and novel social groupings have allowed inventors, activists, terrorists, and many other types of people to exercise more influence.

     

     

     

  • ANAN donates 300,000 Accounting books, cash to varsity

    ANAN donates 300,000 Accounting books, cash to varsity

    Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has donated 300,000 books and an undisclosed amount of money to Paul University, Awka in Anambra State ahead of the institution’s accreditation exercise this month.

    The books, according to ANAN, cover all the relevant topics in accountancy from year one to final year.

    National president of the association, Tony Nzom, represented by the registrar, Dr Michael Ayeni, said the gesture was part of the association’s efforts to advance the science of accountancy in Nigerian universities.

    “There was need to fill the lacuna in the dearth of literatures in the course,” he said.

    He added that the books would go a long way to help the institution’s Accountancy Department pull through the accreditation exercise.

    In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Uche Isiugo-Abanihe, said he was overwhelmed by the kind gesture shown the university by the association.

    “With this donation, there is no way the Department of Accountancy will fail the accreditation next month,” he said.

    He praised the Head of the Department, Levi Ezeaku, an associate professor, for playing a key role in facilitating the donation.

  • Peter Obi should read his books

    SIR: Eze Goes to School by Onuora Nzekwu and Micheal Crowther is a popular recommended text for elementary schools in the seventies. The juvenile literature on the school-life of Eze chronicles the young chap’s determination to go to school despite obvious difficulties. Like Eze, Chief Peter Obi, ex-governor of Anambra has gone back to school according to his spokesman, Val Obienyem who announced during the final days of former President Goodluck Jonathan that his boss was embarking a sponsored programme at Oxford University.

    However, recent events point to the fact that Peter Obi may not be taking his studies seriously. He spends more time in Anambra exorcising the ghosts from his eight years in office and inciting proxies against his successor at the expense of his studies.

    Again Peter as he is fondly called unlike the waif Eze, is a wealthy man by all standards but one thing about the man Peter, is that he does not take responsibility, especially when it concerns spending money. Many who know the man closely will confide that he likes using proxies in all his undertakings. Peter is a closet Capone ýwho likes to keep distance from the hit for others to take the fall. Peter Obi by nature likes to be the last man standing.

    Such is the man’s penchant for subterfuge that when he pays money for anything good and expensiveý, he distances himself. The story is told about how he would deny ownership of a good cloth in order not to be seen to have money to spare. Even as governor, whenever Mr. Obi flies a private jet, he attributes it to a favour from a rich friend.

    Peter Obi has caught the bug of emergency philanthropist, and has been going round schools in Anambra State telling the management what he did for them and demanding photo-Ops with the students. The drill according to insiders is that his aides convinced him that he has to remain relevant through public philanthropy hence the birth of the N1-2 Million Cheque presentation to select schools.

    Peter suddenly realized that having tasted power, he could not afford a minute away from the lime-light. Hence he goes round schools in Anambra like an emergency philanthropist, to inspect projects and take pictures, under the watch of a substantive governor. Many would recall that Mr. Peter Obi cried and shouted over the same shenanigans allegedly carried out by Senator Chris Ngige who was said to have inspected roads in the early days of Peter’s tenure.

    Apart from his school tours, Mr. Obi has upped the ante with his almost 2-year old story of a phantom ‘N75bn cashý’ he allegedly left in the coffers of Anambra. Peter never talked about liabilities, the multiple projects he awarded till last day, six thousand teachers recruited without posting and the Local government election he remembered after eight years, all few day to handover. That’s the proxy warrior in Peter.

    Another question is can Peter sustain his new found love for school tours and false philanthropy, not to mention the new PDP dance drama in Anambra? But haven been bitten by the political bug, Peter is beginning to display some desperation for control like never before; having failed to maximize the opportunity to build a pan-Igbo platform and galvanize people in his home state by choosing the part of the minimalist, Peter now has a lot of time on his hands to distract others who dare. Unfortunately, he is watching another person excelling where he once played court and appears uncomfortable. However it is late in the day because he can’t be governor again. That is the burden of Mr. Peter Obi.

     

    • Ejimonu Udenka,

    Orumba, Anambra State.

     

  • Council chief donates bags, books to pupils

    Council chief donates bags, books to pupils

    Isolo Local Council Development Area Executive Secretary Olusegun Jubril has distributed school bags and exercise books to 14 primary school pupils.

    He made the donation during the closing seminar of the free summer coaching at the council.

    Jubril said parents, teachers and the government must come together to tackle the country’s security challenges in the country.

    He said: “The summer coaching was organised because we value both qualitative and quantitative education as a means of eradicating the menace of social miscreants. I am hopeful that the knowledge, skills and ideas acquired will go a long way in preparing you better for your future endeavours.“

    The Council Manager, Mr Kehinde Yusuf, said the initiative was designed to inspire the pupils, since it involved academic training, co-vocational and co-curricular activities.

    “We realised that during the long holidays, children are exposed to criminal activities. So, Isolo LCDA, in collaboration with the Community Initiative for Child Education (CICE) orgainised the programme to assist them in building a great future,” he said.

    Iyaloja Ire-Akari Market, Mrs Eunice Dosumu hailed the council chief for the gesture.

    A teacher, Omowunmi Awojobi, said some of the pupils, could not complete a sentence in English before the holiday started.

    “These same pupils can now speak and write well in English. I am glad because it makes our work easier,” she said.

    Speaking with The Nation, a pupil, Tosin Mantanmi, said she was glad for the opportunity.

  • Graduate donates books to pupils, pay others’ fees

    Graduate donates books to pupils, pay others’ fees

    A fresh graduate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, Tochi Okoroafor, has paid a surprised visit to Lamb of God Nursery and Primary School in Ifite to celebrate “charity day” with pupils.

    Tochi, a graduate of English Language and Literature, is the Coordinator of Total Child Foundation, an Awka-based non-governmental organisation (NGO). She donated textbooks and writing materials to the children after playing with them.

    The textbooks include 50 copies each of English, Mathematics, Hand Writing and Basic Science for the nursery and primary school children. The writing materials include pens, pencils and exercise books.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Tochi said the NGO had as its objective the promotion of children development. She said: “The organisation is set up to alleviate the suffering of deprived children by registering them in school and pay their school fees. So far, we have discovered 15 brilliant children from ifite in Awka and we have paid the fees for five of them.

    “We intend to expand the benefit to other communities in the state and beyond. The vision is aimed at registering and enrolling over 50 children in nursery, primary and secondary school in all communities within our reach.”

    On the group’s source of funding, Tochi said the materials were provided through her personal resources and donation from her parents, friends and family members.

    “We hope to secure more funds from other viable links. We are working on our ties with other NGOs and corporate bodies and creating lucrative ways to be independent,” she said.

    Before visiting the school, Tochi had visited a slummy neighbourhood, where she met with out-of-school children. She donated food items and money to the children and their parents.

    Tochi registered registered four pupils at the Lamb of God Nursery and Primary School. They are eight-year-old Blessing Eze, 11-year-old Miracle Ebube, eight-year-old Miracle Obunneme, and five-year old Eberechi Okechukwu.

    Tochi advised the children to be of good conduct, promising to sustain the payment of their fees if they show excellent performance in their studies.

     

  • Books for Ramadan

    Ramadan period is a special season for the Muslims all over the world. During this period, Muslims can while away time; keep themselves busy and holy by reading Islamic books.

    During Ramadan, one of the activities that the Muslims normally engage in is supplication and reading of the Glorious Book (the Qur’an). Apart from these, there are some other things that can be added like reading other Islamic books for male, female and children.

    These books are sold online and offline, they are; Usool at-Tafseer by Bilal Philips, it cost N4,000, Tafsir Bin Kathir (vol 1-10) cost N15,000, Charity even with a trifle sells for N700, cleanliness of faith is N850, key to the treasures of jannah is N1,000, Ramadan made simple is N1,400, Kitabu-us-Salat: Muslim prayer book, N600,  A glimpse at the beauty of Islam, N950, Basic essentials for Muslims cost N850, Allah commands us to make du’aa sells for N750, Da’wah according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah is N2,500, Dajjal the final deception by Aftab Shahrya cost N1,300, Life is a fading shadow is N900 and The ultimate guide to Umrah which sells for N2,500.

    For the women, Don’t be Sad can be bought for N1,500, You can be the most happiest woman in the world cost N850, Selected fatawah for women is N1,200,  Laws regarding to purity of women is N750.

    Others are ; The Ideal Muslimah by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi, Islamic Dress Code for Women, Questions about the Mothers of the Believers, The Pious Woman, Who are the sinful women according to the Qur’an and Hadith, women in Islamic Shari ‘a Sahih Muslim by Imam Muslim (vol 1-4), The Collection of An-Nawawi (40 Hadith), Etiquette of A Muslim on Two Eids, A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence (vol 1-2) by Saleh Al-Fawzan, , Compilation of the Hadith (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim).

    These books are available in all Islamic stores in various neighbouhood and they vary in prices depending on the area one is buying from.