The Nation Newspaper

Tag: courage

  • Courage to Fly

    Do you remember this hit song – I believe I can fly by the R&B maestro, R. Kelly? This song reminisce my first experience on board (aircraft) from Lagos to Warri. It was very frightful. I held on to the young man beside me as if my safety depended on him. Of course, we became good friends afterwards and… that’s a story for another day. The terrifying experience prompted me to seek advice from my doctor who explained to me that just like most phobia, flying phobia is psychological. It’s one of the most common phobias. It happens unconsciously when a person has negative mental associations when in flight. Furthermore, to overcome the phobia, the affected person needs to be guided by a psychologist to rewire his/her mental associations with the experience, that is, enable the brain trigger a new experience and learn to say ‘yes I can fly’. Meanwhile, my mental remodeling is in progress.

    Personally, I believe this flying phobia also relates to the race of destiny, many people are terribly afraid of becoming high-fliers in their careers and professions. If you are in this, I would like to take you through a mental remodeling. The race of life is highly individualistic , so beware of being lost in the crowd. Maybe you have noticed that eagles don’t flock, they soar as individuals, even airplanes don’t tow each other. Someone said ‘ Those who walk, walk together, those who run, run with a few but those who fly, fly alone’. Even in a team, there are star players! Note this, you are responsible for the outcome of your life, so you must make quality investments of time and available resources to be fit to fly. It’s time to stretch your wings and develop the muscles to be fit for the sky.

    The story of airplanes is connected with man’s dream of flying, if you ask an average student, who invented the aircraft? Of course the answer would be; The Wright brothers. I wonder, what the Wright brothers were thinking about when the idea came, possibly the sight of birds aroused their minds. In otherwords, to be a high- flier in life could mean to take off from a place of mediocrity, irrelevance to attain heights of relevance, great influence and excellence in life. That is reaching unto to your desired heights of success in life.

    Do you know that heights are relative? The sky is the limit for some, while it is the starting point for someone like me. Defining heights is totally dependent on how big your faith in God is! Now, let’s learn  how to fly. Imagine a bird in flight; have you observed that only the wings are prominent? Yes, the most obvious adaptation for flight are the bird’s wings. I opine that the wings of the bird symbolise courage. ‘’Courage also called fortitude is the capacity to meet the anxiety which arises as one achieves freedom’’…Rollo May. In the words of Nelson Mandela; ‘’ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it’’.

    Courage is indispensable in flight. It fortifies you against the fearful turbulence of the whirlwind which blows across seasons of life. Economic storms can adversely affect your profit after tax however, a courageous entrepreneur will see opportunities to thrive and possibly diversify. It’s amazing to know that the economic recession in Nigeria has led to the rise of ‘made in Nigeria’ products such as Akamu and Garri, well sealed with fancy packs, talk about creativity! You don’t have to stay on the ground with complainers, team up with the courageous in flight! Learn to always spread out your wings of courage and soar, no matter the weather. Stedman Graham stated “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.’’ We can’t be kind, generous, merciful, true, or honest without courage.

    Also, noteworthy is the fact that the eyesight of birds is said to be the best of all vertebrates. Excellent eyesight and coordination guide birds to fly safely. To fly and achieve your dream in life, you need a vision. You must have a vision to see that you have wings to soar and make a positive impact in life. When you set out to make an impact, you will end up making a name! But when you set out solely to make a name, you’ll end up making a noise. Make sure you set out with a worthy purpose in mind and remain focused. Myles Munroe clarifies that ‘purpose is when you know and understand what you were born to accomplish whereas vision is when you can see it in your mind by faith and begin to imagine it. So be a visionary!

    An important hint; Discover your God given talents which ultimately defines who you are. What are you doing currently with your gifts and talents? Learn to use your talent to help and develop people. The reward of using your talent is that it multiplies. Whatever you do not employ, you forfeit, whatever you don’t use, you lose. I challenge you to wisely use your faith, mind, human virtues, vitality, energy, mentality, relationships…and watch them grow. Each day is a gift, make good use of today.

    Resolve to join the league of the high-fliers in your field. Be of good courage! You cannot control the Nigerian economy, but you can control the state of your mind. Be aware of the environment you have control over; your mind-space and there are no limitations in the realm of the mind. ‘’I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky, I think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away …’’           R. Kelly. Courage is a right attitude that wins always. Please send your comments to segilola2012@gmail.com. You can also follow on twitter @mindscopenaija

    Listen in to Mindscope with Segilola every Monday on Eko89.7Fm at 1:10pm.

  • Courage in the time of brutes and foetal adults

    I have seen courage flower in the face of the impossible. Such valour is frequently ascribed to an innate strength and humaneness of the courageous. It is no physical strength. And very few of the world’s bravest warriors possess such valour that defies brawn and accentuates moral vigour.

    Victor John, 15, showed such courage in a damning moment; thanks to John, the entire clans constituting Ungwan Sankwai, Tyekum and Ungwan Gata villages of Bondon district, Kaura LGA of Kaduna State were saved from total extermination by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    Although many of the bereaved are wailing the brutal massacre of loved ones even as you read, the survivors owe their lives to the 15-year old who sighted the invaders marching on the community. John alerted his father and reportedly went from house to house to wake up their neighbours and warn them of imminent death. Eventually, his father evacuated some of his siblings but his mother and other siblings weren’t so lucky; they were hacked to death by the invaders.

    Like the Kaduna teen, Hugh Thompson, an American army pilot could be said to have exhibited moral courage in the face of odds. Thompson landed his helicopter between a platoon of American soldiers and 10 terrified Vietnamese civilians during the My Lai massacre. Then he ordered his gunner to fire his M60 machine gun on the advancing U.S. soldiers if they began to shoot the villagers. For this act of moral courage, Thompson, like John, suffered repercussion; he was hounded and reviled by the establishment.

    Such is the consequence of moral courage. It begets a price. In the case of Victor John, it cost him his mother and siblings. And for being morally courageous, Thompson was vilified by the military – the establishment attempted to conceal the massacre and court-martial him.

    Moral courage encompasses the nerve to do the right thing and speak the truth always. It involves defying the mob as a solitary individual; to spurn the invigorating embrace of comradeship; to be disobedient to authority, even at the risk of your life, for a higher principle. And with moral courage comes persecution and any other form of repercussion that exposes the individual as a defenseless mark to be preyed upon.

    Gani Fawehinmi had moral courage, so did Martin Luther King. Malcolm X had it and Wole Soyinka epitomises it. Predictably, perpetuators of such morality are either maligned by fate or ascribed rogue status by the state. Routinely they are accused and charged for treason. But in their touted notoriety subsists the irony of an incontrovertible metaphor; they usually represent the best of mankind and civilization in their time.

    The contemporary youth however, personify a very sad contradiction of humanity and courage epitomised by John, Thompson, and the late Fawehinmi to mention a few. Essentially, they represent Nigeria’s sad decent into the gallows of inhumanity.

    Like a fugitive quirk you find no word for, the contemporary youth grows like a scar on his clan and the nation’s psyche. Too much of what he symbolises indicates decadence and elevates rot, thus the manifestation of a Nigerian youth divide incapacitated to the finer traits of citizenship and humanity.

    This glaring lack manifests virtually in every aspect of our life as a nation; the Nigerian society evolves as a perfect reflection of the nation’s youth. Given the quality of the nation’s youth, the country suffers the preponderance of cowards and shadows of men.

    From a tender age, the youth is socialized to be corrupt and inhumane; the process starts very early in life in the family unit. Many parents look upon it as a sign of great wit and astuteness to see their child cheat and oppress his peer by some malicious treachery and deceit. It gladdens their hearts to see him evolve into a ‘lovable’ brute at a tender age; they claim it’s a worthy demeanor for the very tough world out there.

    Thus from adolescence through adulthood, many parents greet every dishonesty perpetrated by their wards with cheer, as long as it translates to stupendous wealth, higher status and the comfort of knowing that their children are “smart” and inured in the ways of the world.

    These are the true seeds and roots of cruelty, tyranny and treason; parents nurture them in their wards and the latter perpetuate them in attitude, till they start procreating and perpetuating within their lineage, grosser forms of shamefulness and bestiality.

    It starts from the very little things; like grooming the child to be fraudulent through adolescence. Hence the multitude of “peaceful, hardworking and God-fearing” families engaged in desperate pursuits to enroll their wards and university hopefuls in “special coaching schools” while they purchase for them, seats at “special centres,” as they write the S.S.C.E and JAMB exams.

    Such wards are trained to circumvent the straight, moral path to progress and self-actualization, eventually they mature into foetal adults. All through their lives, they navigate the depths and shoals of challenging realities with the courage of a weevil and the wit of a hyena.

    Eventually, the seeds of indolence and monstrosity sown in them grows to prodigious bulk, as cultivated by society and custom. In the end, we have brutes and foetal adults running our lives and determining our future.

    At this juncture, many would perhaps dispute and claim that such shameful percentage constitute just a minor fraction of the country’s 170 million-strong families or thereabouts. Really? If that be the case, why is it that their voices and deeds resonate and tower above the humanity of the ‘moral few’ – if such divide ever truly exists in contemporary Nigeria?

    This minute, Nigeria manifests as the tainted fantasy of the perverted mob home and abroad. The virtues that build character, foster community and sustain a nation-state, from honesty, self-sacrifice to transparency and sharing, are ridiculed  everyday in public sphere as rubes silly enough to cling to unrealistic fantasies are celebrated on the now ubiquitous reality TV charade and social media.

    It is due to a lack of moral courage and character that the Nigerian youth tirelessly obsess about the decadent and perpetrate the obscene just to be seen as hip and flowing with the times. Hence the attractiveness of the vulgar, such as wild, ‘Reality TV’ sex, expedient sexuality, terrorism, corruption, to mention a few.

    The youth has been flipped upside-down and inside-out that it becomes increasingly difficult to identify by them, what constitutes acceptable values and culture representative of the Nigerian spirit and psyche. Thus today we praise the woman who tries to be the meanest career girl in office and applaud the man who tries to be the prettiest drag queen in the bar.

    Consequently, the country embraces depravity and perpetuates society on pathetic illusions. So doing, it amplifies the kind of twilight disconnect that accelerates the disappearance of dying empires. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is agitation for acquittal of a corrupt public officer, confused sexuality, or insidious civilization, Nigeria takes surefooted strides into moral and cultural extinction.

  • Courage in leadership: Shettima example

    It was in September, 2014. Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State had embarked on planned assessment meetings with school authorities in Sudan and the United Kingdom, where 70 students on the state’s sponsorship were undergoing undergraduate studies in Medicine and Geo-Sciences. He had hardly arrived his first destination, when Boko Haram insurgents took over Bama Town, one of the most populated towns in the state, just about 70kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    Palpable tension was in the air, as news went round that Maiduguri, the seat of power too, was about to be overrun by the sect. Shettima immediately cut short his trip, took the next available flight, and by September 4, 2014, arrived Abuja, where he held strategic meetings on the Bama takeover, including constituting a committee to oversee the distribution of relief materials to the victims of the Bama attack.

    Done with the meeting, he announced his intention to return to Maiduguri, the next day, an intention almost everyone around him, including this writer kicked against. But the arguments he advanced, shocked me: “MallamSamaila (that’s how he calls me), it is better for me to be killed, serving my people, than for Maiduguri, with several internally displaced persons to fall to Boko Haram, while I am away. That will amount to cowardice.”

    Seeing his courage and determination to return, I prayed with him, and wished him well. By the next day, Friday September 5, a day after he returned to Maiduguri, he addressed the citizens of the state, through a state-wide broadcast, and thereafter, moved round the city, the same way, security operatives carry out Show of Force to keep the spirit of the citizens alive, and to let them know he was not a runaway governor.

    Coincidentally, exactly two years after that traumatic and emotional day, family, friends and well-wishers, numbering about 200, gathered in Maiduguri, to attend a reception in his honour, to mark his Golden Age. Ironically, the event was initially slated for Friday, September 2, the same day and date he was born 50 years ago, but a presidential appointment for the same date, forced organisers of the event, to shift it to Monday, September 5, thus, compelling me also to recall the events of September 5, 2014.

    It will interest Nigerians and other readers to know that the reception was not the typical Owanbe kind of celebration, befitting of the status of a typical Nigerian governor, who attained the age of 50. There were no assorted drinks; we had water, soft drinks and the regular kinds of fruits- Apple and Pear. Not a dime was taken from the coffers of the state government to put the event which lasted for just two hours together. The list of donors and amount donated, were read out to the hearing of all of us seated in the hall. The donors, 30 of them, were coordinated by his spokesman, Isa Umar Gusau.

    And from the funds raised, 50 children, orphaned by Boko Haram, were given life-line, with their school fees paid upfront for the next nine years. And just before we left the hall, Zenith Bank, his former employers, also keyed into the educational empowerment of the children orphaned by Boko Haram, by offering to support additional 50 children, thus, bringing the number of beneficiaries to 100. Immediate past governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, chaired the event. Shettima’s lovely and ever supportive wife, Hajia Nana, was also on hand to lend her motherly support.

    After the presentation of the awards and cutting of the cake, which was also donated, Governor Kashim Shettima, whom I know reluctantly accepted to be treated to the reception, thanked all those who attended, including those who stood by him, especially the kid brothers of his estranged political leader, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, during his (Shettima) political trials.

    He also told the audience what those of us very close to him, had always known about his relationship with Sheriff. Hear him: “During our travails with our political leader, some of our politicians elected to stand on the side of truth and justice. I never fought Ali (Modu) Sheriff. Ali Sheriff fought me. He made himself a tin-god, until God demystified him and put him where he rightly belongs.”

    Fifty years is indeed regarded as a Golden Age. But as late Coco Chanel, an influential French fashion designer puts it, “nature,” gives one the face one deserves at 20, but it is up to one to merit “the face” one has at 50 and even beyond.

    With what I know about Shettima, right from his days at the Zenith Bank, and for the mere fact that since becoming governor in 2011, he has never for once, gathered people to say he was marking his birthday, and for reluctantly accepting to be treated to a reception last Monday, I think he undoubtedly, merits “the face” he has at 50. He has shown courage and leadership, in the last five years as Borno governor. I pray he ends well. Happy Birthday sir!

     

    • Omipidan, is the immediate past Kaduna NUJ, acting chairman.
  • Aregbesola praises Fasanmi’s courage at 90

    Aregbesola praises Fasanmi’s courage at 90

    •Lecture on Wednesday

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has described Senator Ayo Fasanmi as an elder statesman and politician, whose high moral and loyalty to the progressive course is worthy of emulation.

    In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, office of the Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola congratulated Pa Fasanmi on his  90th birthday.

    He said Pa Fasanmi has demonstrated an astounding trait of progressivism for over half a century of his political career.

    The governor added that Pa Ayo Fasanmi has been fearless in his fight for a just society and return of the military to the barracks.

    He said: “Pa Fasanmi is a role model, his devotion to integrity of character and loyalty to the progressive course are rare in a country, such as Nigeria.

    “Senator Ayo Fasanmi at 90 has a fantastic record of not shifting grounds in his loyalty to democratic values, freedom and justice.”

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has also congratulated Fasanmi.

    In a message by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, the party said Pa Fasanmi had faith in the APC political leadership and philosophy.

    According to the party, Pa Fasanmi is devoted ethically, morally to progressive politics.

    The party said: “Today, Pa Ayo Fasanmi crosses a massive, glorious line from being an octogenarian to becoming a nonagenarian.

    “This is a no mean achievement. It is one that most people wish for, but very few ever attain.

    “To be one of the few living this long is a testimony to the extraordinary lifestyle that bestows longevity.

    “So, we are calling on men and women of honour and goodwill to join us in celebrating the grand old man.”

    The Grand Council of Yoruba Youths, formerly  the National Council of Yoruba Youths, will hold a public lecture titled: “Yoruba Nation: The Past, The Present And The Future”, on Wednesday.

    It will be delivered by Biyi Durojaiye, Chairman,Yoruba Education Trust Fund under the chairmanship of Pa Fasanmi.

    Amb Olu Otunla will assist him. The special guest is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Guests of honour are sons and daughters of past Yoruba leaders.

    Father of the day is Chief Bisi Akande. Chief Rita Lori Ogbebor is mother of the day.

    The keynote address will  be delivered by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    The venue is Oranmiyan Hall, Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Flight of courage

    •Are our soldiers truly afraid of taking over towns conquered  by the allied forces?

    The New York Times’ revelations through a piece titled ‘Foreign troops beg Nigerian soldiers to occupy recaptured towns,’ has further exposed our  military’s weakness. In the story, Chadian authorities were reportedly angered by “the near-total absence of cooperation from the Nigerians in a crucial regional battle.” For example, it was reported that several days after the last Boko Haram fighter had fled the captured town of Damasak, consequent upon bombardments from Chadian and Nigerien troops, Nigerian troops had shown no interest in taking over the desolate town.

    Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chadian foreign minister reportedly declared: “The Nigerian Army has not succeeded in facing Boko Haram. The occupation of these towns, this is up to Nigeria. My fondest wish is that they assume their responsibilities…Our biggest wish is that the Nigerian Army pulls itself together — that it takes responsibility in the towns. We are ready to disengage, right away.”

    Second-Lieutenant Hassan, a Chadian  army officer, puts it succinctly: “We asked them (Nigerian Army) to come, to receive this town from us, but they have not come. It is because they are afraid. We fought on the night of the 14th, and the last attack was on the 15th of March. We called them on the 16th and told them to come; they didn’t believe we were here. It is up to them (Nigeria) to hold the town, not us.” Our role is offensive. Our mission is to chase the terrorists.”

    Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information presented the Nigerian side to the story: “It is not true that our soldiers are not willing to take over such communities. There is no town that our soldiers have liberated that is not being well secured and well patrolled at the moment. We have always warned against irresponsible comments in this collaboration and we are not ready to join issues with anybody. We will do everything to sustain this collaboration.’’

    But why are Nigerian soldiers still not within that vicinity? Of course we are not unaware that not much progress was made on the insurgency until the armed forces of Niger, Chad and Cameroun came on board lately to help quell it. The reasonable mileage so far garnered, regarding the recapturing of towns hitherto occupied by members of terrorist groups in Adamawa and Yobe states, could not have been as a result of the right approach by the nation’s military authorities alone, but that of the coalition forces. With time and under the current collaborative efforts ,everything points in the direction that Borno State, the only remaining enclave of Boko Haram, would fall very soon. This is why we agree with Maj-General Olukolade that the government should do everything to sustain the on-going military collaboration with neighbouring countries.

    But by and large, it is indefensible that the nation’s soldiers still have not overcome the fears of the insurgents despite the intervention of the allied forces. What is equally undeniable is that any nation with a timid military cannot but have disaster awaiting her since the sanctity of her territorial integrity can no longer be guaranteed. This is why it is too shameful that after the liberation of some of the towns by the coalition forces, Nigerian soldiers are still afraid to take over from there even when it is certain that the coalition forces would not be here forever.

    As a responsible platform, our demand is simple: The nation’s topmost military hierarchy must not allow this insult to continue after all the huge investment the government claims to have made on the military’s training and equipment, especially in recent times.

  • ‘The only thing that can keep your head up is courage’

    Ruth Obih is the CEO of 3Invest Limited, a real estate acquisition company in Nigeria. She is a trained lawyer who has a passion for property and real estate. Her company also has several platforms to promote the real estate sector. Her hard work and determination to make a meaningful impact in the industry caught the attention of FORBES AFRICA, which profiled her in September 2012 “as different.She shares with Adetutu Audu how she has been able to revolutionise the sector and her background.

    IN their quest to revolutionise the Nigerian real estate sector by providing platforms that will create investable real estate and elevate standards in the built industry, top real estate companies and the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s real estate converge year in year out at the annual Real Estate Unite Conference and Awards organised by 3Invest Limited, a real estate consulting, media and advocacy firm run by Ruth Obih.

    The event is an international business-to-business conference and awards focused on strategic solutions integral to Nigeria’s real estate growth, as well as an award ceremony designed to recognise and celebrate spectrum of talents in the industry.

    Since coming into the market in 2007, 3Invest limited has greeted the scene with stunning innovations that have not just raised the profile of the sector, but armed the public with information crucial to investment decisions. Her hard work and determination to make impact in the industry has even caught the attention of Forbes Africa, which recently profiled her.

    But what could have propelled her to leave law for real estate? She explains: “I have a picture that has two caps; one is a construction cap and the other a lawyer’s wig. One thing about real estate is that at the end of the day, you cannot have a successful real estate business without a lawyer, so why not both, if you can? There is a bit of law in real estate, so it suits me well.”

    She continues: “After my National Youth Service (NYSC), I travelled to London to do a test where you can practice both in London and the UK. I went to this law firm to do my internship and they were really focused on real estate. The test is called ‘legal conveyance’. I worked for like six months and began to look for how to get involved in real estate. I came back to Nigeria and started 3Invest and that is how it started. My passion for real estate arose from wanting to change what obtains in the industry to what it is meant to be. We started 3Invest in the UK, and it ran for a year before I came back to Nigeria to start the same company by myself. I had two partners in London. After a year when I moved back to Nigeria, we just wound it up.

    Upon returning to Nigeria, Obih set up the company, when the real estate business was experiencing what she would call “the boom”. “Those were the days when ignorant people thought they were investing wisely, but most people had issues, whereby they bought so much real estate at high prices such that there was no equity. In some cases, there was minus equity on their property. At the time, it was sort of booming and you could sell property like every other day; the funding system in Nigeria was still working well, unlike what we are experiencing now and lenders would have to check the pair of shoes you have on before they lend you money.”

    However, in the wake of the global financial meltdown and plummeting real estate value, when the downturn happened in 2009, she points out that she had the option of either going back to get a job or staying in the industry. “My passion for what I do now had grown over the last two years, so I decided to remain in the industry, only I had to stay back in a way that nothing would easily shake me out. I was not just going to be an agent selling property and helping people buy property; that is why I set up 3Invest Intelligence, which is the media advocacy platform that handles the radio, the online portal and our events. We have the online portal for sharing real estate information at www.3investonline.com.

    “In January 2011, we started the 3Invest Intelligence which is a department on its own. Its workings are independent of 3Invest Real Estate works. We have a team of estate surveyors and estate managers working in the real estate works department. 3Invest is a real estate company; we do acquisitions and marketing – we work with private investors and organisations. We basically work for the buyer. We don’t stock properties, but we have plans of developing in the near future, but in terms of real estate acquisition, it’s an investment company. That’s all we do,” she notes.

    Being a trained lawyer, in what way does her experience help in her new career? The young entrepreneur gushes that it gives her a broad scope. “Advocacy is what we do. Advocating is not a new job to me. Lawyers talk for people. Talking is not a problem because by profession, I am supposed to know how to talk. If you have to go through Law school, you can ask anyone, it’s hectic, so what I do, when it comes to leases and agreement, is still law. The best thing that happened to me is still being a lawyer. I have the choice today to open my eyes and I see myself in one penthouse office running a big law firm and still calling the shots at 3Invest,” she replies excitedly.

    No doubt, the booming business also has challenges. Obih notes that every challenge is an opportunity.  Much as she does not want to dwell on the negative, she explains that there are myriads of challenges that she faces. “From starting 3Invest in 2006 to now, I’ll give you countless challenges; it’s as if every client turns into an enemy because it’s a business whereby we try to impress people a lot and when the time to pay comes, money becomes an issue and you can’t be in a business without getting paid. Prayer is all one needs to work in Nigeria. When I get on the plane and I leave Nigeria, it’s like I forget my prayers. What you need in this Nigeria is prayers every day. First, to wake up you need to pray; to sleep, you need to pray. When you have that in mind, next thing you need so much is courage because in the midst of difficulty, the only thing that can keep your head up is courage; you just need to pray that you have opportunities and chances and access. You just need lots of access and networks to get where you want to be in Nigeria. If you don’t find for yourself, no one is going to help you out.”

    She continues: “Nigeria is a place where people want something that they sometime don’t want to pay for. Sometimes you just have to put your leg down and when you do that you also have to remember that customer is always right. These factors and more make running business in Nigeria a lot challenging, especially when your business requires you to relate with people. It’s not easy but it’s also an opportunity.”

    So, what steps does she take to recover her funds? “In business, there are two ways to try getting your money  it is either you write it off or you go the legal way. As a lawyer, I don’t take people to court, not because I don’t believe in the legal system, but because I don’t see a reason for having to put myself through so much trouble. We make sure that contracts are signed, but we have also had cases whereby we signed contracts and people still didn’t pay. We just write them and tell them whatever it is. What we do is we try to find out what happened, and how we’re going to prevent it in the future.”

    Obih stresses the importance of parental grooming having been influenced by her parents.  “I remember constantly being groomed by my mother so much that I thought she did not like me, little did I know she was preparing me for my future. I look back and all I feel towards her is gratitude. Time for fun was never confused for time for work. My father’s counsels have also been very helpful.”

    Technology and job creation are what Ruth says are the true impact of real estate on the economy. “It is not only how many houses are built, but also how many jobs are created,” she insists. “Therefore, exploring the use of technology would generally increase employment. This is what 3Invest will be looking into in the nearest future. 3Invest will seek to create direct jobs while also increasing opportunities.”

    Reinstating that though real estate is male-dominated, women are still well positioned and contributing effectively, Ruth says: “The real estate industry is male-dominated, but as a woman in their midst, it strengthens me because though I may act like a man because of the nature of the business, I can think like a woman which is who I am. Knowing who you are and what you want to achieve is highly important. You don’t have to appear as being weak because you are a woman; you can achieve great heights and do the seemingly impossible if only you believe.”

    For some time now, Ruth has put together a real estate conference. She speaks on reasons for the conference. “Our real estate conferences came up because I thought to change the norm and do something that will help educate and entertain investors. We get the best speakers for the conferences and the feedback has been tremendous.”

  • Farewell to a man of courage

    Farewell to a man of courage

    The funeral of a civil servant, Elder Ernest Echebiri Anokwuo, who died last year, has been held in his hometown, Umuchima in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, reports COLLINS NWEZE.

    Many villagers left everything to pay their last respects to Elder Ernest Echebiri Anokwuo, a rustic community in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State.

    In 1978, the late  Elder Anokwuo’s love for his people prompted him to institute the Umuogbaregbe Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative Society Limited, which has empowered community members.

    By 1985, when the cooperative was launched, it became an avenue through which fertiliser were distributed to the farmers at reduced prices and also hectares of land were cultivated with improved species of palm seedlings. These projects eventually developed and became sources of revenues to the community.

    On the morning of the funeral he was to be committed to mother earth, the hearse conveying the body of Elder Anokwuo arrived his compound, accompanied by his family friends, in laws, and church members.

    Many of these who spoke glowingly about his life and times described him as a man who had the interest and well-being of his people at heart, and one who was always thinking of how to bring development to the community.

    The widow, Mrs. Grace Anokwuo, was clad in a white attire, described her late husband as a loving and one who stood for his  family and people.  “He loved God and worked for Him. His life on earth was that of a true leader who cares about the welfare of other people.” She was glad his legacy lived on.

    Son of the deceased, Uche, said his father met every situation with desired wisdom and commitment.

    Another son of the deceased, Okechukwu, an employee of Addax Petroleum said:  “My father was not a person that sits and watches at the background in any place he finds himself. He loved to make impact in people’s lives. He was a mentor to many people that knew him. He pointed the light to many and came to people’s aid where he could”.

    Daughter of the deceased, Mrs. Nnenna Nweze, described her late father as her hero and mentor. She said he was a godly man who gave his children the best education.

    Reverend C. Ahunanya, in his sermon, described the late Elder Anokwuo as a man who loved God and served Him with all his heart. He called on all to obey God’s word and live righteously for them to have a guaranteed place in God’s kingdom.

    After the sermon, prayers were offered for God’s protection on the family of the bereaved.

    Afterwards, there were prayers at the graveside before the body was interred in a corner of the family’s expansive compound, in Umuchima community.

    The late Elder Anokwuo worked with the then Eastern Nigeria Regional Office Enugu and later in the Local Government Service Commission.

    He undertook University of London Rapid Result College Correspondence Courses and also attended several management courses in his career.

  • The courage to begin

    SIR: I call on fellow Nigerians to begin from this year’s elections to set our country on the path to glory and fame, by not giving our mandate away and trade our future and that of our children for a morsel of meat like Esau, for just like him also, free flowing tears of regret will not recover a mortgaged destiny.

    Let us begin by buying the future with the present, knowing assuredly that the future is a collection of choices of the present and wrong and unwise choices of today will turn back to hurt us as pains and agonies in the future.

    Let us begin by learning from our past mistakes or the mistakes of our past leaders as well as followers and how it has cost us dearly thus far and determine not to repeat same. As the saying goes, he who fails to learn from his past mistakes stand the risk of repeating same in the future. God forbid that it should be our lot. The mistakes of ethno- religious, nepotistic, divisive politicking rather than solution-based politics, driven by accountability, political stability, effectiveness in governance, control of corruption, adequate regulation and rule of law should be corrected this once!

    Let us begin to build an egalitarian society, where the children of peasants can afford a decent life and education and go all the way to realize their lofty dreams without impediments imposed by a skewed, ‘only-the-rich’ economic policies and practices that has left us craving for the return of the good old days  our fathers told us of.

    I once told a friend that if all of us in Nigeria are relocated to the United States and Americans brought to Nigeria to settle here, in the next 50 years, this land Nigeria would have transformed for the better and will be like America and vice versa. So, what does that mean? Attitude.  Abundant natural resources profit little in the hands of people with a wrong attitude. Let us begin to change our attitude to our nation, to our neighbours and to ourselves. This degenerate attitude found in a vast many was not innate, but learned. So it can be unlearned. The good attitude can be learned too. Those ‘little little’ things we do or fail to do to ourselves, our neighbours and for our nation are the difference between the great nation and the gory. Therefore, as we match out to elect leaders to various offices, fellow country men and women, let us begin.

     

    •Pharm Oluleti Olalekan,

    Kubwa , Abuja.

     

  • Profile in courage

    For, in the final analysis, our most common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy.

    I would have titled this article  The Mama Boko Haram job or What Mama Boko can do, but neither  of these titles   would suffice for you. Many Nigerians did not know you  until President Goodluck Jonathan raised  a peace panel to talk with Boko Haram. Even at that, we still did not know you because all  we saw of you was a photograph in which you were dressed in an Islamic  attire. You were covered from head to toe, leaving two tiny slits in the cloth for your eyes.

    Till today, none of those who saw that photograph in April, last year,  can see you on the street and identify you because you left no  room for such identification. It has been over one year since the inauguration of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, yet nothing has changed in that part of the country. The worst hit is the Northeast, where Boko Haram  has been on the rampage in the last four years.

    My dear Hajia Aisha Wakil, your  membership of the panel was informed  by  your closeness to the sect. You were expected to leverage on this special relationship to get the  ‘boys’,  if I may use that word, to cease fire. I know that you would have put in your best to get these ‘boys’ to see reason, but then for their own safety they would  require some assurance that they will come to no harm if they drop their weapons.  They may not see you as being in the position to give them such assurance. This, I believe, is your dilemma. I feel for you madam.

    As they say, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since the inauguration of the panel  and the submission of its report. Your panel recommended amnesty for members of the sect, who are willing to renounce violence. I strongly believe that the sect can still renounce violence, if properly handled. It is not going to be an easy task, but I know that it can be done. And Hajia, you are the one to do it.  You are the woman for the job because you are their ‘mother’.

    You may not be their biological mother, but you wield a motherly influence over them. They will listen to you because they trust you even more than they trust their own mothers.  Hajia, so far, you have shown that you are a courageous woman.  I salute your courage. As a mother yourself, I am certain that you cannot be happy with what is happening in the three Northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. As a resident of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, you are aware of the atrocities committed by Boko Hram. No day passes without the sect wreaking havoc on one village or the other. How long will this continue?

    I am pained that 80 days after the Chibok  schoolgirls were abducted, they are yet to be released by your ‘children’, who have claimed responsibility for the act. The government says it is working covertly to get back the girls, but to me, nothing seems to be moving, even with the intervention of the so-called super powers. Hajia, our destiny lies in our hands in this matter and people like you have a vital role to play if we must get back these girls safe and sound. I  am appealing to you to do all you can to bring back these girls, who as it were, will be going through psychological trauma wherever they are.

    Their parents too will be psychologically troubled. We do not know what these people are going through because we are not the ones wearing the shoe. We can only feel their pains but cannot suffer the same psychological trauma they have been going through in the past two-and-a-half months.  Let us  imagine  that our own children are forcefully taken away from us just as these schoolgirls were abducted, how will we feel? If these girls were to be the children of those in power will they be treating this matter like this?

    I want us to bypass even the government in this matter, if possible, because it has not done enough in getting back these girls. It did not act promptly when the news of their abduction broke, rather, it was waiting for proof that ‘’over 200 girls can be abducted like that?’’ Now that it has the proof from its panel on the Chibok girls abduction,  has  the government become convinced? It is the politicisation of the girls’ abduction that brought us to this pass. If we had not delayed the rescue effort, the girls would have been back home by now. Hajia, you can still do something to redeem the situation.

    The government keeps on saying that it is working covertly to get them back, but there are no signs that we will see them soon , if people like you do not intervene. Last week, our President was the butt of a scathing editorial by the New York Post following his letter carried by The Washington Post in which he wrote about his secret plans to get back the girls and how he will get the United Nations to establish and coordinate a system to share intelligence . To the New York Post, the government’s secret plan to get the girls back- which the President says he has to ‘’remain quiet about’’ – isn’t much impressing Boko Haram. Of course, it has not because the sect  has not ceased killing, maiming and looting since the April 14 abduction of those children.

    Hajia, your interview with Al Jazeera, shows that you can prevail on Boko Haram to release these girls in this holy month of Ramadan, in which Prophet Mohammad  told us that no true Muslim should fight. I know that you are also worried by what is going on and have been doing all that you can quietly to help. Now, is the time to step up that effort and Allah will crown your effort with successs.  In the Al Jazeera interview, you recalled how you got to know the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf , and also spoke of how he and members of his group enjoyed your cooking.

    ‘’He(Yusuf) prayed that Almighty Allah would reward me because so many were eating from my pot, and that was how we established a close relationship. The boys called me  ‘mum’.  Many of them didn’t have mothers’’. Hajia, you have become the mother that they do not have. What these ‘boys’ need is motherly love and care , which you have been providing them in the past five years. Please, talk to them  like a mother to her sons  and let them  see reason why they should let the girls go. Hajia, you can do it. May Allah grant you the wisdom  to handle this national assignment.

  • Dame Patience affair: the courage to lie

    Dame Patience affair: the courage to lie

    With a lavish and riveting thanksgiving service and party held on Sunday in Abuja, the First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, has all but guaranteed that her continuing health soap opera will receive high ratings. When she returned home on October 17, 2012 after a seven-week health trip to Germany, Mrs Patience Jonathan told a puzzled airport audience it was all a lie that she received medical care at a popular German hospital. “I was never at that hospital, let alone have a terminal illness,” she deadpanned. At a short reception later, where fawning aides and ministers had gathered to welcome her back, she kept up appearances and continued the evasiveness. She looked pale and lethargic, but on what ailed her or where she went, she maintained a stiff upper lip. It was also okay for us to know, she continued, that she did not have cosmetic surgery because her husband adored her shape. On that day, her reticence and the unwelcoming stare of her tight-lipped husband dissuaded anyone from probing further. Speculations, however, persisted.

    But during the November edition of the presidential media chat, and for reasons we may never guess, the president finally and condescendingly decided to open up a little on his wife’s mysterious trip abroad. She travelled for medical reasons, admitted the president. He didn’t give room for anyone to ask why presidential aides lied about her trip. He didn’t also say why as president he refused at the time to say a word on his wife’s trip. All we got from the First Family were Calvinist lectures on life and the hereafter, our inescapable date with death sometime in the future, and the metaphysics of wishing or not wishing someone ill.

    Finally, and completely out of the blue, the president organised a thanksgiving service and party on Sunday for his wife, virtually shutting down Abuja, so to say. The purpose was to expatiate on the second chance in life Dame Patience told us on October 17 last year that God had gifted her. Like her waffling aides, she had given the impression she travelled to enjoy a deserved rest. But during the Sunday service, she finally came clean about the health matter, describing in medically bewildering details how she underwent eight or nine surgeries in one month. Hear her: “People are always afraid of surgery, but in my own case, while my travail (she means ordeal) lasted, I was begging for it (surgery) after the third operation because I was going to the theatre every day. It was God who saw me through. I did eight or nine operations within one month. It was not an easy one.” So, why did she evade a straightforward answer about her health last year? Why was she testy and insinuative when the long-suffering public wanted to know her condition and empathise with her? Alas, we may never know how her mind works.

    However, the First Family’s religion is much less inscrutable than their minds. Both the president and his wife were unnerved by the superstition that in most cases the First Family often lost a spouse in the State House, with particular reference to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Gen Sani Abacha, and perhaps Murtala Mohammed. It was, therefore, necessary to sanctify the seat of power to exorcise spousal tragedy from it, Dame Patience moaned.

    It speaks to the Jonathans’ sense of quaint altruism that the cleansing they want for Aso Villa is limited in objective, though it is masqueraded as indispensable to the seat of power. They even seem less interested in learning anything from information management in a modern and complex society than in rebutting the superstition of spousal deaths in the State House. That Dame Patience survived abdominal surgery late last year also seems to underscore the First Family’s religious philosophy that the curse had been broken and naysayers put to shame. As the President fatalistically put it, complete with an implausible exposition on the best time to die, “If anything had happened, there would have been different stories from false prophets, and many other things would have followed. We all know we will all die but the best time to die is not when you are serving your nation.” Really?

    What more can anyone say? There is obviously nothing we can do or say to dissuade the president from being distracted or bitter, or from sometimes wandering into, or conniving at, willful inaccuracies.