The Nation Newspaper

Tag: King

  • The king is dead; long live the king!

    I remember President J.F. Kennedy’s  famous and everlasting inaugural speech  on that wintry morning of January 1961 when as the youngest President of the USA said among other things how the work of government is never done not in one term or even according to him in our life times. It was a prophetic statement because he was soon cut down by an assassin’s bullet even before he finished the first term. Of course he said other things like ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. He idealistically said that America’s foes and friends alike should know that the baton  of the defence of freedom has been passed  on to a new generation of Americans nurtured in war and ready to pay any price in the defence of  liberty and freedom where ever they are threatened. Americans lapped it up especially coming from the mouth of the dangerously handsome young president. No American president can say that today and be applauded unless of course those Americans on the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party and their running dogs in the so-called Tea Party.

    When a king or Queen dies in England, the continuity in government is captured by the saying the king is dead long live the king. Amongst the Yoruba the same sentiment is contained in the statement Baba ku Baba ku meaning father has died but he lives on in the next oldest member of the family. All these preambular statements are to emphasize that the work of government is continuous and is never completely done by any regime. This is however not an excuse for inertia or clueless performance.

    The government of Jonathan now belongs to history and when the dust has settled and the healing hands of time have passed over the events of recent times, the judgement on his regime may or not be severe. The usefulness of such historical judgement will serve as a warning or compass to the successor regimes. What we can call instant history is that the Jonathan administration has fallen below expectation. This apparent failure can be seen in the collapse of the economy less than a year after the current reduction in crude oil price. What this means is that we were eating our fruits and seeds at the same time like a foolish farmer. Many critics including this writer had warned ad nauseam that the drunken financial fashion the country was being run was not sustainable. The stupendous salaries and allowances paid to members of the executives and legislators at local, state and federal levels were heavy enough to sink the ship of state. Now chicken has come home to roost. There is no fuel to run our homes and the national economy. Power generation is now just over 1000 megawatts and with no diesel the country would soon grind to a halt. Recently I went to Abuja and in the absence of aviation fuel, I had to return to Lagos by road something I had not done in 20 years. Most states of the federation stopped paying salaries since January with the consequence of parents being unable to pay their children’s school fees. Since quite a large percentage of parents now send their children to fee-paying private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions many young people are at home idling their lives away. The result of growing unemployment and underemployment is armed robberies complicating the already existing insecurity problems associated with Boko Haram and cattle rustling in the northern part of the country. Even the apparent reduction of militancy in the Niger Delta creeks is still early to be celebrated and the spreading spate of kidnappings for ransom constitutes reason for worry. The infrastructural deficit on our roads, rail, sea ports and the danger of inadequate aviation infrastructure are enough to overwhelm any government.

    Does it then mean that the outgoing administration was an unmitigated failure? The answer is not clear cut. What is clear is that the administration is not ending well in view of the fact that the country has ground to a halt. There is no electric power from the companies allegedly fronting for political big-wigs and there is no diesel to power individual generators and even those who have not been paid for six months by their governments have no money to buy petrol and diesel if they are available and they are not. I feel sorry for the outgoing president that he is ending his regime in a whimper and in an anti-climax. The only positive thing this government will be remembered for is the Almajiri schools inadequate as they may be in number. Certainly not the mushroom universities established for political considerations and the welter of private universities for profit licensed by the Jonathan administration.

    But what is to be done? The Buhari administration cannot be expected to perform a miracle when it is burdened by local and foreign debt of over $60 billion. It can at the same time not fold its hands and do nothing. It must not take on too many things at the same time but should tackle the problems one at a time unless where the problem has interlocking relationship for example the problem of power has bearing on appropriate pricing of petroleum products. Security and infrastructure are related and so is security and employment. Money, lots of it will be needed to tackle the myriad of problems facing the country. We must move away from a situation where only salaried workers alone pay taxes while the rich and the famous hardly pay taxes. If people do not pay taxes, then they won’t have a sense of ownership of the government. No matter how small, people would have to pay something to fund their government. Value Added Tax (VAT) must also be increased substantially because these are in most cases luxury taxes on the class most able to bear them. I have said this before: states should be advised to levy property and land use taxes to run their governments rather than relying on federal allocations which are really unearned petrol commissions.

    It is very gratifying to note that the incoming government says it will focus on agriculture and solid minerals exploitation. I will want to enter a caveat here. We heard this before. If we are going into agriculture, it must be massive agricultural business through loans to young graduates who want to go into the business as well as loans to existing farmers who have proved their ability and seriousness. Government must prohibit imports of agricultural products where we have comparative advantage. We should not be importing vegetable oils and rice. We should stop importing wines, champagne and hard liquors in order to conserve our foreign reserves and restore sanity to our country especially our youths who are on slippery slope to drunken degeneracy. We must ensure that our concentrating on solid mineral exploitation is not another Abacha freebies given  to powerful and well connected people in the name of solid mineral exploitation In this regard let big foreign companies be invited and provided tax holidays to encourage them to get involved in our new plans.

    Let the new administration recover as much money as possible from what have been stolen and use the proceeds to embark on massive public works by direct labour of our youth. This will generate enthusiastic support for the government and reduce youth anger and unemployment. The first 100 days will be crucial and government must ensure that it is not business as usual. We can no longer afford this and we have lost so much ground already and the people can no longer wait for action to tackle the problems of this country. We are down and it can not be worse than this and we can only go up. The best way to start while the iron is hot is to eliminate the so-called oil subsidies that have ended subsidizing the lavish and opulent life styles of politicians, plutocrats and oil oligarchs in our country. Everybody is fed up with the humiliating scarcity of fuel in an oil producing country and if the only way to solve this problem once and for all is to throw importation and sale of refined petroleum  open to all who have the capacity while fixing our refineries, then that is the reasonable thing for government to do  and  the question of subsidies will  be gone forever.

    Finally, what is left for most of us  to do is to wish our former President Jonathan, good luck in the years ahead and President Muhammadu Buhari Godspeed in the journey of piloting the ship of state.

  • The customer should be king always

    The customer should be king always

     A food outfit, Eat’N’Go, was established about four years ago. It has the exclusive master franchise for Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery in Nigeria. Its Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Meyer speaks about Domino Pizza’s brand identity, its battle among competing brands, varieties and its projection in the nation’s fast food market, among others. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA met him.

    What is Domino Pizza’s brand identity?

    The Domino’s Pizza brand is known globally for being the leader in pizza delivery, it’s what we do. We strive to be number one in every neighborhood. As such, the brand is known for delivering quality products and services while putting people first, demanding integrity, striving for customer loyalty, delivering with smart hustle and positive energy and ultimately, winning by improving results every day.

    What decides your location and what are those considerations?

     There are a number of factors impacting management’s decision on where to establish a Domino’s Pizza restaurant. We consider things such as area demographics, spending power, logistical issues and proximity to our commissaries; and once we have set our mind on an area, we then look for a site within it, which ideally would gather as many ideal criteria as possible, like being on a high street or being of adequate size, with minimal construction, we also look at the parking size, etc.

    Could you tell us the various types of pizza available?

    We carry a rich menu of pizzas and other meal accompaniments such as Stuffed Cheesy bread, Chicken Wings, Chicken Kickers, Bread Sticks, to mention but a few. Going back to the pizza types available, I can guarantee that we have a pizza for everyone depending on their taste or convictions. For example, we have the Margarita, Caprese, Veggie or Veggie Supreme Pizzas for the vegetarians, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Deluxe, Pepperoni Supreme or Chicken Supreme for the meat lovers, Hawiian Pizza if a more fruity taste is what you fancy, and also Chicken Suya and Chicken Bali for those who like it hot and spicy.

    However, one of the uniqueness and beauty of Domino’s Pizza is that no one should be restricted to which ever recipe we came up with. Customers are entitled to request for half and half, so half BBQ Chicken / half pepperoni for example, or even better, create their own entirely by selecting any number of toppings in our list and let their creativity run wild. If you like chicken, cheese, hot peppers and olives, then why should you be denied the right to delight yourself with just that?

    Are sure of breaking even in view of the competiton?

    At this stage in Nigeria, we believe we are pioneers in our field, as we honestly do not consider any other eatery as competition. Not that we disregard or underestimate them, but that the demand still far outweighs the offer.

    As such, we have the “first mover’s advantage” but then again it is now about educating the market on how our products make for a suitable alternative for their meals. Another unique advantage we have is investing in our team members. We strive to make every staff working for Domino’s as part of the family and not just an addition. Finally, what will always make us confident about our ability to break even is our dedication to our guests and we are relentless. There shouldn’t be any reason for our restaurants not to succeed when we provide the best quality at the best price in the industry, without sacrificing quantity.

    What  marketing techniques are you adopting to woo customers?

    One strategy we have adopted with Domino’s Pizza is to ‘Nigerianise’ the product. We have been able to roll out a couple of pizzas, for example the Chicken Suya pizza, which is a good seller and accepted very well in the market here.

    We have also worked hard to ensure the quality, the pricing and the different promotional offerings done as correctly as we can to try and convince the market to have a slice of our pizza.

    Our best marketing strategy is again, to provide the best price to quality to quantity ratio in the market, and you can verify this. We recently started ‘A Prove Us Wrong’ campaign with us making the declaration that we are bigger, better and cheaper. We are urging anyone to prove us wrong and get a free pizza; we are that confident. Our medium sized pizza is what others sell as their large pizzas at an outrageously high price. In addition, we will deliver for free, anywhere within our range, in an average time of about 25 minutes from the moment you order.

    More generally, our idea is that customer is king and deserves to feel that way, whether through our services, our product, our affordability or our environment. Of course, we can’t be always successful in that but we certainly strive to make it happen over and over, on every occasion we get for each of our guests. Our goal is that not one guest leaves our restaurant without a smile on his or her face.

    Would you convincingly say you provide for every social class?

    Everybody needs to eat, so everybody is our concern. We strive on a daily basis to cater to more and more people not only by opening stores but also by developing new products with reasonable costs to our guests or launching promotions on various occasions.

    I wouldn’t say we provide daily for every social class just yet, but it is our goal.

    What are the standard hygiene processes (from beginning to finished products) considering that pizza are often prepared with bare hands?

    Hygiene is one of our primary focus! The difference with us is that we mean it, and thus we show it.

    In all our restaurants, we made the kitchen not only central but entirely open so every guest can see for their eyes the cleanliness of our work environment, the freshness of our products, and is therefore guaranteed that their meal was prepared with utmost care.

    Furthermore, all our open kitchens feature wash hand basins and our rule is that every crew member must wash their hands on a regular basis. We sometimes encounter the argument of bare hands versus gloves and we prefer washing our hands because it is much more efficient against germs, as how often does one wash the gloves they are wearing?

    What do you have to say to your customers in the country?

    We would like to thank Nigeria for having accepted us warmly and we promise to continually strive to make everyone happy with our products and services. We urge everyone to expect nothing but the best, as we do have a number of projects in the pipeline which we are confident will please everyone. Watch out for innovation, new menu additions, ever attractive promotions; all designed to keep every guest smiling.

  • ‘The customer should be king always’

    ‘The customer should be king always’

     A food outfit, Eat’N’Go, was established about four years ago. It has the exclusive master franchise for Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery in Nigeria. Its Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Meyer speaks about Domino Pizza’s brand identity, its battle among competing brands, varieties and its projection in the nation’s fast food market, among others. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA met him.

    What is Domino Pizza’s brand identity?

    The Domino’s Pizza brand is known globally for being the leader in pizza delivery, it’s what we do. We strive to be number one in every neighborhood. As such, the brand is known for delivering quality products and services while putting people first, demanding integrity, striving for customer loyalty, delivering with smart hustle and positive energy and ultimately, winning by improving results every day.

    What decides your location and what are those considerations?

     There are a number of factors impacting management’s decision on where to establish a Domino’s Pizza restaurant. We consider things such as area demographics, spending power, logistical issues and proximity to our commissaries; and once we have set our mind on an area, we then look for a site within it, which ideally would gather as many ideal criteria as possible, like being on a high street or being of adequate size, with minimal construction, we also look at the parking size, etc.

    Could you tell us the various types of pizza available?

    We carry a rich menu of pizzas and other meal accompaniments such as Stuffed Cheesy bread, Chicken Wings, Chicken Kickers, Bread Sticks, to mention but a few. Going back to the pizza types available, I can guarantee that we have a pizza for everyone depending on their taste or convictions. For example, we have the Margarita, Caprese, Veggie or Veggie Supreme Pizzas for the vegetarians, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Deluxe, Pepperoni Supreme or Chicken Supreme for the meat lovers, Hawiian Pizza if a more fruity taste is what you fancy, and also Chicken Suya and Chicken Bali for those who like it hot and spicy.

    However, one of the uniqueness and beauty of Domino’s Pizza is that no one should be restricted to which ever recipe we came up with. Customers are entitled to request for half and half, so half BBQ Chicken / half pepperoni for example, or even better, create their own entirely by selecting any number of toppings in our list and let their creativity run wild. If you like chicken, cheese, hot peppers and olives, then why should you be denied the right to delight yourself with just that?

    Are sure of breaking even in view of the compettiton?

    At this stage in Nigeria, we believe we are pioneers in our field, as we honestly do not consider any other eatery as competition. Not that we disregard or underestimate them, but that the demand still far outweighs the offer.

    As such, we have the “first mover’s advantage” but then again it is now about educating the market on how our products make for a suitable alternative for their meals. Another unique advantage we have is investing in our team members. We strive to make every staff working for Domino’s as part of the family and not just an addition. Finally, what will always make us confident about our ability to break even is our dedication to our guests and we are relentless. There shouldn’t be any reason for our restaurants not to succeed when we provide the best quality at the best price in the industry, without sacrificing quantity.

    What  marketing techniques are you adopting to woo customers?

    One strategy we have adopted with Domino’s Pizza is to ‘Nigerianise’ the product. We have been able to roll out a couple of pizzas, for example the Chicken Suya pizza, which is a good seller and accepted very well in the market here. We have also worked hard to ensure the quality, the pricing and the different promotional offerings done as correctly as we can to try and convince the market to have a slice of our pizza.

    Our best marketing strategy is again, to provide the best price to quality to quantity ratio in the market, and you can verify this. We recently started ‘A Prove Us Wrong’ campaign with us making the declaration that we are bigger, better and cheaper. We are urging anyone to prove us wrong and get a free pizza; we are that confident. Our medium sized pizza is what others sell as their large pizzas at an outrageously high price. In addition, we will deliver for free, anywhere within our range, in an average time of about 25 minutes from the moment you order.

    More generally, our idea is that customer is king and deserves to feel that way, whether through our services, our product, our affordability or our environment. Of course, we can’t be always successful in that but we certainly strive to make it happen over and over, on every occasion we get for each of our guests. Our goal is that not one guest leaves our restaurant without a smile on his or her face.

    Would you convincingly say you provide for every social class?

    Everybody needs to eat, so everybody is our concern. We strive on a daily basis to cater to more and more people not only by opening stores but also by developing new products with reasonable costs to our guests or launching promotions on various occasions.

    I wouldn’t say we provide daily for every social class just yet, but it is our goal.

    What are the standard hygiene processes (from beginning to finished products) considering that pizza are often prepared with bare hands?

    Hygiene is one of our primary focus! The difference with us is that we mean it, and thus we show it.

    In all our restaurants, we made the kitchen not only central but entirely open so every guest can see for their eyes the cleanliness of our work environment, the freshness of our products, and is therefore guaranteed that their meal was prepared with utmost care.

    Furthermore, all our open kitchens feature wash hand basins and our rule is that every crew member must wash their hands on a regular basis. We sometimes encounter the argument of bare hands versus gloves and we prefer washing our hands because it is much more efficient against germs, as how often does one wash the gloves they are wearing?

    What do you have to say to your customers in the country?

    We would like to thank Nigeria for having accepted us warmly and we promise to continually strive to make everyone happy with our products and services. We urge everyone to expect nothing but the best, as we do have a number of projects in the pipeline which we are confident will please everyone. Watch out for innovation, new menu additions, ever attractive promotions; all designed to keep every guest smiling.

  • Between late Yar’Adua phone call and Moroccan King

    In describing Nigeria recently I was told—”Big nation, great people, but equally BIG problems.”

    Let me take us back a little, in December 2009, a certain Mallam Tanimu Yakubu, and economic guru lied to an entire nation that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua called key government officials, including the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, on phone and spoke with them for five minutes.

    We are in March 2015, and after denials and counter denials by officials, Nigeria’s President Jonathan has said he is “highly embarrassed” that his officials said he had spoken to the Moroccan King when he had not.

    Earlier last week, Morocco recalled its ambassador over the affair after the Nigerian foreign ministry insisted the two heads of state had spoken by phone.

    President Jonathan did confess that he had been trying to speak to various African leaders to seek their support for Nigeria’s candidate for the position of African Development Bank (AfDB) president.

    The President’s spokesperson Reuben Abati released a statement saying President Jonathan was “shocked, surprised and highly embarrassed by the controversy that has erupted” and that he had ordered the foreign affairs minister to find out how it had occurred.

    “The regrettable furore that has developed over the matter is due entirely to misinformation as President Jonathan has neither spoken with King Mohammed or told anybody that he had a telephone conversation with the Moroccan monarch,” the statement said.

    The Nigerian foreign ministry had said “both leaders spoke extensively over the phone on matters of mutual interest and concern.”

    In 2009, the Yar’Adua call was coming after 44 days, of ‘no speech’, ‘video call’ or ‘photograph’ from Jeddah, where the President was hospitalised. It was yet another spin…in a long drawer of plenty spins during that era, including that staged BBC interview too.

    In that period we witnessed the mysteriously signed budget, Nigeria on terror list, sackings in the banking sector, fuel crisis and a nation practically on autopilot.

    It was in that mood that Tanimu told us that the president called xyz, it was the era, the president could govern from anywhere, when some kitchen cabinet or cabal clerks flew kilometres around the globe to have him sign the supplementary budget.

    Then some ‘goons’ just jet in and out to everywhere and anywhere and tell us they just came in from Jeddah. Nobody told us till date, how much Yar’Adua’s absence cost Nigerians in travels, estacode, medical bills and the cost of all the lies.

    Laughable cock and bull story.

    Every issue that is raised in respect to moving our nation forward is narrowed down to north south, Christian-Muslim, however when our leaders steal, it has no coloration. My take is that the leaders of the country are only united in looting the state treasury. And then we fight across our naïve idiosyncrasies, while they watch us.

    Why are we always looking for other countries approval, and acceptance, why are we a timid people, why are we never doing the right things at home?

    It’s our failure at home that has made U.S and Europe so relevant to us. We have to send our children there because the universities at home have failed. We have to look for jobs there because there are none at home. Some people even feel inferior to them and will rather live abroad at all cost- in their minds, by doing so, they’ve become superior human beings.

    We keep allowing our leaders make the wrong call, for how long—Only time will tell.

     

    •By Prince Charles Dickson

  • Kingdom without its king

    Kingdom without its king

    Gwoza once enchanted its residents with a scenic rocky landscape, prestigious mobile police training school and revered monarchy. Now, this kingdom in Borno State has been seized by Boko Haram insurgents who have turned it into their caliphate headquarters, its monarch sheltering far away from his throne. DUKU JOEL reports

    A black flag now flies over the town. Its people feel assaulted, conquered and having lost all. Until the Nigerian military reclaims Gwoza, that feeling will persist.

    The town was until August 6th,  a part of Borno State, submitting to the Nigerian constitution. But on that day Abubakar Shekau, leader of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents declared the town the administrative headquarters of his Islamic caliphate.

    The people’s fondness for their rocks has been cut off. The impressive Nigeria Mobile Police Training School located in their community has been taken over by the invaders while a new Emir chosen by Boko Haram has been installed.

    Gwoza Emir, Mustapha Idrissa Timta ran away when he was informed that the insurgents were approaching his domain.

    He ascended the throne after gunnmen ambushed and killed his father, Idrissa Timta who was the Emir. Timta and three other Emirs were travelling in a convoy along Tashan Alade in Biu Local Government of Borno State on their way to Gombe to attend the burial of the late Emir of Gombe Shehu Abubakar when their assailants killed them.

    The death of his father did not stop the travails of the town as their woes merely continued. In one of the attacks on his kingdom, the young Emir escaped by the whiskers and went into hiding. For several days, the Mandara hills became his home before he was rescued and brought to Maiduguri where he has been sheltering.

    Mustapha Timta’s sojourn in Maiduguri away from his people has left him just as shattered as his subjects. He is fed up with life in forced exile.

    His greatest prayer is for the Nigerian government and President Goodluck Jonathan to recover his kingdom from the hands of the insurgents and return him to his throne. Mustapha Timta also wants the military to step up and sustain operations against the insurgents.

    Unfortunately, the embattled traditional ruler never really had time to enjoy what it takes traditional ruler as he had to flee for his life only a few days after he succeeded his father.

    He said he was at the Presidential Villa earlier when his domain fell to the insurgents and was able to extract a promise from the President to recover the town. He wants the President to live up to that promise.

    He said: “I am calling on the president of this country Goodluck Jonathan to fulfil the promise he made to me in Abuja that he will ensure that he takes back Gwoza from the hands of Boko Haram so that my people will go back to their abode”.

    The people of the community are today scattered all over, with some of them making the mountains their home. Several others remain unaccounted for. Those who could not run for their lives are living in Gwoza but in fear and hardship. His lamentation is that his people are experiencing serious hardship in different locations in the country.

    “It is unfortunate that I have been disconnected with many of my people who are suffering in different parts of the country. I feel so sad that I cannot reach out to them. I wish to appeal to the Federal Government to come to the aid of our people. As I am talking to you, many of them are trapped in Cameroon and many others are taking refuge in various places here in Nigeria. We appreciate the efforts of both the Federal Government and the Borno State government but a lot need to be done so that our people would go back home,” the Emir said.

    He called on his people to thank God for being alive and to continue praying for peace to return. But it is obvious that with the renaming of Gwoza as Darul Hikma  (house of wisdom) by  the Boko Haram insurgents, the hope of  His Royal Highness Mustapha Idrissa Timta of returning back to his kingdom is obvious not in the near future.

  • A unique king among his people

    A unique king among his people

    Title: Oduduwa, King of the Edos
    Author:Jude Idada
    Pages: 233
    Genre: Drama
    Reviewer:Adeniyi Taiwo Kunnu

    The heated controversies surrounding the ancestry of Oduduwa and the Bini-Yoruba divergent postures may have derived a realistic panacea in the fictive amassing of Jude Idada. It’s been said afterall, that what every human owes the universe is either to protect it in its pristine state or add unadulterated colourations to it. These alternatives could well describe the attempt by this young Nigerian-Canadian, to re-face a perhaps, near-defaced issue, in a bid to salvage the very important history of these proud races, using the channel of creative writing to ostracise the demons of historical distortions.

    Employing the imperialist bequest- English Language in its dialogue, the author immersed himself in shark-infested waters of tradition and historical mythology  ensuring a balance is attempted with the use of Bini and Yoruba dialects to course through the rhythmic invocations of music and somber dirges, lighting up the embers of tradition in its unalloyed form. It must be noted that referring to Oduduwa as Ekaladerhan; Owomika as Eweka and Ogiso as Oba and a fews others should make for better appreciation as same.

    Oduduwa, King of the Edos can best be described as the microcosm of our current geopolitical entity; complete in intrigues, distrusts, treachery, foibles and scarce integrity; vices and virtue which may not elude any civilisation, even if such a sphere wields the toga of civility and sanctimoniousness, it no doubt has evolved overtime from the dregs of bloodshed and ugly inhuman cultivations.

    An unforgettable savageness is the 7th century Greek theatre- where Dionysus, god of wine and fertility basked in the wanton revelry of those thespians. One from the current civilisation was the American civil war in the 17th century, characterised by ideological loggerheads and consequent decimation of fellow American rebels, as that’s what they are, having crossed the Atlantic to the Americas from the United Kingdom. A more contemporary allusion is the Umbrella Revolution in the former British colony of Hong Kong, where people clamour for what is theirs and the authorities in Beijing are dung-faced about it.

    The work opens with introduction of the treacherous and tempestuous warrior Uwafiokun, leading fellow fighters against Evian and Ogianmen, a regent of Igodomigodo and his son, whose heads eventually leave their bodies to his sword. Shameful and deserved, Uwafiokun’s retributive imbecility comes to the fore as one journeys through the work and definitely attest to fate’s punitive measure against hypocrisy and greater iniquity. A plunge from an initial exalted position, where war fought was for his pernicious intents than the preservation of the revered culture and heritage of Ogisos, and the Edo people.

    Hear him in Act One, Scene One:

    “Let the hunger of the greedy consume the usurper of the crown of the Ogisos…Ogiamen!”

    If anyone ever predicted his own end, then Uwafiokun just did. Expressing to the ears of all within earshot and impressing on the justification for beheading some usurpers. It is no doubt an auto-prophecy for the same crime he accuses Evian and Ogiamen of. He shares similarity with Odewale in Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not to blame, who unknowing predicts his own end on the knowledge that Oba Adetusa has been killed by none other than himself.

    This opening foreshadows unveiled chains of plots by power mongers and power brokers who jostle with wisdom, practical steps and at times deviousness in order to stem the tide of what causes man to be left in delirium. This disorientation can be adduced to the overriding influence of the gods; seeming insatiable cum conflicting tendencies of man and certain inexplicable phenomena. These descriptions definitely chart its course through different levels of conflicts in the work

    Evian the beheaded regent says in Act One, Scene two:

    “Culture is silent; it needs a man of wisdom, foresight and courage to speak on its behalf….”

    Crave for wisdom, foresight and courage results in the need for an Ogiso to occupy the throne of his ancestors. How then can Igodomido have her “Ruler from the sky”? Banished, hasn’t he been? Majority of Ovbiedo believes he is long dead in the forest of Igo, following his fate occasioned by the  treacherous Queen Esagho and subsequent verdict by Ogiso Owodo- Ekaladerhan’s father. Conversely, a handful knows Oduduwa lives. The accomplices include, Ezomo- a highly respected member of the Edion’isen and Odionmwan- chief of the palace executioners- whose acts of omission eventually guarantees a royal lineage.

    In Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not blame, King Adetusa’s and Queen Ojuola’s joy become shortlived, when it gets predicted that their source of fulfillment-Odewale- will become their eventual failings. It is in similar vein that Oduduwa is sentenced to die, so as to make way for other sons to be sired from the loins of Ogiso Owodo. Situating both works side by side, one finds the gods’ intervention in man’s affairs, with an instruction to tow a line so as to address an immediate concern or avert an impending doom. While Ekaladerhan was not killed by Odionmwan, Odewale was himself spared by Gbonka, leading up to the fates of these core personas, who at best are reflections of an artist impression.

    A contrast, however, surfaces. It is gullibility, cowardice cum stupid verdict from Ogiso Owodo, who prefers to cast out the strength of his youth-Ekaladerhan- as that appeared to placate his inability to bear more sons. It however, happens to be a bull’s eyes prophecy in Ola Rotimi’s work, where the prophecy comes to pass, but also enabled by man’s inability to adhere to instructions-Gbonka.

    An important precedent in the work is that, only blue bloods who are eldest males become Ogisos, so the revelation about Oduduwa bearing rule over Yorubas in Ile Ife is received with mixed emotions. Ezomo reveals the veracity of Ekaladerhan’s existence, but since patience is alien to Uwafiokun and treachery pitches a concrete tent at his domain, such stories are best left as myths from Europe’s dark ages.

    Hear him again in Act One, Scene Two:

    “I stand here ready to go to war with anyone who tries to use guile and flowery words to usurp the throne.”

    Uwafiokun appears to breathe on war. His every existence is in making another life go down lifeless, should any situation not find an immediate comprehension in his cerebrum. He even refuses to make peace with his fellow chiefs because to him, war alone resolves knotty issues. Power indeed has its stuporous tendencies.

    Priority for the Edos is seeing Ekaladerhan return to his homeland, so that an unoccupied throne will be ascended. Oliha, a member of the Edion’isen carries this burden of destiny. His childhood fondness and friendship with Oduduwa is leveraged to accomplish this daunting task of salvaging the throne.

    This quest however has its thorny sides, because a trap set is often forgotten, but he who gets entrapped and wrenches out with bruises never forgets. This dialogue between Oliha and Oduduwa in Act Two , Scene Three spells it aptly.

  • Buffett to get 9% on $3n Burger King investment

    Buffett to get 9% on $3n Burger King investment

    Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is providing $3 billion of financing for Burger King Worldwide Inc.’s planned takeover of Tim Hortons Inc. and will earn nine per cent annual interest on the investment.

    Berkshire is taking a preferred equity stake and won’t be involved in managing the restaurant business, according to a statement today from Burger King. Buffett has previously injected capital into financial firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. at times of crisis, and helped fund deals such as Mars Inc.’s purchase of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.

    The latest transaction helps Buffett deploy some of Berkshire’s mounting cash pile, which grew to a record $55.5 billion at the end of June. It also deepens his company’s relationship with Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital, which controls Miami-based Burger King. Buffett teamed up with Lemann’s firm last year to to take HJ Heinz Co. private.

    “3G does a magnificent job of running businesses,” Buffett said in May at his company’s annual meeting in Omaha.

    Burger King today said it would acquire the Oakville, Ontario-based coffee-and-doughnuts chain for about C$12.5 billion ($11.4 billion) in a deal that creates the third-largest fast-food company and moves its headquarters to Canada.

    Buffett has shunned bets in publicly traded bonds with yields near record lows, preferring deals in which his reputation and the size of the cash hoard allow Berkshire to lock in better rates than those available to other investors.

     

  • Oduduwa comes alive at King’s College

    THE comic genre as a platform for educating young readers got a boost when Panaramic Entertainment unveiled the ‘Okiojo’s Chronicles’  at a public presentation at King’s College annex, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Five hundred and sixty copies of the comic books were donated to the college at the event.

    The Okiojo series is a product of three years’creative efforts of former pupils of the college, Tunji Anjorin, Adeniyi Adeniji, Rotimi Dawodu and Rotimi Anjorin and others who formed Paranamic Entertainment.

    They said the Okiojo’s Chronicles is designed to educate and entertain, especially students about Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.

    The Principal of King’s College, Otunba Oladele Olapeju, praised the old boys for creating a comic series that would help project Nigerian heroes.

    “Oduduwa, Queen Amina are well-known personages in history who played heroic roles that cut across their respective communities and influenced the history of their eras. It is important younger generation of children must know them; the roles they played in our history which will help the children to appreciate the fact that people have been here and achieved something monumental for the society,” he said.

    General Secretary, King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), Mr. Lucky Idike, said the old students behind the comic book series have helped in creating employment.

    He added that Nigerians have never been found wanting of ideas. “Circumstances have forced people to dig deep into their ingenuity and come up with something tangible that is relevant to the yearning of the society – the Okiojo’s Chronicles falls within this bracket,” he said.

    Apart from Oduduwa, the two other comic in the series are: The Story of the Yoruba: 1897 (tells the story of the Benin Kingdom); and Queen Amina 1 and 2.

  • King Drogba returns

    King Drogba returns

    Speculation about Didier Drogba returning to Chelsea was finally laid to rest yesterday after the Ivorian hitman rejoined the Blues on a one-year deal.

    The Ivorian, 36, won 10 trophies at Chelsea from 2004 to 2012 and was a free agent after leaving Galatasaray.

    Manager Jose Mourinho had earlier said the forward “belongs” at Stamford Bridge – but that any deal would be made “in a non-emotional way”.

    Drogba told Chelsea’s official site: “It was an easy decision – I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with Jose again.”

    He said: “Everyone knows the special relationship I have with this club and it has always felt like home to me.

    “My desire to win is still the same and I look forward to the opportunity to help this team. I am excited for this next chapter of my career.”

    Drogba  Drogba wrote on his Instagram account: “So CFC offered me the opportunity to create more history with these guys – how could I say no? Thanks to the club and can’t wait to see the fans again.”

    The Ivory Coast international was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player in a poll of fans in 2012 and has spoken of his close ties to the Blues.

    His 34 goals for Chelsea in European competition remains a club record, as do his nine strikes in nine cup finals.

    Mourinho had previously said: “If you bring him back it is not because he is Didier or scored the most important goal in the history of Chelsea, or because I need an assistant, no.

    “We want to win matches and win titles and Didier is one of the best strikers in Europe. He is still very adapted to the needs of the Premier League and we are thinking about it in a non-emotional way.”

    He joins Fernando Torres, new signing Diego Costa, as well as Romelu Lukaku and Victor Moses, who both spent last season out on loan, as striking options at Stamford Bridge.

    However, there have been diverse opinions since Drogba embarked on his second journey to the Stamford Bridge side with some arguing that the once dreaded marksman may have reached the twiligth of his career.

    If the school of thought that Drogba is already finished is to be upheld, then the example that readily comes to mind is his unimpressive outing at the just concluded Brazil 2014 World Cup where his national team, the Elephants of Cote d’Ívoire failed to advance beyond the first round.

    In Drogba’s absence, Chelsea have struggled to discover a striker in his mode who has the penchant to determine the outcome of crucial matches.

    It was erroneously interpreted by many fans of the club that Fernando Torres was overshadowed by the towering figure of Drogba when both strikers played for the side.

    When Drogba eventually left, Torres, who was phenomenal at Liverpool, failed to emerge from Drogba’s shadow when the striker’s mantle was thrown at him.

    Last season, it was an open secret that Mourinho felt disenchanted with the conversion rates of Torres and Samuel Eto.

    Apart from acting as a formidable striking partner to Spanish super star, Diego Costa, Drogba’s second coming is also expected to ease the mental pressure on the former Atletico Madrid forward.

    That Drogba signed a one-year contract with Chelsea was an indication that both parties did not rule out the possibilty that the striker may become unable to cope with the intensity of the English Premier League even though his experience could prove to be invaluable.

    Drogba was born on 11 March 1978 and is the all-time top scorer of the Ivory Coast national team. He has scored more goals at Chelsea than any other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal scorer of all time. In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters as the club’s greatest ever player. His key attributes include his physical strength, ability in the air, and his ability to retain possession of the ball.

    After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21; it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realised his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million. His scoring success at Marseille continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in Ligue 1 with 19 goals and helped the club to reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

    In the summer of 2004, Drogba moved to Chelsea for a club record £24 million fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian player in history.

    In his debut season he helped the club win their first league title in 50 years, and a year later he won another Premier League title. In 2006–07, Drogba scored 33 goals, won the Premier League Golden Boot and scored the winning goals in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals.

    He won the FA Cup for a second time in 2009, scoring the equaliser in the final, and in 2009–10 was instrumental in Chelsea clinching their first double, winning his second Golden Boot and scoring the only goal in the 2010 FA Cup Final. In March 2012, Drogba scored his 100th Premier League goal, the first African player to reach the milestone.

    He then became the only player in history to score in four separate FA Cup finals,when he scored in Chelsea’s win over Liverpool in the 2012 final.

    He made his last appearance for Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, in which he scored an 88th-minute equaliser and the winning penalty in the deciding shoot-out against Bayern Munich.

    In October 2013, he became the first African footballer to win the prestigious Golden Foot while playing for Galatasaray.

    Full name

    Tébily Didier Yves Drogba

    Date of birth

    11 March 1978 (age 36)

    Place of birth

    Abidjan, Ivory Coast

    Height

    1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)

    Playing position

    Striker

    Club information

    Current team

    Chelsea

    Youth career

    1989–1991

    Abbeville

    1991–1993

    Vannes

    1993–1997

    Levallois

    1997–1998

    Le Mans

    Senior career*

    1998–2002

    Le Mans 64 (12)

    2002–2003

    Guingamp 45 (20)

    2003–2004

    Marseille 35 (19)

    2004–2012

    Chelsea 226 (100)

    2012–2013

    Shanghai Shenhua 11 (8)

    2013–2014

    Galatasaray 37 (15)

    2014–

    Chelsea 0 (0)

  • All hail the beauty king, queen

    All hail the beauty king, queen

    Onyinyechi Ebenyi and Moses Imeh have won the University of Calabar (UNICAL) beauty pageant organised by the Students’ Union Government (SUG). STANLEY UCHEGBU (Graduating student of Accounting) reports. 

    She walked with measured steps, smiling and waving to the excited crowd. She gathered her light blue flowing attire to ease her movement. As she sat on the ‘throne’, a gold-rimmed crown was placed on her head to announce her ascension.

    Onyinyechi Ebenyi, a 200-Level Medical Laboratory Science student, is the new queen of the University of Calabar (UNICAL). To her left was the king, Moses Imeh, a 200-Level Pure Physics student. The excited crowd applauded the Mr and Miss UNICAL as they were unveiled at a show organised, last weekend, by the Director of Socials of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Williams Usese.

    Usese said the event, with the theme: Sustaining moral sanity in Nigerian youths, was to showcase intelligence and beauty of students.

    It was a night of glamour and entertainment as thousands of students and their colleagues from the Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) trooped into the Main Bowl of the UNICAL Cultural Centre for the variety night show.

    The SUG executive members were led to the show by the president, Bassey Eka, and his deputy, Mercy Mbakwe. Promise Owai, the Speaker of the union parliament, led members to the event.

    Campus comedians, including Robby Ekpo and Josiah Eghrudje, dished out hilarious jokes. Hip-hop artistes and acrobatic dancers dazzled with various stunts as music blared from the speakers of DJ Vicky Jay.

    Fashion designers had a field day, showcasing beautifully-sewn attires at the show.

    The pageant was sponsored by Spark Shopz, Multi Choice and Nigeria Breweries.

    The contest was in three stages; with 30 contestants participating in the male and female categories. In the first stage, contestants appeared in cultural apparels and took to the runway with synchronised steps, displaying their culture. The audience applauded their performance.

    Their skill was tested in dances, television presentation, drama and singing in the second stage. The judges shortlisted 10 contestants in each category.

    At the final stage, female contestants appeared in sleeveless designer gowns; their male counterparts were in corporate wears. They were asked to pick questions from a group of questions to test their intelligence.

    Having answered all questions correctly, Moses and Onyinyechi beat other contestants to clinch the Mr and Miss UNICAL titles. The judges, among whom were former Mr and Miss UNICAL, Iferi Young and Sophia Dijeh, praised the contestants for their intellect and talents.

    Prizes were presented to the winners by the union president, his deputy and representatives of the sponsors.

    Bassey hailed the students for turning out en masse for the show, praising them for showing maturity by being peaceful. He urged the winners to use their crowns to bring development to the campus and boost students’ morale.

    Mary Agnes, a member of the Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists, was delighted by the show’s success, saying: “The show was exceptional; the exhibition and performances by artistes, especially the acrobatic dancers, were mind-blowing. It was quite a wonderful event.”

    Giving the vote of thanks, Williams said: “This event started as a dream and vision; but today, that dream has become a reality and I am grateful to God for its success.”