The Nation Newspaper

Tag: life

  • Atanda: A life that cannot be fully told

    Recently, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, hosted a major academic conference to celebrate the life and times of one of the most renowned and remarkable scholars of the Yoruba, Nigeria, and African history, the late Professor Joseph Adebowale Atanda aka J. A. Atanda. The conference is appropriately titled, The Yoruba Nation and Politics Since the Nineteenth Century: A Conference in Honour of Professor J.A. Atanda. This conference included wide-ranging activities that examined the life and contributions of this great scholar to our academic and historical landscape.

    Professor Atanda, a son of Eruwa, Oyo State, was born in 1932. He received his first degree in History from the University of London in 1964 and his Ph.D. in the same discipline in 1967. He taught at the University of Ibadan from 1967, building up a profile as a painstaking researcher of Yoruba/African history of note. While Professor Atanda developed a huge body of work on Yoruba history, he also studied the history of the Buganda people in East Africa and the transatlantic history of Africans. He researched the history of enslaved Africans who survived the middle passage to end up in the West Indies and the Americas. Taken together, his research is a profound contribution to Black/African and Africana histories.

    At the conference, a collection of Professor Atanda’s works was presented to the public. This book, titled The Collected Works of J. A. Atanda, represents over three decades of scholarship and intensive research into African history. Never has there been such a similar effort to synchronize his voluminous works under one umbrella like this and we are quite optimistic that this book will ensure that Professor Atanda’s works will not be lost due to a lack of coordinated archival efforts. The Collected Works of J. A. Atanda covers the broad spectrum of his research on the Yoruba, the Old and New Oyo Empire, colonial Nigeria and Buganda, and reflective essays on a newly independent Nigeria. The book is divided into five parts, and each section, definitively representing the contributions of Professor Atanda to Nigeria and African scholarship in general, fortifies our memory of the meaning of that scholarship. An extensive introduction in excess of 60 pages puts the book in context.

    The works in the collection include original and compelling research into the origins of the Yoruba people; the Old and New Oyo Empire; and Indirect Rule and Change in Western Nigeria in the 19th and 20th century; the collapse of the Yoruba Empire; an analysis of the earliest anthropological exploration among the Yoruba; tensions and resistance in the colonial empire and the effects of indirect rule; Yoruba royalty and their changing status under colonial rule and in postcolonial governance; Western Nigerian politics; and the ideological underpinnings that structured the direction of Yoruba contributions to Nigerian political history from independence to the present. Professor Atanda also wrote on Yoruba religious history and arguments for, against, and about secularism in Nigeria; Yoruba mythology in governance and administrative systems; Yoruba intellectualism; and the perennial challenges of postcolonial governance and administration in Nigeria and Africa. Also included are his works on Buganda, including his critical analysis of the people’s colonial history; resistance and challenge to colonial rule; and the future of African people after colonialism.

    Professor J. A. Atanda was a most remarkable teacher who inaugurated himself into the hearts of scores of students he taught and mentored throughout his career in Nigeria, Uganda, and the USA. He joined the Nigerian academia at the time when the nation had only recently become independent with the high expectation of raising a future generation of scholars who would study both the history and the place of Africa in the world. At the University of Ibadan, Professor Atanda taught African History, Yorùbá History and Culture, the History of West Africa, and the History of West African Peoples in the Diaspora, among other subjects. His students remember him with utmost fondness.  Atanda’s students, the ones he taught directly and even indirectly, have testified to his immense contributions to their own scholarly and intellectual trajectories.

    Indeed, his contributions to academia transcended his research and teaching, as he also served in various local and international organizations in the interest of advancing the frontiers of African history. Those organizations included the Historical Society of Nigeria, Historical Committee of the Baptist World Alliance, Heritage Commission of the Baptist World Alliance, Presidential Panel on Nigerian History Since Independence, Belize Historical Society, American Historical Association, and African Studies Association. He was a member of the committees which included representing the Faculty of Arts on the Board of Studies and Faculty Board of Education; he was also a Congregation Member of the University Senate; a member of the Senate Committee for The Institute of African Studies; Assistant Warden of Azikwe Hall and acting Head, Department of History; amongst other acts of service.

    Professor Atanda intertwined the gown with the town, bringing his scholarly culture to bear in public administration. He was a Commissioner in the old Western Region and, later, Oyo State, holding several portfolios. He held principal positions in social, religious, and political capacities.

    In his lifetime, Professor Atanda received a number of awards of merit and excellence. This included the Federal Government of Nigeria Postgraduate Scholarship for his doctoral degree; Irving and Bonnar Graduate Prize in History, in the University of Ibadan for his academic distinction; the Rockefeller Foundation Travel Grant as Visiting Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; and another Rockefeller Foundation Grant to serve on an exchange programme at the University of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. in the 1969/70 academic year. He held the Honorary Life membership of Frank London Brown Historical Association, Chicago U.S.A. He delivered a number of lectures in various venues and universities all over the world. As a devout Christian, Professor J. A. Atanda dedicated himself to work in the Lord’s vineyard and in 1990, he was made an honorary deacon at the Oke-Ado Baptist Church, Ibadan.

    It is impossible to fully capture the depth of the immense labour of love and dedication that drove Professor Atanda’s research, writings, teaching, community service, and intellectualism. Up till his death in 1996, Professor Atanda continued to write extensively on modern Nigeria, making recommendations on public and political affairs, de-colonization, self-reliance, nation building, and the prospect of building a united Nigeria where everyone would be a citizen. He was committed to the cause of African history and its future, and he spared no effort to ensure that his career in and out of the university was mobilized towards ensuring this passion.

    If awards and accolades were the hallmarks of success in life, then, Professor Joseph Adebowale Atanda has already secured a place of honour in the pantheon of our ancestors. “He sure earned his pay,” as the secular would enunciate. Yet, this was a complete gentleman to the core, a father and grandfather to successful offspring, a committed husband, a friend to many. “A good teacher makes learning a thing of joy,” as the wise king has taught us in Proverbs 15:2; it is no wonder, then, that Professor Atanda lives forever in the hearts of students and mentees, in his works, and everywhere his intellectual footsteps have touched in different parts of the world.

     

    • Falola is University Distinguished Teaching Professor at University of Texas at Austin, United States.

  • Man arraigned for ‘threat to life’

    A 35-year-old man, Semion Oluwole, has been arraigned at a Modakeke Magistrates’ Court in Osun State for alleged threat to life.

    He is facing charges of threat to life and breach of the peace.

    The prosecutor, Ona Glory, told the court that the accused committed the offence on October 22, about 11 am, at St Stephen’s Primary School, Modakeke-Ife.

    He alleged that he threatened to use a cutlass to cut the heads of members of a political party, who attended a congress.

    Glory further told the court that the accused conducted himself in a manner likely to cause breach of public peace at the congress’ venue.

    He said the offence contravened sections 80, 86 (2) and 249 (d) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun State, 2003.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    The Magistrate, Bose Awosan, granted the accused bail at N50,000 with two sureties.

    She said they must swear to affidavit of means and produce three years’ tax clearance certificates.

    Awosan ruled that the sureties, who must live in the court’s jurisdiction, should present two recent passport photographs to the registrar.

    She adjourned the case till today for hearing.

  • No loss of life in Enugu poll, say police

    The Enugu State Police Command has said nobody died before, during and after Saturday’s local government election.

    The State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) conducted election into 17 local government areas and 261 political wards on Saturday.

    The command’s spokesman Ebere Amaraizu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu that the speculations that some persons were killed were false and unfounded.

    “There was no loss of life anywhere in the state,” he said.

    Amaraizu said the police and other security agencies were able to persuasively calm frayed nerves and return normalcy in places where violence broke out on the Election Day.

    The spokesman said the police and other security agencies professionally handled the resistance among some groups that the election would not hold.

    He said the agitators were peacefully dispersed.

    Amaraizu noted that “against the backdrop of rumours that some people were killed in Oji River Local Government Area on Saturday, the command stated that there was no loss of lives in Oji River and throughout the state.

  • The mirror of life

     “Do you not see how Allah has set forth a parable of a meaningful ‘WORD’   like a fruitful tree which roots are firmly planted in the earth while its branches sprout magnificently into the firmament of the sky, yielding delicious fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah gives parables to men (of reason) that they may ponder and be mindful…” (Q. 14: 24).             

    Preamble

    It is rather ironic that even in this age of internet, many Africans (including ignorant Muslims) still perceive Islam as a mere dogma in which riddles, rituals and superstitions thrive. This is quite far from the reality. But it takes only people with functional eyes to perceive the light. Ignorance is a disease which knowledge alone can heal.

    Since the creation of Adam, man has continuously enjoyed the guidance of Allah in one form or another. Prophets have been sent to various societies. Books have been revealed through those Prophets. Parables have been used with references drawn from the past. And warnings as well as admonitions have been divinely issued in those Books. Practical lessons such as the great deluge, the cataclysm of Sodom and Gomorrah, the defeat of Jalut (Goliath) by Daud (David), the doom of the tyrannical Pharaoh, and most recently, the waterloo of Adolf Hitler of Germany have come to man as lessons through which he can re-assess himself.

    All these and many other occurrences have been used as allusion by Allah to remind man of human mortality and to see him through a successful life’s odyssey. But unfortunately, man has always been blind to genuine divine guidance. He has been deaf to warnings and resistant to reasoning as much as he is insensitive to thoughts and inflexible to ideas. In his choice to form freemasonry with Satan (the custodian of ruins and deception), man has ignorantly strayed into a quagmire of sorrow through the millennia. Taking Satan for his best friend, man refuses to use the long spoon with which he is provided by Allah to dine with the damned Lucifer. This was the situation until 610 CE when  Allah decided to chronicle the activities of man from the very beginning of human existence and make it an eternally concrete ‘MIRROR’ through which the descendants of Adam can continue to see life in its past, its present and its near and far future. This ‘MIRROR’ is the Qur’an, the anecdote that heals man’s blindness, the manure that fertilizes the brain and the greatest treasure in possession of mankind.

     

    Features of the Qur’an

    For the rightly guided minds, Qur’an is the eyes with which to see, the ears with which to hear and the sense with which to reason. It is the bridge across the valleys of life, the insurance against damnation, the passport for salvation and the only reliable redeemer of man.

    Qur’an leaves no aspect of life untouched. It leaves no privacy unprotected and no secret unexposed. Problems and solutions; history and lessons; crimes and penalties; justice and righteousness; discipline and courage; friendship and trust; governance and methodology; marriage and divorce; widowhood and orphanage; childhood and inheritance; poverty and wealth; politics and economy; opinion and reason; facts and figures; life and death; darkness and light; war and peace; leadership and power; angels and man; heavens and earth; all these and many other matters form subjects of discussion and guidance in the ‘Divine Diary of Life called ‘Al- Qur’an’.

    For people on the right path, therefore, life begins and ends with the Qur’an, Allah’s own tradition and the only authentic fountain from which man can draw wisdom with which to solve any problem. The sense that reasons with the Qur’an makes no mistake. The mind that thinks with it is never bedevilled. The eye that sees with it incurs no sore. The tongue that talks with it never stammers. The power that rules with it never falls. And the Almighty Allah warns in the Qur’an thus: “But whosoever deviates from My tradition, verily for him is life of subjugation and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Judgment” (Q. 20: 124).

     

    Proof of the Qur’anic revelations

    Charlatans who perceive Islam as a dogma continue to ask for the proof of the genuineness of Qur’anic revelation as if other revelations before the Qur’an do not require proof. In reason and logic, asking for the proof of the Qur’an is like asking the sun to prove its rays. Can anybody reasonably ask for the proof of the hair growing on his head? It is the nature and character of unbelievers to deny the truth and refute the manifest. But does it ever bother the sun in any way that a blind man denies its rays? Or can a brook be affected if a herd boycotts its water?

    To Muslims who deeply understand the tenets of Islam, all the genuine Prophets are from Allah and all the revealed ‘BOOKS’ are series of the same ‘MESSAGE’. This fact has been firmly established in the Qur’an and that is why Muslims are not known for maligning any Prophet or revealed ‘BOOK’.

    Right from its very first day of revelation, the Qur’an has come with undeniable proof. But it takes only a divinely cleansed heart to acknowledge such proof. Qur’an itself is the proof of all other celestial messages that preceded it. It is the final divine revelation which has no human interference or human tampering. Neither Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who brought that ‘MESSAGE’ to mankind nor any of his associates and disciples had a say in it. This Book of the greatest divine message contains no chapters or verses according to anybody besides ALLAH.

     

    Doubting ‘Thomases’

    During the revelation of this Book, Allah had foreseen the reaction of doubting ‘Thomases’ across generations of races whose hymns of denial would come from the abyss of falsehood even as they would cling pathologically to the chord of ignorance. To such ‘Thomases’, the Qur’an owes neither explanation nor apology.

    Qur’an is like gold which everybody seeks directly or indirectly because of its immeasurable value but which only a few can recognize in its raw form. It takes geologists to identify the soil in which gold is buried. It takes miners to mine it out just as it takes smelters to smelt it before the goldsmith can transform it into a beautiful ornament. In the same manner, it takes categories of pious intellectuals to pursue the reading, understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an to a loftily appreciable level.

     

     Islam’s contribution to civilisation

    That the Qur’an is the only revealed ‘BOOK’ in the world today which retains the originality of its language and contents for over 1445 years is enough a testimony to the proof of its divine origin. That also confirms Arabic as one of the oldest languages in the world today.

    If the proof of the Qur’an is not seen in the social, economic and political context of its exegeses, it must be seen in its scientific hypotheses through which Europe came in contact with civilization. It is from those hypotheses that the modern world zoomed into technological advancement through the adoption of ‘Al-Jibrau (called Algebra), Al-Kaymiyau (called Chemistry), Al-Fisiyau (called Physics) as well as the introduction of ‘ZERO’ into numerals which led to the replacement of Roman figures, in the 13th century, with Arabic numerals that brought about decimal system and paved way for scientific breakthrough in Human life. It should be recalled that the numerals used in schools today are called Arabic numerals as a mark of their origin.

    Before adopting the Arabic numerals, Europe had relied upon the clumsy system of Roman numerals which called for enormous expenditure of time and labour. For instance, while the Arabic numerals makes it easy for the world to write such date as 1948 in only four figures within a second, it requires eleven figures to write the same number in Roman numerals thus: MDCCCXLVIII. Even if Islam has contributed nothing more than the decimal system to the modern civilization it has done much more than any other religion. And what is more, the idea of what is called UNIVERSITY today originated from that divine religion. The very first University in the world (University of Cordoba) was established by the Muslims in Spain in the late 9th century based on their Qur’anic guidance. And the three oldest existing Universities in the world today were established by Muslims in the 10th century. They are Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fes, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia. Yet, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who brought that wonderful ‘MESSAGE’ to humanity was unlettered. However, despite his unlettered status he remains the greatest human being that ever lived throughout the history of man.

     

    Attestation

    It was in reference to this non-such Islamic contribution to human civilization that the renowned French historian of the 20th century, Gustav Le Bon wrote in his book: ‘The Civilization of the Arabs’ thus:

    “At an epoch when the rest of Europe was plunged in the darkest barbarism, Baghdad and Cordoba, the two great cities where Islam held sway, were centres of civilization which illumined the whole world with the light of their brilliance”.

     

     The prophet’s biography

    Perhaps from the creation of Adam, the first human being till today, no man’s biography has been as much written and read as that of Muhammad (SAW) the Prophet of Islam. This man’s biography has been globally written from all perspectives by various men and women of diverse backgrounds in the past 1445 years or thereabout. And the biography is still being written and re-written authoritatively and un-authoritatively today in uncountable languages.

     

    The message and the Messenger

    Through the writing of his biography, some people have zoomed into undreamed fame. Others have sunk into permanent oblivion. No other Prophet’s biography has attracted as many writers from believers and non-believers, from friends and foes alike as that of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Every aspect of his life including the dresses he wore, the food he ate, the way he spoke and the wives he married has come to form chapters in his biography. In short, next to the Qur’an, no book is as much read daily in the world today as the biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in one form or another.

    Why is the concentration so much on this unlettered Prophet from Arabia? The answer to this Question is not far-fetched. The world has never produced another personality like him and it will not. He is the seal of all Prophets and the epitome of human exemplariness. In him alone are found all traces of what a decent man should be. From him alone can the obedience to genuine law be learned from all conceivable angles.

     

    Evidence of greatness

    If Prophet Muhammad had not been an orphan, he would not have been able to guide mankind on how orphans should be treated especially with regards to inheritance.  If he had not been a husband, his marital life would not have been an example for sensible people to emulate and women’s rights would have been permanently over-sighted. If he had not been trustworthy, the value of trust would have been lost totally on humanity. If he had not been a father, the care for children by parents would have been totally relegated to the background.

    If this great man had not been an emigrant, the culture of hospitality universally imbibed today would not have been championed by Islam. If he had not been a warrior, the law of war, armistice and peaceful resolution would not have come into existence. If he had not been a conqueror, the word magnanimity would not have found a place in the dictionary of man. If he had not been a negotiator, perhaps there would never have been anything called diplomacy. If he had not been an arbiter, the virtue of justice would have probably been thrown to the winds and survival in all societies would have been for the fittest alone.

    If Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had not been a ruler, the relationship between the ruled and the rulers all over the world today would not have been different from that of slaves and their masters. If he had not been a democrat, dictatorship in governance would have known no bounds. If he had not been poor, the policy of social welfare adopted in civilized societies in the world today in favour of the poor would not have been possible. And, if, despite all these great qualities in him, he had not been humble and affable, arrogance would have dominated the characters of all privileged people.

     

    Challenge

    Who else can be compared to this man in history? In which other single person have all these qualities ever been combined in history? There can be little wonder then why the concentration is so much on the person of this extraordinary man especially by ordinary foes. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) alive and in death is like a living elephant surrounded by blind men. If every one of those blind men is to give a description of the elephant he would only be able to do so from the perspective of the part he is able to touch on the mammoth animal and not the whole of it. That is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the like of whom the world had never seen before his arrival and can never see again after his departure.

     

    History’s greatest man

    After centuries of complimentary and uncomplimentary remarks about his person, the Prophet of Islam was finally named the greatest man that ever lived. This was done, not by his followers or admirers but by his critics among the non-Muslims (see ‘The100: A Ranking of the most Influential Persons in History’ by Michael H. Hart). One of the ways of recognising true greatness in a person is the array of criticism hauled at him from time to time by those who are envious of him but can never attain his height in glory and fame. Thus, defamation of character and denigration of personality as perennially being done to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in some parts of the West are not peculiar to this non-such Prophet of Islam. After all, Prophet Isa (Jesus) before him was subjected to similar denigration and humiliation even as he was rejected in his own country by his own people. And what became of Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton who paved the way for Europe’s technological advancement at their different times through their deep knowledge of Physics? Were they not called liars, maligned and disgraced? Yet, those whose ancestors committed the heinous atrocities continue to enjoy the benefit of the historic inventions of those great men today. Truth is like a lily by the mossy stone. It can be trampled upon by anybody but it can never, never die. Perhaps, no definition of Truth is more appropriate especially in contemporary time than the one given by a great Scholar Uthman Danfodio who said: “conscience is an open wound which only the truth can heal”.

                              

  • I am here to stay (Get Motivated!)

    I am here to stay (Get Motivated!)

    I am here to stay.

    Life is more than merely existing; it is about LIVING for something and probably DYING for what you believe in.

    It goes beyond the threshold of breathing; it is about breathing value and life into everything, person or group that comes in contact with you.

    A lot of people never get to manifest their greatness so much so that when they leave this earth nobody ever know they left not to talk of missing them because their level of contribution and consciousness is so small. Of a truth, we can all do great things only if we dare or attempt it.

    When you close your eyes, where or what do you see? Do you see yourself consciously walking and working in the direction of your dreams or are you merely shadowing in the pedestrian and predictable steps of others, that is, your employers, bosses, parents etc.

    We all have our ‘inner demons’.

    Our inner demons most of the time looks exactly like us especially when we look into the mirror. They exist in several forms and expressions like procrastination, laziness, excuses, negligence etc.

    As children, we had great and amazing dreams and aspirations. We did not have the tinniest modicum of doubt in our ability to live our dreams. As far as we were concerned, the world was under our feet and was ours to be taken.

    However, as we grew, we began to easily fit into the conditioning of our environment.

    We have been told that our dreams are too big and our connections and finances are too small.

    If you had to evaluate your life and the results you have produced, would you score an A, B, C, D, E or an outright ‘F’…just saying!

    We should set targets and not settle for less until we get what we want; until things work in the direction of our expectations.

    Learn to bargain with life for exactly what you want and be ready to PAY THE PRICE once you have set the terms and wages from life.

    There is a quote by Tony Gaskins that says “know who you are, know what you want, know what you deserve and don’t settle for less”.

    Say to yourself…My inner demon is ******* and I am ready to fight it because “I AM HERE STAY”.

  • Life goes on

    I have just lost some vital data to virus attack. It is difficult to explain the sequence of events. I discovered that I no longer have access to some of the regular files on my desktop. No. Do not blame me, please. I am not a careless user. The opposite is the case. No. Do not judge me for not installing antivirus. I did. Or did I? Let me show you what I mean, would you? Thanks.

    I clean my system every morning. That is, clean the keyboard, the screen, to rid the system of dust and particles and dirt. This same system is transferred into the system. I run the AV daily. I scan the entire system. I would not be slack because I have very sensitive information, clients information, business information, book ideas, third party ideas kept in incubation, patiently waiting to graduate from the nursery to the hatchery; and from the hatchery back to the nursery again. I called this back from the Womb to the Tomb.

    However, the enormity of the information I carry in my i7 windows 10, core vPro laptop is more than a gigabyte. It is a terabyte. I know this because I have words flowing through my fingers, through my system, through colleagues’ emails into my email, through my flash drive, and all of these words end up in the belly of my hard disc. I backup this in my external hard drive. This is how I work.

    Files that I am working on are kept on my desktop until they are moved into the backroom of my C-drive. Majority of the files that have been closed; no, not closed; files that I do not need immediately, are kept in my C-drive. These files are legion. In addition, I kept these files in my external hard drive. However, while I was agonising over lost data, my colleagues sympathised, but not empathised, with me. That is why it ended. It is my cross. It is my cross.

    To my colleagues, life goes on. To me, life stands still. Time is frozen. My heart aches. How do I recover from this disaster? Shh, it is not a disaster. It is a slow-down. I need to get up and find a lasting solution. Is it a challenge? Yes. I can sleep without those files. I can live without the files.

    Calmed, I can begin the recovering of  the files by scanning some of the physical documents, search my email boxes, forage colleagues’ emails for some of the documents, and keep them safe in my C-drive and back up the files in my external hard drive. That I can do. That I will do. Obla di obla da,  life goes on.

    Are you in my shoes? Or in a much deeper hole? Pull yourself up. Look at the brighter side of life. Do not erect a lamp post to your problem. Do not worship it daily. To make the best of your challenges, be like me; write about your challenges. Whichever way you have chosen to walk, remember, you are on your own. Na me lose data to virus attack.

  • SIMI: ‘I’M A LOYAL LOVER’

    SIMI: ‘I’M A LOYAL LOVER’

    Meeting her for the first time, you will agree that X3M Music artiste, Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye, better known as Simi, comes across as opinionated. In this interview with CHIDINMA ONOZIE, she talks about love, life, relationships as well as her self-titled sophomore studio album, ‘Simisola’. 

    IS this your debut or your sophomore album?

    It’s my sophomore album. I had a gospel album in 2008. At the time, it did what it could do at that time. It was definitely not as big as this one, but I wasn’t as big as I am now though.

    Why did you switch to secular music?

    I just wanted to do more with my music. I wanted to be an all-round artist

    Will you say you are fulfilled now?

    I’ve always been fulfilled. I was fulfilled when I did gospel music so I wouldn’t say I feel more fulfilled or less fulfilled today.

    Looking at the album so far, what can you say about the reception?

    I’m extremely blown away because I know when I put out the track list and it had only one feature, a lot of people were skeptical about it. They doubted whether it was going to be a good enough album. I was a bit nervous, but at the same time I wasn’t. The reception has been amazing. We are topping the charts and we are really excited about that.

    Does it mean that the success of an album depends on how many people you feature?

    A lot of people think that. For example Jay Cole is a rapper who went platinum twice without featuring anyone, meaning it’s a big deal to do that by yourself. That means a lot of people attach major importance to features when it comes to the success of an album. A lot of people tend to think that.

    Don’t you think you are shooting yourself in the foot by just featuring one person in your album?

    I don’t think so because some of the biggest songs I’ve actually done are the ones I featured artistes. I don’t have any problem doing features. For this album, my plan was not to have any features. There were things I wanted to do but they did not work out. I expect the lifespan of my music to go on for a while. This is not the end of my career, so because I did not do features on this one does not mean I won’t do features on the other album.

    So you featuring Adekunle Gold, is it a sort of pay back for the work he did on the album?

    No that’s ridiculous. It’s an incredible coincidence, buts it’s not a pay back. I wrote a song, Take Me Back, four years ago and we decided we’re going to do the song. That was before he dropped his album, and it turned out that at that time the song was compiled, the only song that had a feature with him on it. There is no scheme.

    Did you write all the songs yourself?

    Yes, apart from Adekunle’s verse in the song and in Aimasiko, the song was like a mix of the original.

    How did you feel about Adekunle using your name to sing?

    It’s very flattering. My two favourite Adekunle Gold songs are Sade and Orente.

    So what’s going on in your personal life?

    Well the things I would like to keep close about are my personal life. Because like I always say, when you’re doing music or you’re acting, you’re in the entertainment department, your life becomes entertainment. So you keep it to yourself.

    Are you in a relationship?

    One thing that I like to keep very close to me is my personal life, not just my relationships. But yes, I’m in a relationship. I’ve never denied that, but I just won’t say with whom.

    At that point you wanted to put out your album, was there no fear that this album will not make it at all?

    Anything is possible. You know, it’s not possible for anybody to like everything. Even the biggest legend, there is someone that does not like them, so I knew that there would be people that would say that this is not my thing, and people that will like you. One thing is that I have never been of failure. I feel like you learn when you fail. For me, it was like, what are people going to say? Are there things I did wrong that people would notice?

    Your song Joromi explores a rare theme. Does it relate to your life?

    It could be. I mean the reason why it seems the girl is bolder than usual is because I’m singing about it. If you’re think about it, she is not saying anything to the guy. What you hearing me sing are her thoughts. She is trying to give the guy signs.

    In that situation, would you shoot your shot?

    (Laughs) I don’t know; maybe.

    Although it is regarded as un-African, do you think it’s advisable for a girl to probably drop hints on a guy that she likes?

    There is nothing wrong in showing a guy you like them. I mean there are definitely boundaries and there is a limit that you should adhere to, not that you should just go out like be all over. But there is nothing wrong. A guy that thinks she is cheap because she shows she likes him has a very small mind.

    Two distinct things about you are your vocals and your physique. Growing up, did they work to your disadvantage?

    I noticed that as I was growing up, I was defensive because I was small. I used to feel that everybody would want to take advantage of me because of that. I’ve always been a strong minded person. Before you give me two, I would give you five. I had to learn how to survive. Not everybody is trying to take advantage of you. I’m always sharp and ready to give it back to them. My voice has always been an advantage for me. People try to mimic my voice when am talking, I hate it so much. But it has always been a plus one for me.

    About your album, what message are you trying to pass to your fans?

    Basically, the songs are like a compilation of stories. Some of the songs are things I’ve experienced and things have seen other people experience. And the things I have felt and thought about, how things should be. For example, Love Don’t Care is very introspective. I’m thinking, is this how it’s supposed to be? I come from a culture where there is tribalism especially if you’re dating someone outside your tribe. Are you sure it’s the right thing? So I’m thinking, is this how love is supposed to be? I like to sing about real life. I sing what people can think about and say yea, that’s true.

    It would seem that your songs are predictable because most of them are about love and relationships…

    True, I have songs which are talking about them, but not all of them are saying the exact same thing. Like if you listen to Love Don’t Care, Tiff, Smile for Me, and Jamb Question, they are all telling different stories about the same thing and I think love is the most universal thing. But if you listen to my album not all of them are talking about love.

    What kind of lover would you say you are? Are you a fierce lover?

    I’m a loyal lover. I would like to say sacrificial, but that is very deep. But I’m loyal; and when I’m in, I’m all in.

    So what would one do that would really put you off?

    For me, trust is the foundation. If I can’t trust you, it’s hard for me to be with you. I think I love Nigerian men. People expect them to be trash and they also expect them to have bad attitude and they used that as a bad excuse. So if they mess around, they say he’s a man and that’s how they do. But we are all responsible for our decisions. You’re not responsible for all Nigeria men’s decision.

    What do you look out for in a man?

    I hate to be lied to.

    Why do you think Nigerian men are not romantic?

    Maybe they feel like they don’t have to be. I think that some Nigerian men do that because nobody pushes them to fight for anything so there is a sense of entitlement. They feel they are entitled to something. It’s been that way for generations. A man needs to feel like he has to fight for something cause he thinks that she will always say I am sorry. Some of Nigerian men are always self-entitled. And it’s not their fault. I blame their mothers.

    Are you saying that Nigerian women are forgiving?

    Yes, we have been trained to forgive. That’s how they raised many of us, but the narrative is changing.

    Do you agree that an international collaboration adds to an artiste’s resume?

    Yes it actually does, because if I do a song with Rihanna, there is a certain clout it will give me. It’s like expanding. When you feature, it’s like you adding.

    Talking about Falz, you guys had a musical chemistry. We were expecting you to feature him in your album. Why didn’t you?

    I have an entire EP with Falz. I’m sure we are going to do other things together but if you want to listen to something on me and Falz, we have entire project to listen to. I wanted to do something else.

    It seems there is a love triangle brewing. Should we expect an EP from you and Adekunle Gold or maybe the three of you?

    That would be funny (Laughs)

    How did you meet Adekunle Gold?

    I can’t remember where we met but I remember I saw him at a show where I was performing. He came to watch. He has been listening to my songs since when I was doing gospel music. He said he was a fan. From there, we became friends. I never knew he was a singer. I think Falz heard a song I did, we hooked up in the studio and he listened to my song. Soldier was my song actually. He heard Soldier and he was like, we should do something. But it did not come out at that time.

  • 10 get Life Lager’s grant

    Ten entrepreneurs in Nsukka, Enugu State, have received N300,000 each to boost their businesses at the ‘Life Progress Booster Show’, an initiative of Life Lager Beer, a brand committed to supporting small and medium-scale entrepreneurs in the Southeast.

    The cheques were presented to the beneficiaries during the week, bringing the number of entrepreneurs who have benefited from the grant this year to 60.

    Addressing the audience at the presentation, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager and Stout Brands, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Agu, said the brand had increased the grant from N250,000 in 2016 to N300,000.

    He said the company would support 200 entrepreneurs through the Progress Booster platform in 2017.

    “Progress Booster is a programme with the sole aim of supporting the people of the Southeast who have innovative business ideas to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of the people.

    “This is the third set of entrepreneurs we are supporting this year, and we look forward to empowering other innovative business men and women,” Agu said.

    He also noted that Life Progress Booster Show was a platform for budding businessmen and women to present their proposals and transform their ideas to reality.

    According to him, the Progress Booster Show was initiated to raise more entrepreneurs and self-dependent individuals in Southeast Nigeria.

    He said through the years, Life Continental Beer has focused on empowering its consumers, and was committed to contributing to their successes and achievements.

    Other guests at the event went home with consolation prizes such as bags of rice, gallons of oil, and many more exciting prizes from raffle draws.

  • How a five-hour punishment I received from dad changed my life’

    How a five-hour punishment I received from dad changed my life’

    Rev. Sunday Oludare Matilukuro is the Primate of First African Church Mission (FACM). A former lecturer who had also worked with Rank Xerox and NCR Nigeria, a technology-based ompany, spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI about his journey into gospel work, his childhood experiences and the debate concerning polygamy in the African Church

    At what point did you decide to take up the job of a primate?

    There is tenure for the office of the primate. The maximum you can spend is 10 years. We had been using the title of Archbishop. The first primate was to retire last year, and there was a need for a successor. Since I was already a bishop, I qualified to vie for the office. I indicated my intention along two other archbishops. By divine providence, I went through screening and election and I came first. Last year, precisely October 2, I was presented as the Primate of The First African Church.

    How has it been as a primate?

    It has not been easy. But with God, nothing is impossible. Our church has gone through seven years of trials and travails. For seven years, the church was in crisis. There was serious crisis all over the nation. But to the glory of the Almighty alone, we were able to resolve the crisis. In February 2016, we came out of the crisis and the change of baton process started. Having gone through crisis for seven years, you will know naturally that it would be anything goes. That was exactly what happened. So, before I came in, I knew it was going to be tough. But I was prepared. By the grace of God, we have surmounted the storm.

    Would you let us into the details of the crisis?

    My brother, I won’t want to go into the details of things that happened. You know that in the house of God, the devil is always around. That was why Jesus Christ prayed that prayer in John 17: “This one thing I ask of you that they may be one.” One thing the devil is always looking for is how to disorganise and disintegrate. That was what happened. A small issue that would have been resolved amicably exploded and became a national issue. You know the beginning of war is what you know; nobody knows the end of it. And when it comes to a church like this, a religious organisation where freedom of association is seriously allowed, anybody can come up and do what he or she pleases. It is not easy or almost impossible for a court to resolve religious crisis. I won’t want to go into details of who and who or what led into it. But we’ve reviewed the laity headship. This church started 14 August, 1891, and it started with clergy headship. Sometimes in between, clergy headship was truncated and we went into laity headship. We had the spiritual father but the real people presiding over the church were the laymen, which was not the design of God. We were like that for 100 years before we said no and came on to clergy headship. And you know when you have gone through such for a long time, change is inevitable. Change is not easy. Some people still believe in this and that, and those that emerged could not manage the emergence, and it led to crisis.

    Is it a full time job or a part-time one?

    It is completely a full time job. Once you become a bishop, you cannot work anywhere again. That is the rule here. That is the procedure. As a bishop, you are in a full time employment.

    What is your area of specialisation, I mean your background?

    I have been in the church all this while. I started as a choir boy at age 5. I became a lay reader, lay preacher and pastor. I had worked as a banker. I did banking and had AIB. I read Business Administration up to M.Sc level. I had taught in a tertiary institution. I’ve worked at both Rank Zerox and NCR Nigeria, both multinational companies. But along the line, the urge was there until I found myself going into seminary and bible school before going into the ministry. Along the line, I came in as a part time minister. I was still doing secular jobs here and there, running business here and there until it got to the climax that I could not resist this full time ministerial job.

    You had a good career working with a multinational company, but you abandoned that luxury to work in the vineyard of God. What could have been the attraction?

    You see, if you have a calling, you will just see yourself getting closer and closer. It was like a child’s play. If somebody had told me five years before I became a minister of God, I would have doubted it, because I was comfortable where I was working. For me to have worked in a multinational company like NCR Nigeria, you know that I must be comfortable. But the call was too much on me, such that at the end of the day, I had to quit what I was doing. If you have the calling, it is natural. If you have a calling, you have to do it. If you don’t do it, you might find yourself in a disturbing situation. So it was the love for the things of God, the zeal for it, and above all, the calling that drove me into it, and today, here I am.

    Do you sometimes feel like going back into your secular job considering the flamboyance and perks of the job, especially banking?

    Let me tell you something: the Orthodox Church, which we were part of originally, the focus was on the salvation of souls. But when the new generation churches started coming, they started looking at prosperity and all that. Because you are saved does not mean you cannot prosper. But the ultimate is salvation, and that is where we stand. We have millionaires, we have multi-millionaires in our church. But be that as it may, as a servant of God, you are compelled to employ moderation. If you are not moderate, you will be selling yourself and not Christ. You will be projecting yourself and not Christ. Yes, we have ministerial ethics. You need to be neat. You neat to be okay. You don’t have to be seen as a pauper or wretched. But be that as it may, you don’t need to be flamboyant. Christ was not flamboyant. He was a simple person to the extent that they could not even identify him among his disciples. Judas had to reveal who Christ was among his disciples. That is our approach. Fathers of faith in the ecumenical order were like that. You see what is happening now. I’m not out to criticise or condemn men of God, but I’m telling you the scripture. There should be moderation in everything. That is our aim and that is what we preach. I will not go back. I will remain with God. As a matter of fact, I reached the peak. I have a definite assignment. If I go back, I’m finished. What I’m I going to tell God? I’m carrying the whole load of the church now. I’m responsible for so many souls now. What am I going to tell the One who has called me? It is not my business; somebody put me there. I am only standing in for the owner of the church, and the owner of the church said ‘I will build my church’. He is using me as a person to build the church. So, if I withdraw, I’m finished. I know it and I cannot quit.

    How did your wife react to your decision to go into full time ministry?

    She had no choice. I came from a Christian home. My father too was once a teacher. He was once a layman in the church. For so many years, he was a worker with the railways, and at the end of the day, he also came into the ministry. My father was ordained in the church. My wife also came from a Christian home. Her parents were leaders in a white garment church. By the time we were married, she met me doing the work of God and she keyed into it. I have been so much overwhelmed by the work of God right from my youthful days, and I have no regrets about it.

    You’ve lived all your life in the church and you appear to be a gentle man. Tell me a particular incident in your life you will never forget while growing up

    Let me tell you frankly, I was very rascally when I was growing up. The only thing I would want to run away from stealing. But in terms of being rascally, I was. I had very few friends who were not as strong as I was. There were times they would come and call me and I would go and fight. I could lay an ambush. I could fight anywhere. If there is something I would not forget easily, it is my father. God used my father to really mould me. I committed an offence one day and my father punished me as if he was not my father. He punished me as if I was a condemned criminal, and that was the turnaround in my life. I was already in secondary school then, but he punished me from 12 mid-night to about 5 am. By the time I came out of it, God ministered to me and I became a simple person.

    Before First African Church was founded, it transited from the Anglican to African Church, then First African Church…

    (Cuts in) Majority of the founders of the church which was initially called United Native African Church (UNA) metamorphosed into First African Church in 1984. Most of the founders came out of the Anglican Church. Only one or two came from another denomination. What brought them out of the Anglican? Well, a few of them had more than one wife. It was in the colonial era, and they were people of substance who had influence and money and they were being treated as third class citizens where they were. The white people were the ones that were really in control. Some of them really wanted to worship God, singing, drumming and clapping, but that was not allowed in those days. So, they came out and they were charged to court by the colonial masters. The natives won the case in court with Psalm 150 which talks about praising God. Since then, UNA came into existence in 1891 and it happened to be the first church founded by indigenous Africans. There were nine founders.

    What is your attitude to polygamy and the attitude of the church?

    Polygamy? Before now, the church did not preach polygamy but it tolerated it. But today, the church does not tolerate polygamy. Today, you cannot be a minister in the First African Mission if you are a polygamist. Before, yes. But now, no. In essence, when we’re solemnizing marriage in the church, we emphasise during counseling and the solemnization ceremony that you cannot divorce, you cannot marry another person. If you go to Genesis 2:18, God perfected the institution when he saw that Adam was living alone and He said that it is not good for a man to live alone, I will make for you a help mate. If God saw the need for two, three or four, he would have made available 2 or 3 for Adam. He gave him only one and he said the two came together and they became one. We do not tolerate polygamy in First African Mission. No.

    How then do you handle the issue of members with more than one wife?

    We do not send people away from church because they are polygamists. Mark my word, the bible is so clear if you go to the book of Timothy. If a man desires the office of a bishop, that one is so direct; you must be a man with one wife. There is hardly any church you will see today that you will not find polygamists. Even those who say they don’t practise or tolerate it, there is hardly any you will not find polygamists. But if a servant of God is a polygamist, that is highly questionable. Don’t forget that we are in the world, we are not of the world. Therefore, we must apply wisdom of God when we are in the world. If you want to preach and you want people to do what is operational in Paradise, you are likely to incur the wrath of the law. I cannot go to anybody and say you cannot marry more than one wife. If I say if you want to be a member of my church, you cannot marry more than one wife, yes I can say so. But tell me the church where you will not find one member that has more than one wife. They may not showcase it, but they practise it. There is a saying in Yoruba that it is what happens outside that will teach a child how to behave. You don’t need anybody to tell you. If you want to practise polygamy this day, continue. When you see the problems of polygamy, nobody will teach you. Our grandfathers, great grandfathers were polygamists, but how many of us now are polygamists?

    The tendency in many churches today is to break away and establish new ones because of people’s desire to become shepherds. How do you react to this?

    Let me be frank with you, there is no denomination in heaven, and our Lord Jesus Christ says when the end is near, many will be led astray. Many will come out and claim to be doing so many things in my name. I do not subscribe to the idea of you breaking from one church to establish another church. Where you are, why can’t you make an impact there? Why can’t you stay there and preach the gospel? People hear from telephone and they say they’ve heard from God. People hear the horn of vehicles on the highway and they will say God has told them to plant a church somewhere.

  • Lagos’ new lease of life for Epe

    SIR: In every society, people clamour for development; a change from good to better and ultimately a secured and more prosperous society. Epe, a prominent town on the northern shore of Lagos State and a few kilometres away from Ikorodu is not an exception

    Historically, Epe has a chequered history as it was somehow involved in the British-Lagos diplomatic rows of the colonial era. The defeat of King Kosoko and subsequent expulsion from Lagos by the British army brought a new lease of life to Epe community.  The waterway was an available navigation resource that brought King Kosoko and his entourage on exile to Epe in1852. The aura and exploits associated with king Kosoko’s business exposure in Lagos was replicated in Epe. With Kosoko’s entourage of about 1,500 people and other European traders, the economic potentials of Epe received a great boost.

    Prior to this time, Epe was only lively on Fridays after indigenes (Ijebu- Epe) might have returned from their various fishing camps across the lagoon. However, the presence of Kosoko and his team of business associates brought about a great transformation to the town.  Consequently, the town originally noted for aqua culture and agriculture, gradually translated into a melting pot of commercial activities due to various external influences. This extended to neighbouring lagoon front community like Ejinrin, which played host to the first post office in Nigeria.

    In the sixties, especially shortly after independence, the searchlight of development was beamed on Epe. This was a period the industrialization policy of the defunct Action Group brought about positive change through the activities of ODUA investments.  Epe Boat Yard and Epe Plywood became a major investment of repute that scaled up economic fortunes of the historic town. Epe Plywood Industry became a major player in the business of high grade furniture that could compete with any foreign product.

    Interestingly, Epe Boat Yard, on the other hand, was responsible for high performing boat barges and yachts to mention a few. Sadly, the once thriving businesses eventually went into extinction due bad management. Epe Boat Yard may have died without any physical relic of its past existence, Epe plywood Industry, in the heart of the town, has remained a jungle of dangerous reptiles for over 20 years. The company that once contributed to the gross domestic products of Lagos collapsed to the advantage of Chinese furniture products which now penetrate the Nigerian local market.

    However, the advent of the current Akinwunmi Ambode administration has brought a new lease of life to Epe.  The searchlight of the Ambode administration into the non-oil revenue potentials of the state has driven the government to identify the serene and alluring tourism opportunities that abound in Epe. With a number of historic landmarks such as the first ever post office in Nigeria, the second oldest seaport in Nigeria, the first comprehensive college in the state, the second police station in Nigeria among others, the tourism  prospect of Epe is being enhanced .

    It is in order to further develop tourism activities in Epe that the state government redesigned and restructured the old VIP chalet built by the Jakande administration into a luxurious 72-room tastefully furnished apartment. The chalet boasts of a swimming pool, bar, tennis court, football field and gymnasium.

    Additionally, current massive reclamation of the lagoon along Epe Marina is a project that cannot be ignored.  Fashioned after the Dubai Marina, there could not have been a better location than the historic site which was the trading cluster for King Kosoko among the Portuguese, Lever Brothers, UAC, who were prominent in produce buying during the colonial era. The project is planned to provide infrastructure such as Civic Centre for special purposes, food venues, museum, Aquarium, Boat club/services, Dock Amusement and other interesting fun spots. All these are expected to stimulate investors’ interest and direct their attention to the Epe axis.

    Thus, it could be rightly affirmed that Epe, the stone which the builders once rejected has now become the chief cornerstone. It now behoves on investors, tourists and residents to take advantage of this new development.

     

    • Bolaji Odumade,

    Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa Ikeja.