The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pathetic

  • Pathetic life of 79-yr-old pensioner

    In his youth, Pa Olaitan Shonubi, a retiree of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), had dreams of living a good life and  marrying a beautiful and educated woman.

    For many years, Shonubi, a product of Yaba Trade Centre, Lagos, where he was trained as an electrical technician, decided not to consider marriage until he had made money good enough to live a comfortable life and build his own house.

    While his dream of living in his own house did not become a reality as expected many years after he left school, an opportunity for marriage presented itself to him when he fell in love with a young girl called Mariam in the Obalende area of Lagos in the 90s.

    The young lady, according to him, wanted to acquire university education, but lacked the means to actualise it. Since he was already earning what he termed a good salary, he offered to rescue the girl from despondency by sponsoring her university education.

    Cruel fate, however, played a fast one him, when the lady jilted him upon her graduation from university.

    “I made sure she read Economics at the University of Lagos (Unilag).I paid her school fees and made sure she was comfortable. I was shocked when the lady later told me she could not marry me when she completed her studies. She said I was older and she could not stand my low educational qualification. I tried to persuade her to stay, but I guess her decision had the backing of her mother.

    “I could not fathom how a girl I picked up and invested heavily in her studies could suddenly dump me at the end of her studies. I was so devastated that it almost affected my health,”Shonubi said.

    One would have expected him to have another shot at marriage, but Shonubi said the money he spent on the education of the lady was too much for him to bear, a situation which made he decide to forget about marriage.

    “Having lost a lot of money, I decided to do away with women and marriage. The lady I told you about left me in 1997, and I have not considered marriage since then,”he said.

    Despite his self-imposed celibacy, Shonubi’s tribulations did not cease. In 2014, he lost his accommodation to a feud involving children of his late landlord in the Ebute-Metta area of Lagos State.

    “I rented an apartment from a property developer who operates on Lagos Island at the rate of N3000 per month and later, it was increased to N5000 per month.

    “I lived there from 1999 to 2014. The contract between the developer and the owner of the house expired, and the building was handed over to the children of the late owner. The person who inherited my apartment then requested for a sum of N350, 000 to carry out the renovation of the place. But after giving him the money, no renovation was done, and I began to disturb him.

    “While I was away from home, he connived with his younger brother to demolish my apartment and the rubble destroyed my belongings. It was after they were arrested by the police that I got to know that they carried out the unlawful demolition because they did not want to refund the money I paid them for the renovation. I now live in a wooden shop in an unconducive environment in the Kadara area of Ebute Metta,”Shonubi said.

    As if that was not enough, Sonubi, a native of Ijebu Ife, Ogun State, was knocked down by a hit-and- run commercial motorcyclist, popularly called okada, in the Oyingbo area of Lagos. The accident has left him with a fractured leg which doctors said would cost him N250, 00 to restore through a major surgery.

    He said: “I was walking along the road on June 28 this year in Oyingbo when an okada rider knocked me down. I suffered a broken leg and I have since not been able to walk.

    “I was rushed to Lagos Island General Hospital for treatment. The doctors said it would take a surgery for me to walk again. The cost of the major surgery is N250, 000, but I don’t have money at all. I worked for 32 years as an employee of the NEPA. I am a pensioner and my monthly stipend is not enough to take care of my needs, not to talk of carrying out a surgery. I am calling on people to kindly assist me.”

    Donations can be forwarded to him via his United Bank for Africa (UBA) account number, 2056651812, with the name, Olaitan Shonubi. He can also be reached on 08170690134.

  • Bimbo Akintola speaks on her role in ‘Pathetic’

    Bimbo Akintola speaks on her role in ‘Pathetic’

    Nollywood actress, Bimbo Akintola, has described the movie, ‘Pathetic’, as a reality for everyone. According to the actress, the issue of domestic abuse is not exclusive to celebrities as has been speculated.

    According to the actress, domestic abuse is not just about being a celebrity but being a celebrity didn’t make it easy on the marriage in that sense.

    “It happens to women. It can be because of your riches, it can be because of anything else but the man behaved the way he did not because she was a celebrity but because he had issues with himself that he needed to deal with. A man that beats a woman has issues; a man that can kill obviously has issues. So, it doesn’t matter if she was a celebrity or not, his instinct would have still come out and would have shown. He would have beaten any woman that he married because that is the sort of person that he is,” she said.

    Reacting to stories on whether she has ever been exploited in the manner the movie portrayed, the 93 Days actor said; “It’s not something that has happened to me personally because I have not been married before. I am single.”

    Set to be released at the cinemas come March 24, ‘Pathetic’ is a human interest story produced by Dayo Amusa.

  • ‘Pathetic’ is a human interest movie – Dayo Amusa

    ‘Pathetic’ is a human interest movie – Dayo Amusa

    All is ready for Dayo Amusa’s new movie, ‘Pathetic’, to be released in cinemas on March 24, 2017.

    Amusa, who disclosed that the movie is a human interest story, said, “We must tell the many tales that are being kept as secrets, the many wounds that are being covered and the many stories that may never be told.” Her last movie, ‘Unforgivable’ also borders on domestic violence in the family.

    ‘Pathetic’ is the story of Rita Shonibare, a renowned TV star who is caught in a web of confusion, as she makes a compromise on her budding career so as to overcome her marital ordeals. The movie portrays the mischievous ways that celebrities are portrayed by the media and the outsiders who prey on them.

    “It’s not as if the stories are related to me directly,” she quipped. “I am just a voice to the many silenced voices in our society. I am helping a group of people tell the stories they would rather cover. These are issues that go on around us daily and I feel obligated to tell those stories.”

    Speaking further, Amusa said: “This does not mean that I will not make movies outside of this niche. I am definitely open to try my hands on different stories but one thing is important, I want to tell an impacting story that we can all learn from.”

  • DAYO AMUSA TAKES PATHETIC TO CINEMAS

    NOLLYWOOD actor, Dayo Amusa, has returned with a new movie, Pathetic, which will be showing at the cinemas from March 24.

    Produced by Amusa and directed by Ike Nnaebue, the movie stars Bimbo Akintola, Wole Ojo, Dayo Amusa, Toyin Abraham, Funsho Adeolu, Toyin Alausa, Taiwo Okunlola, Anu Shodanya among others.

    Pathetic is a thrilling and insightful marital story intricately woven on the life of a famous celebrity lady – her pains and travails in having the desired picture-perfect life of the ordinary human.

    Rita Shonibare, a renowned TV star, is caught in a web of confusion as she makes a compromise on her budding career so as to overcome her marital ordeals resulting from her wayward and inconsiderate husband, who explores her status to his own devious means.

    According to the producers, Pathetic deftly portrays in a subtle and fascinating fashion the mischievous ways the celebrities are explored by the media, the outsiders and pathetically, their most trusted loved ones, who regard them as preys to be feasted upon at their slightest means.

    “This is my best production yet. Shooting this movie for me is more about passing a message and helping the world see the hidden struggles celebrities face even with those they call family and friends. It is an attempt to share our struggles and also communicate a message to anyone going through such situations. I encourage everyone to join me at the cinemas in March when the movie starts to show,” Amusa says.

  • DAYO AMUSA TALKS NEW MOVIE, ‘PATHETIC’

    DAYO AMUSA TALKS NEW MOVIE, ‘PATHETIC’

    COMING on the heels of her last production, Unforgivable, which garnered five awards at Yoruba Movie Academy Award, Nollywood actress, Dayo Amusa, has come with another movie titled Pathetic.

    Directed by Ike Nnaebue, the new project is produced by AMZADOL Productions and was shot in Lekki /Ajah, Lagos.

    Featured in the movie are some of the biggest names in the Nigerian movie industry like, Funsho Adeolu, Toyin Aimakhu, Toyin Alausa, Bimbo Akintola, and Wale Ojo, among others.

    Pathetic tells the story of how career women are faced with the challenge of balancing their marriages and their chosen career paths.

    Presently in its post-production stage, information has it that Pathetic is expected to hit the cinemas before the end of the year.

    The actress, who is also looking slimmer than her fans are used to, recently took to her Instagram page to post a set of dress and sandals, which she said was a gift from a fan who is yet to reveal his identity.

    She posted: “I got this gifts from a fan #IGFAM few weeks back, but due to up and down waka waka, I’ve not been able to acknowledge it and show appreciation until now. Unfortunately I’m unable to single out who. Please kindly DM me if u get this. In advance Thank you.”

  • Pathetic plight

    Pathetic plight

    If the report in this paper on January 6 is anything to go by, the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was not only unfair to Nigerians, it was also unfair to its own. According to that report, Mujeeb Olayiwola Shokunbi, a former employee of the company was abandoned by it despite the fact that he fell off a pole in the line of duty a little over two years ago.

    Shokunbi tells the story better: “I was a staff of the extinct PHCN. I was on official duty on June 2, 2011 when I fell off an 11KV high-tension cable pole. I sustained a spinal cord injury from the fall. As a result, I lost the use of my upper and lower limbs. I was admitted at the National Orthopaedic Hospital (NOH), Division of Clinical Services with No 568009 for treatment, but up till date, instead of any sign of improvement, my health has been deteriorating”.

    Now, there is no controversy over whether Shokunbi was a member of staff of PHCN. There is also no controversy as to whether he sustained the injury while on official assignment. These much could be deduced from the response of Mr Godwin Idemudia, the Assistant General Manager (AGM) and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Eko Zone of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, who, according to this paper’s report merely said that Shokunbi’s matter “has been referred to NELMO in Abuja – the body set up by the Federal Government to manage the assets and liabilities of the defunct PHCN. Even his family knows that.” Moreover, Shokunbi’s appointment was only terminated in October, last year, alongside those of other PHCN staff, as part of its winding down process, and that was about 28 months after the accident.

    Mr Shokunbi’s response to Mr Idemudia’s statement is that it was not a true reflection of what actually happened. “What the AGM, PRO told you is a lie. When we contacted him, we were told to write a letter to the then MD, PHCN, Eko Zone, Oladele Amoda, an engineer. Till date, they did not give us any response. And I have since remained in this state while watching my legs get thinner by the day.”

    We can understand Shokunbi’s plight. For someone in his kind of situation, what matters is getting assistance and not passing of files or exchange of letters. This is a matter that occurred about 31 months ago; long before the government closed the chapter on the PHCN. How, therefore, could the matter have been referred to NELMO? Obviously, the Eko Zone of Eko Electricity Distribution Company does not want to accept liability for Mr Shokunbi’s treatment. And that may be understood, given the fact that it was not his employer when the accident occurred.

    If PHCN had insured its staff, especially the technical and other employees who may be exposed to occupational hazards, the insurance company would have taken responsibility for the treatment. Obviously, the PHCN must have seen itself as a magnanimous institution for paying Mr Shokunbi’s salaries for over two years when he was not working.

    We understand that our report on the matter has rekindled interest in it. We can only hope this would be followed to a logical conclusion so that the young man can still be something in life.

    Beyond that however, there is a need for agencies responsible for workers’ welfare in the country to be alive to their responsibilities. Nigerian workers are not oranges that their peels are thrown away after sucking the juice. Mr Shokunbi was only lucky to have his case highlighted; there are many others who are suffering in silence over similar accidents. They should be assisted to find succour in the Workmen Compensation Act.