The Nation Newspaper

Tag: worth

  • How much is a tooth worth?

    How much is a human tooth worth?

    Call it a trick question. It has no obvious answer, for there are teeth and there are teeth, and at least in material terms, a gold or platinum implant, digital or analog, is probably worth much than an enamel tooth.

    Any answer will also depend on what functions a given tooth performs. Can we objectively rank an incisor, a canine, a pre-molar or a molar in terms of utility?

    Plus:  are we talking about a solitary, stand-alone tooth, or a tooth securely embedded in the mouth?  If it is the former, was it dislodged by surgical extraction, by violent assault, or by natural attrition?

    At the time it was plucked from its natural habitat, what was the condition of the tooth?

    Without knowing the person behind that solitary tooth – lifestyle, eating habits, attitude to oral hygiene, age, gender, etc– we cannot even begin to assess the worth of human teeth.

    So, we are dealing with a trick question all right.

    If put to the test, I cannot answer the question with respect to my own teeth.  Rather, I will refer you  to my dentist. He never fails to send me a birthday card every year, with a subtle reminder that it was about time I made an appointment for a comprehensive check-up.  I take it that he is saying, in effect,   my teeth are worth much more than I realise.

    By definition, a trick question has no answer, as I stated out the outset.  Yet the trick question I posed above was what a judge of the Lagos High Court had to wrestle with, not as an abstract problem but, in real human terms.  Even when due allowance has been made for the usual delays arising from power outages as well as real and contrived objections,  I am not surprised that it took the court all of six years to tackle the matter with some confidence.   Indeed, the surprise is that the court did not take at least seven years longer.

    Here is how the matter arose.

    Word went forth from the well-appointed offices of an evangelist revered by his teeming followers as an authentic Man of God, inviting the general public to what could well turn out to be the mother of all harvests of miracles.

    Billboards providing details of the event were erected at strategic points.  Attendance was of course voluntary, as should be in such matters.  If you don’t attend, you cannot receive the miracle designed especially for you.  And to make sure that everybody had an equal opportunity to receive his or her special miracle, admission was free.

    You could not ask for a more level playing field, pardon the cliché.

    Venue was the National Stadium, in Surulere, Lagos, not some hideous structure that had been erected in violation of the building code and environmental law. To be sure, the place had seen far better days, but it is centrally located, and the rent is affordable.

    Now, nothing concentrates the mind of the average Nigerian like the prospect of experiencing a miracle: miracle deliverance, miracle cures, miracles in their finances, examinations, jobs, business, well-being, marriage, miracles in the lives of their children and friends and relations and indeed in every department of life.

    You may be a person of no fixed address but if you can show up at a bus-stop or road-side market and merely hint that you are a miracle worker, you are guaranteed a sizeable crowd wherever and whenever  you choose to perform.

    But the man in this tale was not an itinerant evangelist and faith healer.   Back in 2010 at the time the events here narrated took place, he served as the Presiding Pastor, Registered Trustee of Manna Miracle Mountain Ministry, and publisher/writer for the highly-regarded devotional guide, “Our Daily Manna.”

    It was therefore no surprise that thousands of miracle-seekers flocked that day, January 10, 2010, to  the stadium where the Man of God was scheduled to stage “the mother of all miracle harvests.”  What New Year present could be more precious than a miracle designed especially for the worshipper?

    Among the faithful worshippers nursing great expectation that day was Tamara Egbedi, a lawyer.

    As the congregants positioned themselves to receive their miracles, or as the miracles rained down on them from on high, the kind of pushing and shoving and jostling that was to be expected in such a setting ensued.

    In the process, court filings show, the winsome Ms Egbedi fell into an uncovered concrete gutter running between the seats, lost seven teeth from her comely dentition and suffered other injuries that left her severely traumatised.

    But that is only a partial picture.  Consider also the loss of business she must have suffered to boot:  No court appearances until surgical reconstruction has been carried out; no speaking engagements from her huge clientele of reputable organisations and institutions.  To this, add involuntary withdrawal from the social circuit.  And a sharp diminution in romantic attention from men on the prowl.  The cumulative is incalculable loss.

    Fortunately, Ms Egbedi knew her rights at law.  She demanded compensation from Manna Miracle Mountain Ministry, the organisers of the event that had brought her so much grief.

    The organisers responded with bracing petulance.

    Neither the Ministry nor its Presiding Pastor, The Rev Dr Chris E. Kwapovwe, they said, bore any responsibility for what happened to Ms Egbedi; they had merely rented the venue.  However, actuated by Christian charity, the Ministry had offered her the princely sum of N100, 000 to take care of her injuries, persuaded that any reasonable person would have accepted it with gratitude.

    But Ms Egbedi, the Manna Ministry said, had turned out to be no such person.  As they saw it, she came across more as gold digger than as a person seeking legitimate compensation for injury.

    Satisfied that they had done more than duty required, they had accordingly terminated negotiations and dared Ms Egbedi to seek legal redress.

    In a judgement laced with stern rebuke, the court held that the Manna Ministry and its Presiding Pastor had the duty and obligation to ensure the safety of those they had invited to their crusade, and that  failure to do so amounted to culpable negligence.  Consequently, the court awarded Ms Egbedi the sum of N9, 454, 000 as compensation.

    This outcome does not answer the trick question we posed at the start.  Since the compensation is for a raft of injuries, we still do not know exactly how much a tooth is worth.  But it seems clear that when teeth are dislodged from their natural habitat in circumstances not entirely of the owner’s volition, damages could start from N1 million apiece if you are a person of consequence. For average persons, court-ordered compensation could start at N500, 000.

    So beware, organisers of owambe parties, religious revivals, weddings, and all manner of ceremonies and festivities.  Providing food and drinks and entertainment is not enough.  You have also to ensure that your guests come to no harm through your acts and omissions.

    Which brings me to the 40 persons who were trampled to death or seriously injured at three separate events during which a prominent public figure indulged his fabled philanthropy by handing out bolts of ankara, food parcels, cooking oil and sundry gifts of middling value to surging crowds that had gathered at the venues well before dawn.

    If the first lethal stampede was an accident, the second and the third were foreseeable and preventable. All it required was a change in logistics.

    Yet the philanthropist was never charged with any offence. Not even negligence.  No lawsuits for compensation were filed by the aggrieved or their relations.  The philanthropist, who has mercifully stopped this annual cull, offered the victims of his lethal practice only messages of condolence and sympathy.

    But something tells me that many other victims or their proxies, not forgetting enterprising lawyers, are studying the case of Ms Egbedi versus the Manna Ministry with a view to discovering how it might      apply to instances in which philanthropy went horribly lethal.

  • Earn what you’re really worth

    If you don’t agree that what the headline of this piece says is possible, you are not alone. Even the author of the book with this title, Brian Tracy, was shocked and angry when he first heard of the idea.

    He argued vigorously that it is not true. I can imagine some readers dismissing the concept as one of those wishful thinking of motivation speakers and authors.

    Just like what many Nigerians currently going through hard times will think, Tracy said he blamed his low income on “my parents, my education, my boss, my company, my industry, my competition, and the economy.

    “Then I looked around me, and realised that there were hundreds and even thousands of people who had the same problems and limitations I did but who were earning far more than I was and living much better lives,” Tracy, a high school dropout  who has since become a world renowned consultant, trainer and personal development specialist, wrote.

    At times like the kind we find ourselves in the country when promise of change is turning to despair; when the economy seems getting out of control of the government, everyone needs inspiration to make the best of the worrisome situation.

    In my desperation to earn more income to meet, not only my personal and family needs, but numerous requests for assistance which I cannot cope with, the title of this book recently caught my attention and I have been trying to find out what the author has to say about why I am not earning what I think I am really worth after almost thirty years of graduating from the university.

    One of the criticisms of foreign motivational books is that they are based on what obtains in the developed nations where “everything works.” What I have found out reading Earn What You’re Really Worth and many others is that the principles of success and prosperity are universal.

    While we may have many limiting factors in our country, I am convinced that there are basic things everyone has to do not to remain poor or earn more than their present income. No matter how hard one tries, chances are that you may not achieve your goal, but you won’t remain where you used to be if you try hard enough.

    Two quotes from Tracy’s book summarise how to maximise one’s income, no matter the circumstance in any market whether in an underdeveloped, developing and developed country.

    “If you want to succeed and achieve everything possible that is possible for you, you are going to have to work smarter and more diligently than before. To move to the top of your field, you are going to have to start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay a little later.”

    “Successful people are not necessarily those who make the right decisions all the time. The world belongs to those who reach out and grab it with both hands. It belongs to those who do something rather than just wish and hope, and plan and pray, and intend to do something someday, when everything is just right.”

    When the governments at various levels fail us like they always do, the option open to anyone who wants to earn what he or she is really worth is to decide to do what Tracy says: “Take complete control of your career and your income so you can survive and thrive in any economy.”

    The executive and legislature can continue to argue about the 2016 budget and decide when to start to implement it, my decision is that their action and inaction will not decide how much I will earn this year. I will earn what I am really worth and even surpass it.

     

  • Bayelsa: What’s Jonathan’s worth?

    Bayelsa: What’s Jonathan’s worth?

    For long, there was speculation that the icy relationship between former President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriaka Dickson would be a major hurdle for the re-election bid of the governor. But given Jonathan’s recent declaration that he will rally support for the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on the likely effect of Jonathan’s last-minute support in determining the results of December 5, 2015 Bayelsa Governorship Election

    Before May 29, 2015, when he officially packed away from Aso Rock, the news was that the then President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, had denied Governor Seriaka Dickson of their support for the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship primaries in this year’s election. Many analysts argued then that without Jonathan’s support, the re-election bid of the governor on the ticket of PDP would only remain a mirage.

    But Jonathan first gave an open hint of his resolution to lend his weight behind Dickson in an event early September, at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, soon before Dickson emerged PDP candidate.  It was the first public outing of the former president in Bayelsa after leaving office as the President of Nigeria. Accompanied to the event by his wife, Patience, Jonathan shocked many when he unambiguously urged the people to support the second term ambition of Dickson.

    Jonathan observed that as former president, he had the privilege of traveling to all the 36 states, including Abuja, to see things himself, adding that he “has taken notice of the remarkable performance of Dickson restoration administration within three and half years in office, considering the critical terrain and dwindling resources of Bayelsa State.”

    Expressing his joy at the open support then, Dickson had boasted that “with all the 105 councilors, eight local government chairmen, 21, out of the 23 declared seats in the state House of Assembly, all the three senators, five members of the House of Representatives and all the commissioners and Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants,” all of them PDP members with him, he is sure of victory at the governorship election.

    But as it stands today, with the defection of many of his supporters to the rival APC, it appears so much has changed that even Dickson’s most ardent followers are more courteous while boasting of outright victory in the December 5, 2015 election.  By the beginning of November, it is on record that members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of PDP, including aides of Governor Dickson and thousands of notable PDP supporters had openly defected to APC in the state notwithstanding Jonathan’s support for Dickson.

    Amongst the SWC members that defected to APC at public functions are the Assistant Secretary, Ben Oliver, the Assistant Organising Secretary, Miriam Kingsley and an ex-officio member, Diepreye Alagha.

    Also, two governor’s aides, who resigned their appointments and declared for APC during the campaign inauguration and presentation of flag in Sagbama town, Sagbama Local Government were Oberighakuma Yousou and Ayobegha James.

    The Nation had reported that Miriam attracted the crowd’s sympathy when she narrated her ordeal in the hands of her former party. She said: “I was in bondage, but now I’m crossing over to Canaan. I am happy that I have seen the light. I will no longer go back to Pharaoh.”

    Such solidarity has remained so consistent for the APC candidate, former governor Timipre Sylva, that informed observers said the result of the Saturday governorship election is difficult to predict. This is because both the incumbent governor, Dickson who flies the flag for PDP and the APC candidate, former governor Sylva are no pushovers. They both have strong political party, grassroots support and the necessary machinery to win the election. This being the case, observers are still wondering if Jonathan’s support can be the changing factor.

    How far can Jonathan’s factor go?

    Political influence of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who sources said empowered many young men and women from the state and his wife’s influence through the mobilization of women of the area through her NGOs are some of the salient factors Dickson is hoping to utilize in his quest to return to the Creek House. But whether these would write off APC and Sylva’s interest remains a major controversy.

    According to Dr. Israel Ibinabo, “You cannot distinguish between the influence of Jonathan and that of his wife or the movement built around the streetwise influence of the former governor, Governor-General Alamieyeiseigha. In Yenegoa here, people believe only a combination of these forces would give Dickson an edge. The way our people think here, the sentiment already built around the support of these people is even more potent than the power of incumbency. This is not to deny the love a common Bayelsan has for former Governor Sylva, who we feel was badly treated by PDP in spite of his genuine efforts to make tangible impact. So, for me, it is a 50-50 case, Jonathan or no Jonathan.”  Mrs. Janet Dikivie also argued that the result of next Saturday’s election would be determined by the common electorates not the so-called influence of political godfathers. “Our people are no fools. We know what we want. The contest is not between godfather Jonathan or Alamieyeiseigha and any other candidate. No! So, nobody will deceive us by flaunting these names. We know the contest is between Dickson and Sylva. They are not new comers in Bayelsa politics. They are incumbent governor and former governor respectively, so we know them very well and what we know them to be or to represent is what will influence our voting pattern. So, to me, Bayelsa governorship election this Saturday is not dicey as you people speculate because we already know the candidates,” she said.

    From such critical responses, it seems while Jonathan’s influence may play a part in this Saturday’s election, it may not be the primary determinant of the result of the election. The contest remains between PDP as a political party and APC or more appropriately between Dickson and Sylva. It remains to be seen, who the people will chose.

  • Ministerial list not worth the wait

    SIR: After weeks and days of speculations and anticipations, the much talked about and awaited list of ministerial nominees was finally unveiled by the President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. BukolaSaraki. Even though the list which comprise of names of 21 nominees is only the first batch as the list of the final batch of ministerial nominees is still been awaited, the calibre of men and women who made up this list totally falls short of the expectations of Nigerians at home and abroad, who has described the list as being sent to the National assembly as more of a reward for exploit and contributions towards the success of the APC at the last general election than a call to service. This is obviously so, due to the fact that majority of the men and women whose names appeared in the list are politicians who have contributed morally, financially and intellectually towards the victory of President MuhammaduBuhari and the APC.

    President Buhari should have speared us the long wait and name his cabinet members on the same day this administration was inaugurated instead of keeping Nigerian in psychological, emotional and political suspense. One would have expected that the President was taking his time to carefully select the much touted technocrats and men of integrity to bring on board as ministers to assist him to effect the necessary change that we all craved and desire as a nation, but the fact that people like Fashola and Amaechi have managed to find their ways into the list despite several allegations of corruption hanging on their neck has made it glaring that not much has really changed. Indeed, there is nothing so special about the list that should take No Mr. President about four (4) months to produce.

    However, the major concern bothers so much on the success of this administration. If the present administration should fail, then Nigeria might need to travel another terrain to get things right. For President MuhammaduBuhari to succeed will now depend on the vigilance, discipline and whistle blowing action of the general public and the media, to stand up against the misdoings, recklessness, abuse of office and impunity of those who have been selected as ministers. The expectation of breeding a new set of youthful technocrats under the leadership of President Buhari has evaporated. The generational change and new-blood envisaged might need to wait till like forever. The success or failure of this administration will now largely depend and be dictated by the body language of the President himself. For me, this list wasn’t worth the wait.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin-Kwara State

  • Worth its weight in gold

    This 200-page book, The Golden Years, dedicated to the Ibikunle Amosun years as governor of Ogun State, in the words of Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, Secretary to the Ogun State government, has made “serious study into the epoch-making period of the state in terms of the impact of the Amosun years on the system, process of governance and its response to the diverse challenges of administering a state.”

    The Golden Years is actually a selection of published articles in leading Nigerian newspapers on the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun in the last three years.  The articles were written by Soyombo Opeyemi, who was a member of the Editorial Board of The Independent Newspapers, before he joined the media team of the Ogun State governor.

    This book is divided into 10 parts, with each focusing on different areas of public life and governance.  Part one examines topics around education, Part two dwells on our Federalism and its spin-offs, Part three on Agriculture, while Part four is on strides taken in the area of infrastructure.  Parts five to 10 focus on diverse issues like land matters, healthcare, democracy, and landmark achievements of the Amosun administration.

    In Part one, which focuses largely on education, there are six chapters, dedicated to examining free education, public schools, academic excellence, mission schools, education and religion. In these chapters, the author tries to articulate the thrust of the education policy of the Amosun administration.

    In Part two, there are four chapters, all looking at our federal structure, vis-a-vis the Ogun State experience.  The first chapter is on Federalism and Regional Integration, where the author submits: “Indeed, I find it very odd, just like Senator Amosun, a revenue allocation formula that gives 52 per cent to the Federal Government, 26 per cent to the 36 states, and 20 per cent to the local councils.  What this means is that each of the 36 states collects 0.7 per cent from the Federal Account, while one Federal Government collects a whopping 52 per cent.  Haba! Is this federalism or unitarism?”

    This line of reasoning is further amplified in other chapters, with topics like ‘South-West Governors on Federal Constitution,’ ‘Federal Roads,’ and ‘Between Abeokuta and Abuja.’

    The old Western Region made fortunes from Agriculture.  And it is not surprising that Part three of the book is dedicated to thoughts on agricultural development.  And the battle cry is: “Tebi ba kuro ninu ise, ise buse (once hunger is out of the way, poverty is drastically reduced).”  Very well said, in a country that spends about N1 billion daily on the importation of rice from Asia.

    There are three chapters in Part four.  And they dwell on strides in infrastructure, which makes the author dub Gov Amosun ‘The Modernizer.’ Achievements in urban renewal and rural development are chronicled here.

    Part five has three chapters, while Part 6 has four.  These x-ray politics and actions of the Amosun administration in the areas of land policies, and the restoration of hope to the people.

    Let’s take portions of the chapter headlined ‘The Ogun Standard’ in Part 8. “If Ibara-Totoro road is the first of its kind by any state government in Ogun State, the Ibara flyover under construction is also the first by any state government in the annals of the state.  What about the ongoing footbridge that sits above the Ibara-Totoro road?  It is to be fitted with an air conditioner – that is, replicating in Ogun the modern facilities we see abroad; it is the first of such in Nigeria.

    “All these have set benchmarks below which no future government in Ogun must fall.  You can perform better but you are not permitted to fall below this standard that has been set by Amosun. That is the concept of the Ogun Standard.”

    A great standard to emulate, I must say. If the Ogun Standard is about quality, about integrity, about the ideal, then it is something to recommend to the rest of the country.  We must equally have the Nigerian Standard.

    In other chapters, the author sheds light on government policies that appear hazy, or controversial.  A chapter is dedicated to Income Tax, and another to Homeowners’ Charter. Surely, a good way to promote the activities and policies of a government! And fittingly, the last chapter chronicles the landmark achievements of the Amosun administration.

    Is this neatly edited and well-produced book a perfect work?  Not so. There are  a few grammatical and spelling errors. However, they by no means detract from the overall quality, which is very high.

    Again, I believe that too much space has been devoted to excoriating the immediate past administration in Ogun State, and comparing it with the current one. The former administration has come and gone, and it should be left for posterity to judge.

    By and large, however, I’ll agree that the Amosun years so far in Ogun State can truly be declared as golden.  The governor has made a difference in the physical outlook of the state, which is quite commendable. But has the same impact been made on the stomachs of the populace in these days of emphasis on stomach infrastructure? The book is a good resource material for anyone conducting a research on the Amosun administration.

  • How much is Mimiko worth? 

    How much is Mimiko worth? 

    SIR: Shortly after the Alabi-led Ondo PDP executive went to court to get the status quo to remain, an infuriated Mimiko would rant in the newspapers that no one can force him out of the party because he’s bringing value to the party. Value according to an online dictionary, is worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or merit. It might be monetary or material. In politics, the number of votes you can harvest, the huge amount of cash you can donate, your ability to twist an arm, break a leg and to some extent, cause mayhem or snatch boxes makes you valuable; makes you an asset.

    Where lies Ondo State governor Olusegun Mimiko’s strength in the above listed values that he keeps priding himself that he is bringing values to Ondo State PDP?

    Before his defection he was no longer popular. The two elections he conducted were inclusive because they were not in his favour. The seat of the late speaker is still vacant. He is out of favour with the masses. Mimiko that was in LP has only one vote. The vote of his wife he can’t guarantee that is if she will be voting; so are the votes of his kids provided they will be in the country to vote. So what values are the governor bringing to the table?

    In Abuja during his defection, he said President Jonathan’s ambition is the major reason for his defection. Does he need to move to PDP to campaign for the president? In 2007 as Labour Party governor and member, Jonathan won handsomely in Ondo State, kudos to Iroko; why would he not repeat the same feat in 2015?

    The truth is that things have changed.

    For Labour Party to die a natural death in Ondo State after the defection of the governor means the party is all about him. The LP aspirants followed him automatically hoping they will be the anointed candidates of the governor in the sharing formula that will emerge.

    The main reason the governor decamped is his doubtful loyalty. His chameleonic nature is obviously a source of worry to the presidency.  To convince the presidency of his loyalty, he chose to decamp at Abuja. Abuja on the other hand, appropriately rewarded him as south west coordinator of the Jonathan re-election project to keep him in sight.

    Both of course needs each other; Mimiko needs a soft landing and for the presidency to watch his back at the end of his tumultous tenure; the presidency needs a strognman to assist it manipulate Ondo votes. It is a case of rub my back, I rub yours.

     

    • Olusola Farouq

    Warri Delta State

  • Customs makes 1,608 seizures worth over N600m in six months

    The Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, Lagos of the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded a total of 1,608 seizures comprising assorted, prohibited goods from January till date.

    Making this disclosure was the outgoing Comptroller of the Unit, Comptroller Nuhu Isa Mamoud.

    Mamoud, who was lately re-deployed to Customs headquarters, while giving the mid-year report of the Unit, recalled that “the seizures were valued at N612,513,600.00 with a payable duty of N323,823,327.00 and a duty paid value of N936,336,927.00”, adding: “This figure represents over 50% positive differences when compared with the report of corresponding period of 2013.”

    He listed seized illicit items included: rice imported through unapproved routes, foreign frozen poultry products, vegetable oil, used tyres, fridges, compressors, used vehicles, spaghetti/noodles and a host of other general goods.

    Further commenting on the operations of Customs thus far, the Customs boss said: “The present regime of the Nigeria Customs ensured full automation of Customs procedures, noting that the direct effect is the Assycuda ++ (Automated System for Customs Data) which enables all Customs Commands to assess information online. This is targeted at trade facilitation. It is therefore instructive to state that the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ has keyed into the full automation with a robust Assycuda section in the Unit, which enables compliance in line with the CGC’s directives.”

  • Are they worth dying for?

    Recently, “Bieber trend” hit the Twitter social media. Some fans of Justin Bieber, a teenage American pop star, were cutting their body parts and uploading pictures of the injury on Twitter with the tag cutforbieber. This was in an effort to stop the pop star from smoking marijuana.

    Bieber was allegedly caught by the Paparazzi’s camera, smoking Indian hemp with another pop star, Lil’ Twist, who was an artiste on Young Money music label. Bieber’s fans, knowing the implication of this behaviour, took actions to stop him in a rather ridiculous way, hurting themselves in the process.

    A few days after, it was reported that a camera man was crushed to death while he was trying to take a picture of the pop star. Bieber, probably, did not care whether someone had died because of his abnormal act.

    Late last year, a video of Nicki Minaj’s tour surfaced on the Internet. A fan was videoed trying to touch her waist, a move that prompted one of Nicki’s bodyguards to attack the fan with punches. The artiste looked on, showing no sign of emotion. The video reminded me of the late Michael Jackson’s immortal song, All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us.

    A few months back, 19-year-old Sonia Jumbo was suspended indefinitely from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana where she is studying. The reason was not unconnected with the erotic pictures she posted on Twitter, which showed herself and Davido, a Nigerian hip-hop star in a compromising position.

    People have been stampeded to death, fainted, or injured at concerts where their favorite artistes performed. Ladies have thrown caution to the wind, offering sensitive body parts as surfaces for autographs of morally-deficient artistes. In the process, they make themselves cheap and voluntarily allow the perverts to have a taste of the ‘forbidden fruit’.

    People hurt themselves and injure others over sweat-soaked shirts, shiny wristwatches, free musical compact disc and other useless souvenirs thrown by artistes at concerts. Just recently, at the much-publicised Koko Concert, people were asked to pay N15,000 to take pictures with their favorite artistes. A VIP table went at a higher price. At the Summer Jam Festival last year, it cost Nigerians a staggering N500,000 to sit on the same table with Rick Ross, an American rapper.

    This piece will not be complete if I forget to condemn the manner tweeps – as Twitter users are called – beg artistes for “follow-backs” and abuse others on issues related to their favorite artistes. However, the fact remains that these artistes do not care if these people exist.

    The artistes, on their part, see themselves as tin gods of sort, basking in the attention and generally feeling as if the world revolves around them. Some even see their position as an opportunity to dole out insults to fans that would not lick their feet and tell them what they want to hear.

    An allegiance to any cause, whether music or art, is good but when it turns to obsession then something is wrong somewhere. Going to concerts to support one’s favorite artiste is good but when one does to his own detriment, then it is not worth it. Entertainment is a good thing but when one’s favorite artiste sees himself as more important than God, then one must back down.

    When a fan’s life-savings is given out to sit at the table with Rick Ross or to purchase VIP ticket, then such a person needs help. It is the people that attach importance to these artistes. They are not supernatural human, but we are wont to see them in that manner.

    Imagine, Cross River State government reportedly paid $200,000 for Nicki Minaj to perform at the recently-held Calabar Carnival. That is approximately N30 million. Our own Eva Alordiah would put up a nice performance if paid around 15 per cent of that amount. Now, I understand the reason there are more Akpans and Ekaettes earning their living by working as house helps.

    Let us think of the children that can be taken off the street with $200,000. Let us think of infrastructure that can be put in place. Let us think of scholarships that can be given out to the less privileged. Let us think of the widows, the impoverished and the sick on hospital bed.

    Chris Brown recently stormed Nigeria after he was paid almost $1 million. But our countrymen and women continue to suffer for lack of basic things. Must we live fake lives? Who are we trying to impress? Davido’s musical career continues to soar but Sonia’s educational career is dangling. Who is at a loss here? Are these artistes worth dying for?

     

    Adebisi, 200-Level Language Arts,