We are approaching the final hours of the closely fought presidential contest between the major US Political Parties; the Democratic Party and the Republician Party represented by Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain seconded by Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin respectively.
The major flag bearers of the election that is fast coming to an end have tried to outsmart themselves in portraying themselves as the worthier candidate to become the next President of the United States of America.
One thing is certain…The election is going to largely define the direction in which this perilous world is heading rite nw…
A McCain Presidencyportends more of the same that we have been used to while an Obama Presidency signals a drastic change in the approach of the US to the problems plaguing the world. Mind you…Obama might not be the Messiah People take him to be…
Both men and their surrogates have really tried in presenting the principles they stand for…
The world waits with suspense as the American People go to the polls to elect a new President who is in effect the President of the United States of the World…
It has been a long hard fought battle…
The World waits…
03 November, 2008
17 September, 2008
In Defence of Clarence A. Peters
I pride myself on being an F. Gary Gray in the making. I always make sure that I am up to date on Nigerian Music Videos. Up until two years ago before I left Naija, before a new video is on TV for a full day, I would make efforts to know the name of the Artiste and his background, his producer and the Director of the Video.
Back then, when the likes of Uzodinma Okpechi held sway with the Synergy Video, Kingsley Ogoro etc. to hitherto unknowns back then who are now household names: dj Tee, Seyi Babatope, Clarence A. Peters, Emeka Obefe…I have always tried to stay informed.
However, there is this guy that I’ve been interested in for a while, Clarence A. Peters.
Everybody that has written about this guy would always mention that he was a product of the love affair between Sir Shina Peters and Clarion Chukwura. Some writers even bracket and highlight it just so that you do not miss that important fact.
From my findings, I now know he was under the tutelage of dj Tee for a while before he started running things on his own and that he is a bundle of talents and ideas. In addition to being a Video Director, He also has a Record Label.
Is it a crime to be conceived or born outside wedlock? Is being born out of wedlock supposed to be a defining stigma? I do not think so.
I have never met Clarence in person, I really hope to meet him soon though…
With brilliant works like Street Credibility[9ice], Shayo[Durella],Roof on Fire[Jazzman Olofin], etc., the sky is the limit for him.
I am appealing to writers out there to celebrate this brilliant young man. Nobody really wants to know that Clarence Peter is Sir. Shina Peter’s son and that he was born out of wedlock.
Let us celebrate this young man and his works and he would be encouraged to do more.
Back then, when the likes of Uzodinma Okpechi held sway with the Synergy Video, Kingsley Ogoro etc. to hitherto unknowns back then who are now household names: dj Tee, Seyi Babatope, Clarence A. Peters, Emeka Obefe…I have always tried to stay informed.
However, there is this guy that I’ve been interested in for a while, Clarence A. Peters.
Everybody that has written about this guy would always mention that he was a product of the love affair between Sir Shina Peters and Clarion Chukwura. Some writers even bracket and highlight it just so that you do not miss that important fact.
From my findings, I now know he was under the tutelage of dj Tee for a while before he started running things on his own and that he is a bundle of talents and ideas. In addition to being a Video Director, He also has a Record Label.
Is it a crime to be conceived or born outside wedlock? Is being born out of wedlock supposed to be a defining stigma? I do not think so.
I have never met Clarence in person, I really hope to meet him soon though…
With brilliant works like Street Credibility[9ice], Shayo[Durella],Roof on Fire[Jazzman Olofin], etc., the sky is the limit for him.
I am appealing to writers out there to celebrate this brilliant young man. Nobody really wants to know that Clarence Peter is Sir. Shina Peter’s son and that he was born out of wedlock.
Let us celebrate this young man and his works and he would be encouraged to do more.
15 August, 2008
To She that it concerns...
Everything in life happens for a reason. We’d only learn why it happened if we stay around long enough to learn...
No one has ever left an indelible mark on me the way you have done.
I have often asked myself why loving thoughts of you flood my heart each day...your simplicity, frankness, guileless and sincere lifestyle, my Dear.
It’s hard putting all this down in writing cos I’m afraid I might not be able to capture the ‘whole’ in black & white.
The love I have for you transcends time, space and physical contact...
I have tried to shut you out of my mind and out of my world cos it seems surreal to me to still have deep feelings for you after all these years. The more I try to shut you out, the more I feel you are the only person worth loving to me in the world...
I have always loved you and I will always...
No one has ever left an indelible mark on me the way you have done.
I have often asked myself why loving thoughts of you flood my heart each day...your simplicity, frankness, guileless and sincere lifestyle, my Dear.
It’s hard putting all this down in writing cos I’m afraid I might not be able to capture the ‘whole’ in black & white.
The love I have for you transcends time, space and physical contact...
I have tried to shut you out of my mind and out of my world cos it seems surreal to me to still have deep feelings for you after all these years. The more I try to shut you out, the more I feel you are the only person worth loving to me in the world...
I have always loved you and I will always...
22 July, 2008
Ambassador Raph Uwechue
Raphael Chukwu Uwechue was born in 1935.
He was former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Envoy on Conflict Resolution in Africa from 1999 to 2007, one out of a few who were there from the beginning of OBJ’s Administration to the end. Also, He was Special Representative of ECOWAS Executive Secretary in Cote d'Ivoire from 2002 to 2007.
Raph is a man who has devoted his life to conflict prevention and resolution in Africa. He’s been through the length and Breadth of Africa from Sudan to Angola, to Burundi, etc.
A major feat was the peace brokering between the warring factions in Sierra Leone in 2001. This largely unsung hero restored peace to that country.
He is an indigene of present Day Delta State.
He had his primary school in Sokoto and his secondary school education was at St. John’s College Kaduna,alma mater the likes of Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and Air Vice-Marshal Abdullahi Dominic Bello.
He proceeded to the university College of Ibadan where he took an honours degree in modern history.
Thereafter, He travelled to Switzerland to study French and international law at the Geneva Africa Institute.
Ambassador Raph Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign service at its inception in 1960.
He served in a number of countries including France, Camerooon, Pakistan and Mali.
He holds the honor of being Nigeria’s first diplomatic envoy to France, where he opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris in 1966.
He later switched his allegiance to the Biafran Republic.
He had the following to say in His Book: Reflections on the Nıgerian Civil War, Facing the Future
"The principal point at issue on which I disagreed with the Federal Government (of Nigeria) was its inability.
(a) to provide effective protection for Ibo civilians during the gruesome massacres of 1966 and, (b) the unsatisfactory handling of the question of compensation and rehabilitation of the families and dependents of the victims of those unfortunate events.
"My opposition to the Federal Government.was not based on any sudden realisation that the Nigerian peoples who had lived together in one country and in that sense as one community, in considerable harmony for over half a century, have become such inveterate incompatibles that they must now be separated in order to be saved...
"Until we become a truly integrated nation - only time, tolerance and patience will make this possible - it is unrealistic to adopt a constitution which presupposes the existence of an already integrated society.The answer lies in 'modulated' decentralisation within the framework of a federation in which minority elements are effectively insulated from the threat of domination by any of the preponderant tribes, Hausa-Fulani, Ibo and Yoruba."
Back in 2003, when I became confused about the happenings in Nigeria, Raph Uwechue was an example of how things could still go right in Nigeria.
His book rated the most impassioned account of the Nıgerian Civil War, dwelt extensively on the remote and immediate causes of the war. He didn’t stop at that, He also proffered credible solutions that would have stood the test of time if they had been implemented.
Ambassador Raph Uwechue, Mr. Africa has traversed the length and breadth of Africa in search of Peace for a Troubled Continent.
In these days and times, when Political Mentors are fast disappearing on the Nigerian Political Landscape, Ambassador Raph Uwechue’s life, ideas and stand is one which progressive Youths can tune into in our quest for a new Africa.
He was former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Envoy on Conflict Resolution in Africa from 1999 to 2007, one out of a few who were there from the beginning of OBJ’s Administration to the end. Also, He was Special Representative of ECOWAS Executive Secretary in Cote d'Ivoire from 2002 to 2007.
Raph is a man who has devoted his life to conflict prevention and resolution in Africa. He’s been through the length and Breadth of Africa from Sudan to Angola, to Burundi, etc.
A major feat was the peace brokering between the warring factions in Sierra Leone in 2001. This largely unsung hero restored peace to that country.
He is an indigene of present Day Delta State.
He had his primary school in Sokoto and his secondary school education was at St. John’s College Kaduna,alma mater the likes of Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and Air Vice-Marshal Abdullahi Dominic Bello.
He proceeded to the university College of Ibadan where he took an honours degree in modern history.
Thereafter, He travelled to Switzerland to study French and international law at the Geneva Africa Institute.
Ambassador Raph Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign service at its inception in 1960.
He served in a number of countries including France, Camerooon, Pakistan and Mali.
He holds the honor of being Nigeria’s first diplomatic envoy to France, where he opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris in 1966.
He later switched his allegiance to the Biafran Republic.
He had the following to say in His Book: Reflections on the Nıgerian Civil War, Facing the Future
"The principal point at issue on which I disagreed with the Federal Government (of Nigeria) was its inability.
(a) to provide effective protection for Ibo civilians during the gruesome massacres of 1966 and, (b) the unsatisfactory handling of the question of compensation and rehabilitation of the families and dependents of the victims of those unfortunate events.
"My opposition to the Federal Government.was not based on any sudden realisation that the Nigerian peoples who had lived together in one country and in that sense as one community, in considerable harmony for over half a century, have become such inveterate incompatibles that they must now be separated in order to be saved...
"Until we become a truly integrated nation - only time, tolerance and patience will make this possible - it is unrealistic to adopt a constitution which presupposes the existence of an already integrated society.The answer lies in 'modulated' decentralisation within the framework of a federation in which minority elements are effectively insulated from the threat of domination by any of the preponderant tribes, Hausa-Fulani, Ibo and Yoruba."
Back in 2003, when I became confused about the happenings in Nigeria, Raph Uwechue was an example of how things could still go right in Nigeria.
His book rated the most impassioned account of the Nıgerian Civil War, dwelt extensively on the remote and immediate causes of the war. He didn’t stop at that, He also proffered credible solutions that would have stood the test of time if they had been implemented.
Ambassador Raph Uwechue, Mr. Africa has traversed the length and breadth of Africa in search of Peace for a Troubled Continent.
In these days and times, when Political Mentors are fast disappearing on the Nigerian Political Landscape, Ambassador Raph Uwechue’s life, ideas and stand is one which progressive Youths can tune into in our quest for a new Africa.
27 June, 2008
UK embassy denies Lagos lawmakers visa
What message were they trying to pass across?
I think the British High Commission needs to tell us the details of what actually led to the refusal of Entry Clearances for our esteemed lawmakers to attend a one-week workshop aimed at sharpening their legislative skills and oversight responsibilities [Ki la won na n wa kiri?].
If our lawmakers[public officers, who have been trusted to create laws to maintain peace and order are not spared the the indignity of being refused entry clearances, what hope do ordinary mortals like us have at the hands of the Entry Clearance Officer?
Is it a form of protesting against the high cost of diesel fuel used to generate power in the absence of regular power supply for their operations or the fact that their members of staff cannot go round Lagos safely or any of the Niger Delta States without fear of abduction?
Is their action precipated on the fact that we are still a long way off from being the Giant of Africa, an ordinary title we tag ourselves with to suit our ego without a value in terms of economic might, continental influence, etc.
The sins of their slave-fathers should not in anyway be visited on their sons and daughters.
It hasn’t been proved that it was solely the sweat of my slave ancestors that developed the infrastructural Development the UK is enjoying today.
A vast majority of Nigerians speak English, live English and are English-oriented.
Our way of life is indirectly influenced by the English Culture because we speak the language. Studies abound which shows that a language and its culture go hand-in-hand.
However, we have allowed ourselves to be tagged 419’ers[advanced fee fraudsters].
Our young men and women have not helped matters having bought into the ‘yahoozze’ culture which has been a proven and tested way of making money.
Applying for a visa to enter any country under any guise subtly points to the imbalance of this world in terms of Racial Perception and Economic strength despite claims by modern day economists that the world is now a Global Village with a level Playing Ground for each and every citizen of this world.
What can be further from the truth?
The world that I know as of today is a cruel one, which reduces the value of a man into U.S. Dollars/the Pounds Sterling and the worth and ideals of a woman into the partition between her thighs.
I refuse to hold any white man or woman responsible for the plight of the African Continent.
Though they contributed largely to its origin, the resources at the disposal of the Continent plus the gains from trade which have been squandered or embezzelled outrightly have been more than enough to right the wrongs of the 19th/20th Century.
Back to the main discource of this writing, I think the British High Commission should have explored other options to correct the anomalies that might have trailed the application of our lawmakers instead of subjecting them to the riducule of the denial of Entry Clearances.
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200806261495545
*Ki la won na n wa kiri?: What is it they[lawmakers] are looking for?
19 June, 2008
finally...I get to update...
a>
rite nw...I dont even know where to start from...start somewhere...yeah, rite.
All school children have been told at one time or the other to always revise whatever they have been taught in class and not wait until the exam period before picking up their books...
Alas! I didnt pick up my books to study on time, flunked my middterms not because I liked the failure staring at me in the face but because I had devoted my time to something I considered very important: the welfare of my fellow Nigerians and image of my country, Nigeria.
The Kibris Police is in everyway like the Nigerian Police Force...unprofessional, uncouth and operating with impunity.
They were the genesis of my problems this past semester.
From the onset, I planned to have a semester where things that should go right would go right, delegating authority to people like Felicia, Tunde, James, Harun, etc. who were capable of carrying out assigned tasks and using their own initiative to do what they know is right...
I laid back to enjoy the free time I started getting for myself...
An attack on an Iranian girl on the unlit way to the girls dormitory caused the police to go and arrest close to 40people...still can't figure out why they could blantantly show their hatred for black people openly like that...
Anyway, things shouldn't get out of hand...whiltst having meetings with the top echelon of the university, the international students Union Stakeholders and the Nigerian students...my studies suffered and the only thing that kept me going was the sense of belonging everybody showed in the Association and the greater good being achieved.
Needless to say again, I flunked my middterms asides DBM II where I scored 90%[Residual knowledge from the previous semester]...I went to the exam hall 10mins late cos I knew I wasn't ready to take on the exam just yet...
To cut the long story short, the NSA Presidential Elections were just around the corner and unlike the sham of the Presidential elections in Nigeria last year, I had to work to surpass the transparency of the Elections that brought me into power last year.
The elections were almost marred by the Graduate students claiming not to have any representative on the Election Organising Committe...my bad, as I thought I had set up an all-encompassing Committe to take charge of the Elections...
1. James Agbabune [Chairman]
2. Henry Anarodo
3. Peace Chibogu
4. Moses Jiya
5. Rhoda Olaoye
I would like to reiterate the appreciation of the entire Nigerian Student Body to the five afore-mentioned people for conducting a free, fair and credible election.
O my God! Final exams were days away...I haven't studied anything at all but I must pass.....Thus began the sleepless nights to try to cover up and post a good enough result that will not make mama cross with me, and still keep alive the hope of getting High Honors...
I pitied myself after a while...I became scarce on campus, I cut my sleeping hrs from 5hrs to 2hrs and underwent some stress I wouldn't wish to go through again...
To God be the Glory...I posted a good enough result that still placed me at the 'bebe' of a High Honors and still one of the best in my class...
My H.O.D, Terrin Adali who has the reputation of being a B... awarded me two straight A's[beat that!] in the two courses I took with her...
I got my result and I literally flew out of the Admin Building cos It was much more than what I was expecting...
rite nw...I dont even know where to start from...start somewhere...yeah, rite.All school children have been told at one time or the other to always revise whatever they have been taught in class and not wait until the exam period before picking up their books...
Alas! I didnt pick up my books to study on time, flunked my middterms not because I liked the failure staring at me in the face but because I had devoted my time to something I considered very important: the welfare of my fellow Nigerians and image of my country, Nigeria.
The Kibris Police is in everyway like the Nigerian Police Force...unprofessional, uncouth and operating with impunity.
They were the genesis of my problems this past semester.
From the onset, I planned to have a semester where things that should go right would go right, delegating authority to people like Felicia, Tunde, James, Harun, etc. who were capable of carrying out assigned tasks and using their own initiative to do what they know is right...
I laid back to enjoy the free time I started getting for myself...
An attack on an Iranian girl on the unlit way to the girls dormitory caused the police to go and arrest close to 40people...still can't figure out why they could blantantly show their hatred for black people openly like that...
Anyway, things shouldn't get out of hand...whiltst having meetings with the top echelon of the university, the international students Union Stakeholders and the Nigerian students...my studies suffered and the only thing that kept me going was the sense of belonging everybody showed in the Association and the greater good being achieved.
Needless to say again, I flunked my middterms asides DBM II where I scored 90%[Residual knowledge from the previous semester]...I went to the exam hall 10mins late cos I knew I wasn't ready to take on the exam just yet...
To cut the long story short, the NSA Presidential Elections were just around the corner and unlike the sham of the Presidential elections in Nigeria last year, I had to work to surpass the transparency of the Elections that brought me into power last year.
The elections were almost marred by the Graduate students claiming not to have any representative on the Election Organising Committe...my bad, as I thought I had set up an all-encompassing Committe to take charge of the Elections...
1. James Agbabune [Chairman]
2. Henry Anarodo
3. Peace Chibogu
4. Moses Jiya
5. Rhoda Olaoye
I would like to reiterate the appreciation of the entire Nigerian Student Body to the five afore-mentioned people for conducting a free, fair and credible election.
O my God! Final exams were days away...I haven't studied anything at all but I must pass.....Thus began the sleepless nights to try to cover up and post a good enough result that will not make mama cross with me, and still keep alive the hope of getting High Honors...
I pitied myself after a while...I became scarce on campus, I cut my sleeping hrs from 5hrs to 2hrs and underwent some stress I wouldn't wish to go through again...
To God be the Glory...I posted a good enough result that still placed me at the 'bebe' of a High Honors and still one of the best in my class...
My H.O.D, Terrin Adali who has the reputation of being a B... awarded me two straight A's[beat that!] in the two courses I took with her...
I got my result and I literally flew out of the Admin Building cos It was much more than what I was expecting...
The 'many many waka' and the stress finally paid off glowinly in the academics as well...
26 May, 2008
...nd finally...the finals r here
I've been on AWOL for a while...Not to worry, I'm going to finish my finals in like a week and then I'll update...lutfen...bear with me...
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