The Nigerian President Refuses to Address his People on COVID-19.

General Buhari is more concerned about the fate of his cows than the Nigerian people.

The Ignorant and Myopic People are not Worth Fighting for.

When the Bolivian military finally got to find Che Guevara's hiding place. They got the information from a shepherd. Out of curiosity, they asked the shepherd: "Why denounce a man who is sacrificing himself for your freedom and well-being?"

The shepherd replied: "I denounce him because the crackling of his weapons always scares my animals in pasture."

When Mohamed Karim, the Egyptian who undertook to resist the assault on Alexandria by Napoleon, was arrested by the army and sentenced to death, Napoleon appealed to him and said:

"I have the trouble executing a man who has valiantly defended his country. I do not wish history to retain the image of me as a person who stifles the impetus of patriots that defend the integrity of their homeland. So, I promise you freedom if you pay ten thousand gold coins as financial compensation to my soldiers that the resistance killed."

Smiling, Mohamed Karim replied:

"I do not have the full amount requested on me  now. But the merchants of Alexandria for whom I fought are indebted to me by more than 100 thousand pieces of gold. They will pay this fine, for sure so that I will have my life saved."

Chained, Mohamed Karim was driven to the Alexandria market for a tour of the market in search of the sum on which his freedom would depend. But, to his great surprise and disappointment, no merchant cared about his fate. Worse, the merchants and the rest of the natives, accused him of being a troublemaker, destroyer of property, and undermining the economic vitality of the port city of Alexandria.

Napoleon, in view of this situation declared:

"I will concede that the sentence of capital punishment be executed...not because you killed my soldiers, but for having fought for cowardly people who cared more about their business than about their freedom and integrity."

Mohamed Rachid Rida, Syrian Arab reformator said: "To revolt on behalf of an ignorant people, is like to set yourself on fire in order to light the way for a blind man."

*Courtesy of Otunbzy*

Warped Value System by Chidinma Perpetua Chikwelu

The robbers

If those greedy boys who attempted to rob a bank in Dubai had succeeded, by this time, their pictures will be all over the internet especially, the Instagram with the hashtags *#naGod.* *#OluwaIsInvolved.* *#BlessGod* *#ThankYouJesus.*

Those of us who will question the sudden source of wealth will be tagged losers and jealous haters.

And some who do their hustle legitimately but see no bright future in it will feel they are cursed. They will start running from one prayer house and spritualist to another...

In the meantime, the "lucky boys" will begin to take chieftaincy titles. They will receive countless invitations to all kinds of events. They will move with convoy. The police IG and commissioner will assigns tens of policemen to protect them.

The young ones will watch with admiration. They will wish to become like these guys. And why not when they see the society doesn't care about the source of anyone's wealth? And off they go committing all manner of crimes.

Some young women have graduated from prostitution which they call "runs" to eating the feaces of Arab men in Dubai. Anything for the money. Instagram and the society will know they have "arrived". Who no follow na mumu.

All these is as a result of bad parenting and moral decadence in the society. And when you talk about morals they ask you, 'according to whose standard?'. 

Dubai

A Nigerian Pastor and Wife Arrested In US After Starving Son To Death In 40-Day Fast.

In the above picture are the emaciated faces of Kehinde Omosebi (left), aged 49, and Titilayo Omosebi (right), aged 47. They are residents of the United States and both face up to 37 years in prison on a combined sentence as they have been charged with starving their 15-year-old son to death.

 

Another son, aged 11, was found alive but he was extremely emaciated. According to the Madison State Journal, Kehinde, the boys’ father, who claimed he is a pastor with Cornerstone Reformation Ministries, had ordered a religious fast that lasted as long as 40 days. All the boys had as nourishment during the fast, which began on July 17, was water. The deceased died on Friday in Reedsburg, while the couple was charged on Tuesday in Sauk County, Wisconsin, USA.

 

According to Reedsburg Police Chief Timothy Becker, policemen had to break through padlocked doors to reach the boys at a residence on Alexander Avenue on the west side of the city, on Sunday, after the father reported the death to the Police, two days it occurred. On the other hand, the 11-year-old boy had to be assisted to walk out of the residence. He held onto a Bible and an envelope, which, according to the Police, contained pamphlets about death, which were distributed to the officers when they arrived at the residence. In a letter signed by the 11-year-old, and addressed to ‘Lawyers of Sauk County Circuit Court’, he wrote: “The hunger is too much. Please help me now so I may eat. I can’t continue in such a life with no food and If I don’t get food now I’ll probably die of hunger.”

 

He has been taken to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, and placed in protective custody. Speaking on the state of the Omosebi’s residence, Becker said: “The residence had no phone, no power, no food. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s tragic.”

 

Sauk County Circuit Judge Wendy J.N. Klicko set bail at $5,000 for Kehinde Omosebi, and ordered him to have no contact with his surviving son. An initial court hearing for Titilayo was delayed. However, both parents are said to be eating again, according to Becker.  Kehinde told Police that it wasn’t the first time the family would be involved in a religious fast, noting, however, that this was the longest and they were awaiting “blessing from God”. He also told the Police that the fast was supposed to end on Friday, the day his son died. Furthermore, he said they were moving to Atlanta, because God had directed him to. Titilayo also told the Police that they needed God’s blessing before relocating, just as she claimed the fasting began on July 19, while the boy said it began on July 20.

Lebron James and his Nigerian Counterparts.

Lebron James is doing a whole lot for his community. He recently built and opened a public school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Already, he is solely financing the education of over 1,000 students that are attending the University of Akron. This feat puts him in the league of the many rich American individuals and families that are advancing the cause of education through scholarships, grants and foundations. 

 

I wonder when this culture of altruism will be imbibed by the Nigerian "Americanized" celebrities, treasury-looting politicians, so-called billionaires and, even the stinking-rich “men of God”. For now, all they do is flaunt their wealth - the mansions, exotic cars and private jets in the face of the impoverished members of the public. And they do this even while busy cheating the poor folks out of their hard-earned money.

Christiano Ronaldo and his Insured Legs.

I'm reading a magazine that says the legs of Christiano Ronaldo are currently insured for $144 million. My mind now flashes to all those soccer fans, especially those Nigerians that are in the habit of fighting over some European soccer teams and individual players. And this discovery makes me wonder...with a dozen of the Nigerian fans put together...for how much can their entire lives be insured? 

Most Nigerians, Kenyans and South Africans Believe Their Lives will Improve.

Most people in three African countries have an optimistic outlook despite continuing anger at corruption and economic woes, a survey has found. South Africans, Nigerians and Kenyans all say healthcare and education will be better for the next generation.

More than three-quarters also say that young people who want a good life should stay in their countries rather than emigrate, the Pew report found. The research agency interviewed 3,330 respondents for the study.

Political engagement: Respondents reported high levels of political engagement, with majorities saying that ordinary citizens could influence their governments if they make the effort. More than half said they had voted in the past year or at some point in the past - roughly the same level as in the US. 

Economy: About 70% of people in South Africa and Nigeria - sub-Saharan Africa's two largest economies - say their economies are in bad shape, along with just over half of Kenyans. Large majorities in all three countries also said a lack of jobs was a big problem. But despite this, most believed that the economic outlook would improve in the next year.

Corruption: Only a third of South Africans believe there will be less corruption when today's children are adults. Most South Africans, Nigerians and Kenyans believe that their countries are only run for the benefit of a few groups of people. The majority of respondents say inequality has become worse and about two-thirds say many jobs only go to people who have personal connections. 

Most expect this sorry state of affairs to continue - only a third of South Africans and Kenyans believe there will be less government corruption in their countries when today's generation of children are grown up. However, Nigerians are more optimistic, with almost two-thirds saying today's children will face less corruption.

Food and education: Beyond the general findings, Nigerians said food supply and energy shortages were their top priority. The charity Save the Children says up to half of all children under five are malnourished in some parts of north-eastern Nigeria, which has been wracked by an Islamist insurgency. 

In South Africa, where students have been staging the biggest student protests since the end of apartheid, education was a big issue. The number of people concerned about poor quality schools had increased sharply since the previous year's survey, Pew said. However two-thirds said they were confident things would be better for future generations.

Divided societies: The headline findings mask differing outlooks between the various groups of people making up South African, Nigerian and Kenyan society. In South Africa, black people were the most optimistic group, with 69% saying they thought the economy - and their own personal finances - would improve over the next year compared to just 46% of white people and 30% of mixed race people. 

Nigerian Muslims were more optimistic about the economy: They also had more confidence that healthcare and education would improve, were less cynical about how government was run and were more likely to believe staying in the country was the best route to a better future.

In Nigeria, Muslims were more upbeat about the economy while Christians were more likely to identify inequality as a major problem. More Christians and fewer Muslims said they thought government was run for the benefit of special interest groups after Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim, replaced Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, as president.

In Kenya, people in the Kikuyu and Kalenjin ethnic groups had a more positive outlook than those in the Luhya and Luo ethnic groups. All Kenya's presidents since independence have been either Kikuyu or Kalenjin.

Where do Africans look for inspiration: Many Africans said they admired China's embrace of technology. When asked by Pew for models of economically developed countries to emulate, most respondents cited the US and China, but for different reasons. In Kenya, where concern about government corruption was particularly widespread, 36% of respondents said the US was the best model because of its mode of governance and low levels of corruption. Only 15% cited China as the best example to follow.

In South Africa, 27% of respondents said the US was the best example of an economically developed country, slightly more than the 22% who chose China. And in Nigeria 28% of people cited China as the best example against 25% choosing the US. Those looking to China said they admired the country's embrace of technology, manufacturing sector, level of exports and strong work ethic.

Courtesy BBC NEWS.

An Incurable Stupidity Among Christians.

The Dumb Trump Supporters in Nigeria.

It’s been a strange phenomenon, seeing and hearing some Nigerians rallying supports for the now President-elect Donald Trump during the last American presidential election. Initially, it started as a mere curiosity for those of us Nigerian-Americans. Then, it graduated into some sort of amusement. Finally, their actions rose to the level of irritation. Those Nigerians did not only flood the social media on behalf of Trump, they also campaigned, argued and fought with those who refused to support Trump. And this was a presidential campaign taking place in a far-flung foreign nation.

The situation became really critical because those Trump supporters were not resident in the United States. They are over ten thousands miles away. In fact, a whole lot of them have never set foot on the soils of the United States. And when Donald Trump was declared the winner, they all jubilated as if the man was a family member. Even Trump must be baffled. However, from all indications, those Trump supporters in Nigeria can easily be divided into three categories: 

1. There are some "alakatakiti" (religious fanatics) who support Trump because he is a "Christian". Unwittingly though, these people are indicating that their own Jesus Christ is racist, discriminatory, misogynistic and disrespectful to other people that are different by way of race, nationality and religion. The Christian fanatics are inadvertently telling the rest of us that they don't even know the real Jesus Christ!

2. There are supporters of the erstwhile president of Nigeria (Jonathan) that are sore losers and blaming the man's loss at the last Nigerian election on Obama and Hillary Clinton. Yet, rationale people all over the world may want to ask them where the correlation or relationship is between the current Nigerian president (Buhari) and Hillary Clinton. What sheer stupidity!

3. And, finally, there are those in the third category. They are the closet haters. They have always hated the guts of their family members, friends and all the Nigerians in the diasporas. Many of these Nigerians have done all they could to migrate abroad but failed. So, their collective wish is for someone like Trump to deport all Nigerians in God's own country. Someone needs to tell our dear envious folks back home that it's not our fault that they don't appreciate their situations in life. And they need to STOP stressing themselves over such a dumb wish!

The Good, Old African Style of Parenting.

The letter below was written by Richard Mofe Damijo, a Nigerian celebrity, to his teen-age daughter. The letter is coming in an era when some regular Nigerian parents are doing everything in their power to “Americanize” their kids. To them, it’s a kind of status symbol when their kids are ignorant of their cultures, can’t speak their local languages and, of course, lack moral virtues. It doesn’t matter to these kind of parents, if at the end of the warped "assimilation" process, the kids are totally “messed” up...physically, morally and socially! Yet, here is a celebrity insisting on practicing the good, old African style of parenting.

The Halloween as an American Irony.

It's such an irony how the United States keeps reminding me of certain things about my ancestral homeland...negative past traditions that have since been jettisoned in the 21st Century.  

Example: Every year, Americans of all races and religions (including my fellow "born-again" Nigerian-American Christian folks) celebrate Halloween...a day dedicated to the memory of idols, witches, monsters and horrors...things that our 21st Century people back home in Africa will frown at easily. Sometimes, I wonder if the situation were to be reversed…whereby the Halloween was celebrated only in an African country…what would be the reactions of Americans?

Of course, in righteous indignation, the Africans would have been seen as a bunch of cave-age, fetish and idol-worshipping “barbarians”. And, unlike the immigrant Africans who are joining in the Halloween celebration, Americans (even if they were resident in Africa) would never have joined such a celebration. 

A Special Appeal to Fellow Nigerians.

It is either I do not understand economics and how exchange rates work or a vast majority of us Nigerians still don’t get how we have wrecked our country with our own curious choices. Just this morning, I was listening to the radio and the lady on air went on and on about how she thought CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele was incompetent and should be sacked because the Naira was now exchanging at 309 or so to the USD. “That view pretty much echoes the sentiments expressed by many people I know and it amazes me that there are Nigerians who actually think there is some magic POLICY that can make the Naira strong in the near term. If my economics and my understanding of the way the world works are right, then that is as far from the truth as Jesus Christ is black.” 

The simple fact of the matter is that apart from oil that accounts for over 90% of our revenues, we really don’t have much of an economy. We hardly produce anything, we import even toothpicks, so exactly what policy is going to be implemented that will turn Nigeria into a top exporting economy in the near term? Where are our Apples, IBMs, Disneys, GMs, General Electrics, Coca Colas, Empire State buildings, Statues of Liberties, Lockheeds, Citibanks, JP Morgans, ExxonMobils, NBAs, Super Bowls etc? Let me bring that closer home. There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar – even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly, that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) – fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenization Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians. Back then we had a booming economy. We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the world.  

Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Plateau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students. “We had different car assembly plants – Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had thriving sports industry. We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world. In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today. Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News. Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on. 

Today however, no thanks to our parents (and we must call them out the way Wole Soyinka did his generation) and many of us (and we should be remembered for failing our children if we continue like this), we have destroyed everything. Today for instance Nigerian football (which comes easy to me obviously) doesn’t appeal to us, we have to fly across thousands of miles to watch ‘our’ clubs play. Every year we collectively burn billions of Naira being fans of clubs that give us nothing back, but some ‘entertainment value’ – simple pleasures for which we are ready to destroy the future of our children. Well people, payback time is here. Even with our “ta-she-re” money we all want to wear designer clothes and carry designer bags, Armani, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton etc. We all want to drive jeeps with American specs, our children must now school overseas and acquire the necessary accents to come back home and bamboozle their ‘bush and crass’ contemporaries that they left behind. Who holidays in Nigeria anymore, is there Disneyland here? No one buys made-in-Nigeria school bags for their children, after all no Superman or Incredible Hulk or Cinderella on them. We are no longer top exporters of anything and the demise of oil means we have zilch… zero.  

A country of 170M fashion-conscious people has no textile industry. We take delight in showing how our made-in- Switzerland Aso Ebi is different class to everyone else’s. When we help our musicians grow and pay them millions, they repay us by immediately shipping the monies overseas to produce their “I-don-dey-different-level” music videos. It makes no difference that distinctly Zulu dancers are dancing to a Nigerian highlife song. As stars concerned they also wed and holiday overseas to impress us all. All the musicians who acknowledge their Ajegunle roots now speak in a cocktail of strange accents to symbolize how much they have blown their monies overseas. Were we a more serious people, the highly popular Kingsway Stores of the past would probably have a thousand outlets pan Nigeria today supporting a massive agriculture industry among others, but today we have the likes of SPAR, Shoprite, dominating the retail industry while Kingsway is dead. And we Nigerians make it a special point to shop from the Oyinbos who have ‘cleaner shops’, ‘better this and better that’. For our personal pleasure we don’t mind them dominating us in our own backyard and shipping proceeds overseas. I could go on and on, but I don tire. Even as you are reading this, stop for a moment and look around you.

What you see will probably explain why we are lucky it is not N1000 to the USD yet. And don’t think for a moment that it cannot get there. Just continue to wear your Armani gear and Swiss-made lace, continue to spend your money on Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barca and encourage your children to do same. (My article tomorrow in my Saturday column in This Day is on the Nigerian champions Enyimba FC – Nigeria’s most successful club – not having a sponsor, yet Nigerian brands pay over N600m to Man United and Arsenal for sponsorship to impress us.) Ehhh, no problem, continue to tell me the NPFL is rubbish or the clubs should clean up their act if they want sponsorship. “Don’t curtail your interest in choice wines ( we were the number one champagne consumers in the world in 2015), continue to love your American specs, cheer the education ministry for letting schools sink to pitiable levels, don’t fight them to improve our schools, don’t chide them for letting schools drop Nigerian history and embrace British, America and whatever else curricular.

Carry on with your love of French wines and Chinese silk, don’t bother about Jamiu Alli when there is Roger Federer. Stock up on your Italian, American, British products which you cannot live without, including the ‘baby soft’ toilet rolls produced only in that small unique village in England – the days are long gone since you were a broke student who used wet newspapers to wipe your butt. Don’t even consider holidaying in Nigeria, it’s too dangerous – you have to fulfill your dream of being Nigeria’s Henry Ford. Don’t listen to people like me who have a wardrobe full of only cheap “adire” that is actually cheaper than just one of your Tom Ford blazers. Please keep dressing in fine silk made in some exotic place so you can be addressed accordingly. “Finally keep letting corrupt leaders who have looted your commonwealth and shipped all the monies overseas get away because to attack them does not fit your political narrative. Let us continue with the fine life, let us all continue to work for Oyinbo. But don’t forget that there is a payback time: Worth sharing again. I must equally add, there is nothing wrong in wearing designers but it's the misplaced priority over the lives of children and the economy of a whole nation. Remember that Because you can afford it, does not make it compulsory to have it.

Courtesy: A write-up purportedly written by the Nigerian Central Bank Governor.

Too Many Nigerian Men are Killing their Wives in America.

“Yes, I have killed the woman that messed up my life; the woman that has destroyed me. I am at Shalom West. My name is David and I am all yours.” Those were David Ochola’s words during his 911 (U.S. Emergency Number) call to authorities after shooting dead, his 28 years old wife, Priscilla Ochola, in Hennepin, Minnesota. The couple had two children – four years old boy and a three year old girl.

The 50-years old, husband was tired of being “disrespected” by his wife, a Registered Nurse (RN) whom he had brought from Nigeria and sponsored through nursing school only to have her make much more than him in salary – a situation which led to Mrs. Ochola “coming and going as she chose without regard for her husband.”

In Texas, Babajide Okeowo had been separated from his wife, Funke Okeowo, with whom he resided at their Dallas home. Upon the divorce, the husband lost the house to his wife, along with most of the contents therein, as is usually the tradition in the U.S. Divorces where the couple still has underage children.  Mr. Okeowo, 48, divorced his wife because not long after she became an RN and made more money than him, she “took control” of the family finances and “controlled” her husband’s expenditure and movement.  The husband could no longer make any meaningful contribution to his family back in Nigeria unless the wife “approved” it. He could not go out without her permission. Frustrated that his formerly malleable wife had suddenly become such a “terror” to him to the point of asking for in court and getting virtually everything for which he had worked since coming to the US thirty years prior, the husband got in his vehicle and drove a few hundred miles to Dallas to settle the scores. 

He found her in her SUV, adorned in full Nigerian attire on her way to the birthday bash organized in her honor. She had turned 46 on that day. Mr. Okeowo fired several rounds into his wife’s torso while she sat at the steering wheel, mercilessly killing her in broad daylight. 

Also in Dallas (they sure need anger management classes in Dallas), Moses Egharevba, 45, did not even bother to get a gun. The husband of Grace Egharevba, 35, bludgeoned her to death with a sledge hammer while their seven year old daughter watched and screamed for peace. Mrs. Egharevba’s “sin” was that she became an RN and started to make more money than her husband. This led to her “financial liberation” from a supposedly tight-fisted husband who had not only brought her from Nigeria, but had also funded her nursing school education. 

Like Moses Egharevba, Christopher Ndubuisi of Garland, Texas, (these Texas people!) also did not bother to get a gun. He crept into the bedroom where his wife, Christiana, was sleeping and, with several blows of the sledge hammer, crushed her head.  Two years before Christiana was killed, her mother, who had been visiting from Nigeria, was found dead in the bathtub under circumstances believed to be suspicious.

Of course, Christiana was a RN whose income dwarfed that of her husband as soon as she graduated from nursing school. The husband believed that his role as a husband and head of the household had been usurped by his wife. Mr. Ndubuisi’s several entreaties to his wife’s family to intercede and bring Christiana back under his control had all failed.

If the circumstances surrounding the death of Christiana’s mother were suspicious, those surrounding the death of a Tennessee woman’s mother were not. Agnes Nwodo, an RN, lived in squalor before her husband, Godfrey Nwodo, rescued her and brought her to the US. He enrolled her in nursing school right away. Upon qualifying as a RN, Mrs. Nwodo assumed “full control” of the household. She brought her mother to live with them against her husband’s wishes. Mrs. Nwodo quickly familiarized herself with US Family Laws and took full advantage of them. Each time the couple argued, the police forced the husband to leave the house whether he had a place to sleep or not. On many occasions, Mr. Nwodo spent days in police cells. Upon divorcing his wife, Mr. Nwodo lost to his wife, the house he had owned for almost 20 years before he married her. He also lost custody of their three children to her, with the court awarding him only periodic visitation rights. Even seeing the children during visitation was always a hassle as the wife would “arrive late at the neutral meeting place and leave early with impunity.” Mr. Nwodo endured so many embarrassing moments from his wife and her mother until he could take it no more. One day, he bought himself a shotgun and killed both his wife and her mother. 

Caleb Onwudike’s wife, Chinyere Onwudike, 36, became a RN and no longer saw the need to be controlled by her husband. Mr. Onwudike, 41, worked two jobs to send his wife to her dream school upon bringing her to the US from Nigeria. After four years, she qualified as an RN. Once she started to make more money than her husband, she began to “call the shots” at home. She “overruled” her husband on the size and cost of the house they purchased in Burtonsville, Maryland. She began to build a house solely in her name in their native Umuahia town of Abia State, Nigeria, without her husband’s input whatsoever. Mrs. Onwudike came and went “as she liked,” within the US and outside the US. In fact, she once travelled to Nigeria for three weeks “without her husband’s permission” to lavishly bury her father, despite her husband’s protestations that they had better things to do with the money.

 Mrs. Onwudike let her husband know that this was mostly her money and she would spend it however she wanted. Through her hard work, she had risen to a managerial position at the medical center where she worked. Upon her return from burying her father, her husband got one of her kitchen knives and carved her up like a Thanksgiving turkey inside their home on New Year’s Day.

Death is death, no matter how it comes. But the goriest of these maniacal killings is probably the one that happened here in Los Angeles, California. Joseph Mbu, 50, was tired of his RN wife’s “serial disrespect” of him. The disrespect began as soon as she became a RN. Gloria Mbu, 40, had once told her husband he must be “smoking crack cocaine” if he thought he could tell her what to do with her money now that she made more money than him. Before she became a RN, Mr. Mbu had been very strict with family finances and was borderline dictatorial in his dealings with Mrs. Mbu. However, Mrs. Mbu learned the American system and would no longer allow any man to “put her down.” When Joseph Mbu could not take it anymore, he subdued his wife one day, tied her to his vehicle and dragged her on paved roads all around Los Angeles until her head split in many pieces.

Courtesy: lindaikejisblog



Nigerians and their Self-imposed Mental Slavery.

The biggest country to be colonized in Africa by the British was Nigeria. And, in Asia, the biggest country to be so colonized by the British was India (which then comprised the present Pakistan and Bangladesh). The British came with their technology, religion (Christianity), and culture: names, dressing, food, language and other stuff. 

Try as hard as the British did, India rejected their religion, names, dressing, food, and even language, but they did not reject the British technology. Now, 80.5% of Indians are Hindus; 13.4% Muslims; 2.3% Christians; 1.9% Sikhs; 0.8% Buddhists, etc. Hindi is the official language of the government of India while English is used merely as a “subsidiary official language.” It is rare to find an Indian with an English name or dressed in suit.

On the other hand, Nigeria embraced (to a large extent) the British religion and culture – names, dressing, foods, and language – but rejected the British technology. Before the advent of Christianity, the Arabs had brought Islam into Nigeria through the North. Islam also wiped off much of the culture of Northern Nigeria.  

Since the British and the Arabs left Nigeria, the country has been waxing stronger and stronger in religion, to the extent that Nigerians now set up religious branches of their home-grown churches in Europe, the Americas, Asia and other African countries. Just like the Whites brought the gospel to us, Nigerians now take the gospel back to the Whites. In Islam, we are also very vibrant to the extent that if there is just a little blasphemous comment against Islam in Denmark or the US, even if there is no violent reaction in Saudi Arabia (the Islamic headquarters of the world) there will be loss of lives and destruction of property in Nigeria.  

We are indeed a very religious people. And while we are building the biggest churches and mosques, the Indians, South Africans, Chinese, Europeans and Americans have taken over our key markets: telecoms, satellite TV, multinationals, banking, oil and gas, automobile, aviation, shopping malls and hospitality. 

Ironically, despite our exploits in religions, we are a people with little godliness, a people without scruples about being negative. It is rare to do business with a Nigerian, be they pastor, deacon, imam, alhaji or alhaja without the person laying landmines of bribes and deceptions on your path. Without these, nothing gets done.



Rise in Nigerian sex Slavery in Italy Fuelled by Violence and "juju" Magic.

When Nigerian teenager Beauty arrived in Sicily after crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa last year, she had only hours to phone the man who trafficked her - or risk lethal repercussions for family members back home. Before her journey through Niger to Libya, a spiritual priest practicing a form of black magic known in Nigeria as "juju" had forced her to swear an oath of obedience to her trafficker. The threat of a "curse" if she broke her oath and the possibility of violence by her traffickers at home in Benin City, a southern Nigerian hub for human trafficking, were enough to trap her into sex slavery.  

"If I had reported him to the police, my family would have been in great danger," said Beauty, 19, fiddling with black-and-blond braids as she recalled the events of last summer.

"At the (migrant) camp a man came to pick me up in a car. I got into the car and I was taken away." 

Beauty, who uses a pseudonym and declined to reveal her full name, is one of around 12,000 Nigerian women who reached Italy by sea over the past two years, official data shows. That's a six-fold increase over the previous two-year period, with the majority - almost 80 percent - of the young women victims of trafficking, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Young, exhausted and vulnerable, many victims report being told that prostitution is the only way to repay hefty debts ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 euros ($28,000-$112,000) to their traffickers, Italian charities say. 

Fear plays a large part in the juju rituals, with pubic hair, fingernails and blood collected from the victim as she is made to swear never to report her situation to the authorities, rights groups say. In some cases, fearing the juju "spell" may be turned on them and they may die, Nigerian parents insist their daughters obey their traffickers, testimony from Italian court documents shows. Beauty only learned later that she had been trafficked - and that the man who had brought her to Europe, a friend of her father's, now demanded she pay back 25,000 euros ($28,000) by working as a prostitute.  

"My pimp was a nice man. I think he was a good man," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the security of the safe house where she now lives. 

But as she provided sex services for dozens of Italian clients in a town in southern Italy, a tyranny of abuse unfolded, she said. 

"The man pimped me. His girlfriend beat me." 

With numbers of Nigerians rising in Sicily, prostitution is a thriving business, campaigners say - though nobody knows exactly how many women end up plying their trade on the streets. Close to the vibrant cultural center in the island's southeastern port city of Catania, six or seven African women posed outside shuttered-up shops at night as teams from a local charity, the Penelope Association, offered support and advice. 

"The women need help to reintegrate in society," said Oriana Cannavo, head of the charity's Catania branch, nodding towards a woman in a short turquoise dress sauntering up and down the pavement.

The offer of support is a delicate one, Cannavo said, because the girls are already in the psychological clutches of their traffickers. The number of Nigerian women arriving in Italy is accelerating - complicating the task of law enforcement agencies determined to keep tabs on the location of pimps or their female brokers known as "madams". 

Dozens of Nigerian men and women have been arrested in Italy in recent months on trafficking related charges, prosecutors say. More than 13,500 unaccompanied minors - some from Nigeria - were "reached" by social workers in 2013 and 2014, with around 9,200 taken into Italian state care, according to a report commissioned by the interior ministry. The Italian government did not respond to repeated requests for the number of adult victims of trafficking supported or granted asylum. 

"Female victims of violence are granted special protection similar to that accorded to refugees," the Italian interior ministry said on its website. 

The new arrivals of trafficking victims are stretching the workload of the IOM, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) and local charities, aid workers say. 

"It is reaching a stage where it is out of control," said Margherita Limoni, a legal advisor with the IOM in Catania.

The number of Nigerian women arriving in Italy has almost doubled in the past year, surpassing 6,300 in the first eight months of 2016, up from 3,400 for the same period last year, according to the IOM. Unaccompanied children from Nigeria - some as young as 10 or 11 - have also flocked to Italy. Around 1,700 arrived in the first eight months of this year, while 1,000 came during the whole of 2015, the IOM data shows.

Although minors are offered state protection, Beauty was not eligible for this as she was already 18, she said. After running away from her pimp late last year, she fled to the local office of the Penelope Association, which found her a place in sheltered accommodation late last year. Beauty is one of 45 people the charity aims to support this year by finding them a place to live and employment in restaurants, well away from the preying eyes of traffickers, Cannavo said. But the assistance is not always accepted. Seven of Beauty's friends slipped back into prostitution out of fear of their pimps, or loyalty, the teenager said. 

"Many times the girls see their pimp as a benefactor who is trying to improve their lives," said IOM's Limoni, who briefs newly arrived migrants about the dangers of trafficking. "They trust them 100 percent."

Victims are also put off from fleeing pimps by actual stories of families being targeted or killed back in Nigeria - a reminder of the need to fulfil their obligations or stick to their juju oaths, another Sicily-based campaigner said. If a girl breaks her juju oath then she loses the spiritual protection, or so they believe, said Vivian Wiwoloku, president of the charity Pelligrino della Terra. 

"There was one Nigerian girl some years ago who abandoned prostitution. Then someone was really sent to her home in Nigeria to kill her brother," said Wiwoloku in his small office in the island's main city of Palermo. Wiwoloku, also from Nigeria, said his charity work - helping more than 400 women abandon prostitution since 1996 - was not without its dangers. His car has twice been set on fire. 

"When you try to help somebody not everyone will be happy," he said.

The IOM's Margherita Limoni agreed that the strong spiritual and psychological grip of Nigerian pimps, madams and traffickers makes it harder to support the victims.

"The traffickers are getting smarter and smarter by the day," she said.

Courtesy: Tom Esslemont.



Nigerians and the Plague of Predictions.

“16. Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’
18. She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment, the spirit left her.” - Acts 16:16-18 (New International Version).

The above passage in the Bible often comes to mind at the beginning of every year. It’s that time of the year in Nigeria when every General Overseer, Bishop or other sundry spiritualist announces his “vision” of what the new year portends for individual Nigerians and the nation in general. And with what one has heard so far, many of the so-called predictions were arrant nonsense, some of them were the results of mere personal analysis of national events and others were simply lifted from internet reports. Yet, gullible Nigerians are (as usual) lapping them up.
I therefore imagine a situation where the spirit ordered out of the woman in the Bible passage crept into the body of a Nigerian bystander. That person only had to go into the Nigerian Christendom, wear the garb of a pastor and…boom…he or she would become famous and stinking rich. Why so? Ours is a society where people are always desperate for just anyone to foretell their future under the guise of “seeing visions”.

As Nigerians Vote for a New Leadership.

A friend told me the story of an old classmate who, up till early 1999, was struggling to make ends meet. Whenever my friend travelled to Nigeria, the man would be at the airport to welcome him. The ensuing hugs, back-patting and baggage-carrying chores of the guy were always rewarded with some cash.

Then came the 4^th Republic and the man joined one of the major parties. It was on the platform of the party that he won an election as a Councilor. In 2001, my friend travelled to Nigeria and, as usual, the man was at the airport. This time though, instead of a taxi, the two left in a brand new SUV. As they love to brag in Nigeria, the man quickly told my friend, “This is just one of the several cars in my carport…” As at that time, he had also become the owner of a mansion, two gas stations and a cottage industry (pure water production outfit). Yet, he was merely a Councilor!

Now, in that same terribly corrupt nation, there was a man that stands out like a “good thumb”. He was a military governor of the defunct North Eastern State and later, Borno State. With the exception of two other men, everyone that “served” as a state governor or military administrator in Nigeria left office as terribly stinking rich man. Our man also held the most enviable cabinet position in the land rich in Oil (Petroleum Minister). In that position, this man could have easily made himself a billionaire. But he refused to be so tempted. In later years, he went on to serve as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), a body created by the then military government of General Abacha. It was funded from the revenue generated by the increase in the price of petroleum products at that time, to pursue developmental projects around the country. A 1998 report in “New African” praised the PTF under this man for its transparency. His feat was described as a rare "success story". And to top it all, he was once the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian armed forces. In spite of all these great positions though, it’s difficult to classify him as a rich man by Nigerian standard. He was so incorruptible that he challenged the entire nation that whoever had proof of corruption against him should step out to state so. Up till now, no one has been able to do so. This rare Nigerian is General Muhammed Buhari (rtd) and the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).

In February, 2015, Nigerians will be going to the polling booths to cast their ballots for a president. Our nation has been battered, looted and reduced to a mere tottering, clay-footed giant of Africa due to raging, massive corruption that exists at all levels of governance. Therefore, if there is one most importantly needed factor that will serve as the foundation for the re-invention and regeneration of Nigeria's glory, it’s integrity in leadership. And Buhari has it in abundance.

Nigerians and Religious Posturings !!!

For God's sake, Nigerians!!! 

Is this the latest fad in the Christendom? Lately, I've been seeing pictures and videos of some Nigerians rolling on the ground while praying. In this picture is Pastor (or is he Bishop or Arch-Bishop?) Ayo Oritshejafor rolling on the floor during a prayer session in Abuja, Nigeria. 

I guess this new "style" has overtaken the usual act of "speaking in tongues" in religious posturing or playing to the gallery." This is very interesting. If we mortals are silly...definitely, God is not!

Nigerians’ Obsession With America.

Some years back, I was on vacation in Nigeria, my ancestral home. And while there, I marveled at the obsessive interest that most of my folks back home have in America. For instance, I observed that almost all the young people, including elementary school pupils, appeared to be daily equipped with the latest news about America. To them, America is not just the pace-setter in every field of endeavor but also the ultimate in nationhood. Even the American currency is fondly called the “almighty dollar”. There is therefore the desperate urge to tailor personal styles and business goals along every trend that emanates from God’s own country.

I noticed that in spite of the year-long Nigerian summer, when my folks are on vacation, nothing at home attracts their interest. Not some of the popular local tourist attractions such as the Yankari games reserve and the Osun grove. And not even the mysterious Ikogosi spring which serves as the confluence for two different streams, one hot and the other cold, and both of unknown sources.  Ironically, these are the stuffs that attract foreigners, including Americans every year.

Vacationing Americans, I argued with friends resident in Nigeria, are known for visits to local attractions such as the Grand Canyon and Walt Disney. Those of them who venture out of their country often do so only to explore natural wonders of optimum interest in other lands. And while the Americans return from each vacation with a fresh outlook, their Nigerian counterparts are all stressed out. This is so because all they do is wander through the American inner cities, usually in the humid heat of summer.  It’s quite mind boggling that anyone will, on annual basis, incur outrageous expense just to see business districts, skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of a foreign city as if similar structures don’t exist back home.

All through my stay in Nigeria, I listened as my people made frequent comparisons between their nascent democracy and the over 200 year-old American political system. I also noted their habitual cynicism and routine assumptions that corruption and inefficiency are a monopoly of the corporate managers in their home land. When reminded of the scandals that rocked Worldcom and Enron some years back and the current financial indiscipline of such a company as AIG, they only shrugged their shoulders nonchalantly. Not even tales about the dwindling fortunes of several American corporate entities in the wake of the current economic melt down would convince them that human nature is the same all over the globe.

And there is the issue of animals. To those folks back home, America is simply a replica of the biblical Garden of Eden where Man and animals co-habit amicably. On satellite TV channels, Nigerians are ever amused to see deer, squirrels and other animals roam about the American neighborhoods without let or hindrance. This is in sharp contrast to their “cat and mouse” relationship with animals. Over there in Nigeria, animals are smart enough to confine themselves to some far-away, thick jungles. Even favorites among pets and domesticated animals such as dogs, rabbits and goats have to watch their backs lest they end up in the cooking pots of some lurking human predators.

Nowhere however, is the obsession of Nigerians for America so glaring as in the lifestyles of the younger generation. American-oriented funky churches, Hip-hop, rap music, fast food joints, fashion and technological trends are all over the nation’s social and economic landscapes.

Incidentally though, there still exist some no-go areas. For example, counselors and psychiatrists are often rendered idle in such a communal setting where payment for an advice is considered absurd. It comes freely from an experienced parent or older relation with age-long wisdom to share and ready shoulders to offer.

There is also the idea of a man adorned with ear-rings. While this is a popular fad in America, it is anathema to most Nigerians.  The few visiting American-based Nigerian men who dare try to “show off” with ear-rings are often jeered at and stared down with ignominy by the locals. It’s indeed worse when the same man braids his hair. Over there, in the most populous Black nation on earth, it’s religiously sacrilegious for a man to braid his hair.  Besides that, Nigeria is a man’s world. Therefore nothing can be more ridiculous and scornful than a man who looks like a woman. But as they say, one man’s meat is another’s poison. There are some other peculiar habits and orientations that Americans tolerate but which Nigerians consider as taboos and assaults on societal sensibility.

Much as the young Nigerians sheepishly eye every fad from America, the conservative society at large knows where to draw the line. Therefore, just as rice is separated from chaff, so are existing local core values constantly protected from the negative influences of all eroding foreign cultures, American included.