WHAT GOOD CAN COME FROM ZAMFARA STATE?

Unknown attackers on motorcycles struck late on Monday at a goldmine outside Bindin village in northern Zamfara state, Nigeria killing thirty-six people. I have read some other media reports which put the number of dead at forty, while many others were injured. Presently, the security agents haven't been able to identify the particular group responsible for this attack, meaning that the perpetrators like other times will roam free. In times past, it had been cattle rustlers who raid cattle herding villages in Zamfara to dispossess them of their cattle, but this time around it was different, making keen watchers of events there wonder if this group aren't cattle rustlers, or they were but because the gold miners were to be reached before the village, the cattle rustlers decided to make do with gold instead, which is easier to move, while leaving death and destruction in their wake. Among the dead were miners, gold merchants and others around the area at the time of the attack, with the police as usual releasing their vain age-old  statement of leaving no some unturned till the perpetrators are brought to book. Interestingly, just some weeks ago, it was in Zamfara, that the Nigerian military launched an operation to fight cattle rustlers, only for this to happen and they were nowhere to be found, as is norm with operations in Nigeria that have no Intel backing and support.


Zamfara state is hardly in the news for any good in Nigeria, so far as I can recall. If it isn't in the news as the first northern state to politicize Shari'a law, then it's about the amputation of a man for stealing, under an Islamic law superintended by the then child-bride loving governor, who's currently keeping dates with anti-corruption agencies in the courts for misappropriation of public funds while in office, for which not even a strand of his goatie has been singed for. If Zamfara isn't in the news for lynching of students and those who attempted to rescue them for blasphemy against the Prophet in Islam, then it will be in the news for "lead poisoning", as a result of illegal gold extraction with dangerous by-products like lead released to the surroundings, for which some remediation was undertaken some time ago, not by the local, state or federal  government, but foreign aid agencies, like Medecins San Frontiers, MSF concerned for Nigerians more than those that should, besides been saddled with the responsibility to bother about them, so much so that an American friend that was part of a group raising awareness about the issue in the United States confided in me, of her frustration with Nigerian officials looking to have their palms greased before they could be allowed to even come in to review the situation, before planning remediation.

A BOY MINER SHOWS OFF A PIECE OF MERCURY-GOLD AMALGAM AT A PROCESSING SITE, ZAMFARA STATE.

So, you won't blame me when my mindset is set towards another tragedy each time Zamfara is mentioned in the news. Just no good, "meTELLyu" no good. And it is very sad because there indeed should be good news about Zamfara and I will just focus only on one area for instance. Since the President Muhammadu Buhari-led  government came to power last year, all that talk about diversifying the economy has gone the way of other "politics/campaign idealism" that are never brought to realism or life by politicians. It even seems that the president's understanding of diversification is finding crude oil in the north, in the face of dwindling proceeds from sale of crude owing to falling crude oil prices and persistent bombardment of oil exploration facilities, platforms and pipelines by aggrieved Niger Delta militants, despite government's extension of the olive branch to active militant groups via elders from the region in a bid to have them persuade the former to rethink their involvement in economic sabotage.


This search for oil in the North has seen the Nigerian government pump humongous amounts in scarce resources, into the venture that have so far yielded little to nothing, abandoning the booming mining industry in the north, from which Nigeria gets virtually nothing, in the hands of the elite, lords, landowners, even paramount traditional rulers of such areas where mining is being carried out. It's a known secret that so much is made by these men so much so that they've become so strong, enough to scare any minister of mining from peeping into the activities of illegal miners and those who benefit from their activities. That was why, when Nigerians were celebrating the discovery of nickel in commercial quantities in Kaduna, I looked at such Nigerians as poor followers of history, for if not, they'd have known that  government isn't looking to mining as a way of diversifying the economy, as the overlords in the north aren't willing to share mining wealth with Nigeria, even as they look to claim the crude in the south-south as theirs, while never rejecting Value Added Tax, VAT from alcohol, which is not only considered Haram in their domains, but have state governments that set up paramilitary organizations like the Hisbah in Kano for instance, who as part of their terms of reference, have destruction of alcoholic beverages, anywhere they are found in the state, amongst other human right infringing activities that serve the religious inclinations of the northern Nigerian states, while at the same time, contributing virtually nothing to the nations' GDP.

ILLEGAL MINERS IN BAGEGA, ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA DIGGING FOR GOLD.

It is my hope that the government will look to Zamfara as a place to bequeath a model for the diversification of Nigeria's economy, using mining as template that will be replicated in other sectors, including agriculture, because the truth is that only a small, a very small number of Nigerians work in the oil sector. Others find occupation elsewhere, in many sectors official and  unofficial, that remain largely untaxed and undeveloped because the lazy governments at the centre and states rely heavily on that single product under the land of Niger Deltans and the South's offshore. Believe it or not, the Nigerian economy is already diversified, it is the revenue generation from the economy that is yet to be diversified, and sometimes when I look at what's happening now with crude I rejoice because it is a blessing in disguise, unfortunately if the  government fails to recognize it, we will continue to have pockets of attacks like the one in Zamfara days back, when we could have Nigerian or foreign companies legally mining gold, under state protection, with Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR that inhabitants of the region can benefit from at the behest of mining companies, besides revenue that will accrue to the state officially, rather than bribes to some big man or Emir somewhere. Unless we begin to think like this, then the search for the so called diversification of Nigeria's economy will remain but a fleeting illusion (a la Bob Marley), amounting to that proverbial (in Professor Chris Nwokobia's popular refrain) "search for Godot".


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.sweetcrudereports.com
- http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

MY DAY WITH LAGOS' RADIO STATIONS

So, on my way to work every morning, when I don't have, or haven't decided on a particular soundtrack to burn the grind time with, I listen to the radio. I do this also on my way back from work, when I take a break from the soundtrack of the day, having been 'pon deh replay all day. The hours specifically are from 7am to 8:45am and from 6pm to 8pm, which I devote to radio stations in Lagos on work days. While the weekends include 8-9am on Saturdays and 2-3pm on Sundays. These times I spend catching up with news and current affairs, while at other times I'm probably trying to listen in on the latest Nigerian and foreign music, or other special programs that have to do with health, entrepreneurship, and the likes on radio.


I wouldn't have been bothered to write this, except for the fact that recently I've begun considering changing that routine as the monotony is becoming dangerously unnerving, especially with news and current affairs interactive programs, following the last general elections last year, after Muhammadu Buhari emerged president with his party's CHANGE mantra, and the accompanying prosecution of an anti-corruption war, that only the blind and deaf can continue to hail as being not selective and vindictive. I don't bother listening to news in the morning on radio, because the morning's news aren't any different from the 6pm news of the day before, so I simply go for newspaper reviews. When I was an early riser and didn't have a deluge of TV series to catch up on, my day usually stated with the Yoruba language "Kókó inú ìwé ìròyìn" program on 92.9FM from 6:20am to 7am, before going on to 97.3 CLASSIC FM's newspaper review with Jimi Disu whose fixation with Buhari is legendary. You'd think that he has a shrine somewhere in his house where he worships and pours libation to him before coming to work in the morning. That's why I haven't gotten myself to follow him to LAGOS TALKS on 91.3FM from 9 to 10am, because of his very biased views and analysis of events, even as much as calling for extra-judicial measures in fighting the war on corruption, even while Nigeria remains a democracy. Unfortunately, he claims that his dead pan biased views and analysis are for the sake of children, who may be mislead by present events without guidance, while he on the other hand is busy stoking the flame that will burn them, should the grow up with the "I-Know-It-All" attitude of intolerance he promotes on air.

JIMI DISU IN THE CLASSIC FM STUDIOS.

It doesn't matter if the headlines are of an earthquake in Nigeria, or that the world is on the brink of extinction by reason of nuclear holocaust after Russia hypothetically struck first, and the Americans retaliating while in the throes of death, or any other apocalyptic scenario your dark mind can fathom, amongst others making the news; the man will simply latch on the one piece of news he may as well be jerking on, like the one this morning about the former Customs' Comptroller General returning a whopping ₦1 Billion to the Economic and  Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Even when subsequent news items about the worsening economic situation is read to him, he still somehow finds a way to come back to the issue of corruption, prodded by zombie followers, many of whom should know better than engaging in media lynching of suspects arrested for financial malfeasance (that are often times thrown out of the courts for lack of evidence, or poor  prosecutorial handling of corruption cases), mainly of the opposition in the last government, while members of the president's party, regardless of the number of times they trend on social media (where the lynching of the others, not in the good book of government take place routinely) for one act of corruption or the other, are allowed to roam free without as much as been invited over by the anti-corruption agencies to respond to allegations of corrupt activities, many of which are so glaring that even the blind can see, leveled against them.


Sports with Deji Omotoyinbo, still on Classic FM spares me "Uncle Jimi Disu's" shenanigans and dry jokes, which after fifteen minutes affords me the chance to listen to what's left of another interactive current affairs program on SMOOTH 98.1FM's "Freshly Pressed", a delight because of the sound analysis by Cheta Nwanze and sometimes Mazino, which is interjected most times by the female OAP, so called Miss Ireti with a fake British accent spewing the most shit on radio, with her half intelligent reviews and responses to text messages and tweets, especially when they are critical of her views. 8am is when I switch to "Daily Guide" on STAR 101.5FM presented by the duo of sisters' Moyo and Mofe Oyatogun, whose late father was a sportscaster of repute. Though in recent times, only Moyo appear to retain the slot anchoring and discussing as dispassionately as she can, politics and related sundry, the way the common man will understand, with guests on either side of Nigeria's politico-socioeconomic divide, though when the jobless Alester "Obama" Wilcox and his Buhari-praise singing, butt-kissing, boot-licking ass comes on air (almost as frequently as he parades radio and TV stations in the Ikeja axis of Lagos, like one looking to be noticed by the  government in power for his relentless effort at whitewashing their sepulchre), I'd brace myself for the most ridiculous of excuses for a largely underperforming government Nigeria has seen since independence. But I also am inspired by the charity work that both sisters have enabled with their program, and the side attractions from frequent callers like "Prince Y. S. from Amuwo Odofin". Sadly, both sister-Oyatoguns lost their beloved mother earlier this week (barely months after they lost their father), for which I, like many of their fans Lagos-wide extend my most sincere condolences.

A FULL STAR-FM STUDIO AS DAILY GUIDE IS PRESENTED WITH MOYO OYATOGUN, THE ONLY FEMALE WITH GUESTS.

When I'm in a good mood, I go back to listen to sports again on SMOOTH FM by 8:15am to 8:45 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, just for "The Tiger" Terga's beautiful voice and her analysis of almost all sports as she guests on a sports panel. Mehn, that chic knows sports, abeg. Even those very alien to Nigeria such as cricket, in fact I developed my love for F1 from her analysis, and then going further to make Lewis Hamilton my hero. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I may make the mistake of listening to showbiz gossip news on the same station, or remain with STAR FM to endure guests like Alester Wilcox or the one that calls himself a Professor, Chris Nwokobia with verbose yet repetitive use of certain vocabulary, in order to prove his learnedness, with submissions that are empty despite hiding them behind much words, as he continues to project a change, which he campaigned for, but jettisoned by those he helped to get to position (like they jettisoned him), stating that unless certain things are done, the search to take Nigeria to paradise will be like "a search for Godot!"


It's people like these I try to avoid by simply deciding on my soundtrack early. Not because they shy from the truth most times, but because they exaggerate facts and fail to balance their analysis, especially when it's politics. That one I certainly can't deal with, particularly when a medium as powerful as radio is involved, where lies can easily become truth because of frequent repetitions and subliminal inundations. But my morning ordeal isn't even as bad as that in the evening with the program I oft-listen to on my way back from work from 7 to 8pm. I could write a book on that one alone, unfortunately much of what I'll have to report is sad and shameful, of what Nigeria's media has become, and why the Nigerian free (private and non- governmental) news and current affairs atmosphere has lost reckoning amongst their peers worldwide, as they wallow in the pit dug for them by mostly politician-owners of the tools with which they ply their trade.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.classic97.net
- http://www.mobiletwitter.com/dailyguide

NEW YEAR 5777 & TRUMPETS

I have written severally about the FEAST OF TRUMPETS (CHAG ROSH HASHANAH in the Hebrew) in:
- THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS | https://madukovich.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/the-feast-of-trumpets/, and
- ROSH HASHANAH AND IT'S CONNOTATIONS | https://madukovich.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/rosh-hashanah-and-what-it-connotes/, also in
- THE  APOCALYPTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS | http://madukovich.blogspot.com.ng/search/label/Feast%20of%20Trumpet?m=0, and would like to veer off a little into a related subject that many take for granted, but I feel is worthy of consideration to fully understand the import of this feast, as we celebrate the beginning of the Jewish Year 5777, today the 3rd of October, the celebration of which commenced yesterday evening, to end this evening.


We learned in social studies how back in the day communication worked amongst the ancients without as much as uttering a sound. A neighboring village could tell that the other is under attack when they see plumes of smoke, when people heard the sound of the gong or wooden hollow contraption called the "Ekwe" in Igboland (in southeastern Nigeria) they simply walked to the village square understanding that they are been summoned for an important meeting. To bridge the communication gap between the people and their leaders when Israelites were in the wilderness, on their way from Egypt to THE PROMISED LAND, especially in times of emergency, YAHWEH asked Moses to make "... two trumpets of silver,.... for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps" (Numbers 10:2).

SILVER TRUMPETS MUCH LIKE YAHWEH INSTRUCTED MOSES TO MAKE.

Blowing the trumpets in a certain way, meant the people "....will assemble themselves to (Moses) at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (vs.3).
If only one trumpet is blown, only '... the princes, which are heads of thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves into (Moses)' (vs.4).
"The camps that lie on the east part goes forward", when an alarm is blown and if it's blown a second time the southern camp "... shall take their journey"  (vs 5&6). If you continue down the verses, you'll find that trumpets are to be blown during wars, such that the trumpet blown by levites was at some point used as the only weapon of war in bringing down the walls of Jerico, "... in the day of (y)our gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginning of your months," and indeed over just about anything that you may consider an event.

A JEWISH CHILD BLOWS THE SHOFAR

In essence, the trumpet plays an important role in the life of a Jew, as not just a means of communication amongst fellow Jews, but even between YAHWEH and his people, as you'd find in my other treatises before this where I went as far as mentioning the trumpets that will herald the end of days as vividly elucidated in the visions of John in the Book of Revelations. You may find commemorations of the blowing of the SHOFAR (Ram's horn), the metal trumpets, even the plastic Vuvuzela (popular in South Africa) today, in celebrating the feast and the New Year, but beyond all this is the message that's behind the celebration.

A SOUTH AFRICAN BLOWING THE VUVUZELA 

The feast reminds us to be conscious of our time. To understand our path and role in YAHWEH's great design, that predates us and will eclipse us. Like I was telling a friend recently, that though truly the hour nor the day, no one knows, but for the children of YAHWEH, just like Yahshua predicted, they will not be like the hypocrites who "... can discern the face of the sky" (Matthew 16:3) but can't discern the signs of the times. The discerning mind will understand for instance that though "... ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6), and will be unperturbed by the din of wars regardless of the destructive nature of the arsenals on display to be deployed. Knowing that only when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3), but will regardless not be complacent knowing that everyone's end is at death, and thereafter  judgment. It's why Yahshua didn't ask his disciples just to pray, but to WATCH AND PRAY, to have  understanding about events around them, so as to know exactly the direction in which to channel their prayer.


The trumpets are sounding today, more frequently than in our past, to herald epoch making events that will shape our future and many will fail to hear it, nay heed the message they bear, but only those with ears attuned to hear them will pick the messages emanating from them, to know when to "assemble or when to move", like how only TVs connected to decoders can receive coded signals from cable TV stations. It is why, when the last trump shall sound, only a section of the dead will rise at the sound of the trump announcing Yahshua's second coming, to eternal bliss (1 Thessalonians 4:16) while the rest will stay behind. It is the ears that have been tuned to hear this trump that while alive will change and the ".... corruptible must put on  incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53). See how deep a simple trumpet goes to determine our existence, and understand why celebrating a feast devoted to its importance in our life is imperative if we must live holy and acceptable lives to YAHWEH our Creator and Rewarder. Have a fun-filled Rosh Hashanah!


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.biblestudyoutlines.org
- http://www.myinstants.com
- http://www.timesofisrael.com

'76 AND "93 DAYS"

I am not a fan of Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry). I can't say I was ever a fan even in the days when I was either compelled to see Nigerian movies or see them for just about any other reason I may not be able to explain for now. Indeed, a few of the movies have impressed me, especially those from the stable of MAINFRAME PICTURES, because of the way Tunde Kelani stuck to and with standards as consideration, even over profits. Once a while one movie or the other comes along and you get this feeling that eventually we will get things right, and scripts will be better interpreted and make more sense overall.


I had always hoped that one day, Nigeria's story (not only of rituals, wickedness, negative  spiritualism, churchism, dry comedy, diabolism, of females useful only as sex objects in their scant dressing, cultism etc) nay history will begin to be told on Nollywood. It would be for me a reason to screen them on my phone, laptop or TV. When "HALF OF A YELLOW SUN" by Chimamanda Adichie was adapted for the screen I didn't waste much time before seeing it, even though it was at some point banned by the  government controlled film and video censors board because it dwelt on a very emotive issue (the Nigeria-Biafra civil war of 1967-1970), the ghost of which hasn't relented one bit in haunting Nigeria, seeing that major actors on both sides of the divide are still alive, with Nigeria not moved an inch away from the brink of disintegration, the subject on which the movie is predicated. In the end I was rather disappointed with the movie, which I found rather simplistic amongst other reasons I'd rather not go into now, even though it had foreign professional input, even international stars like Chinwetel Ejiofor who incidentally is of Nigerian descent, and Igbo parentage.


Then recently, I heard about '76 and I was intrigued. I waited for the same film and video censorship board to say something, yet I heard nothing. I felt it must have been a bold move for a Nigerian producer to touch on the subject of the coup of February 13, 1976 in which General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, Nigeria's Head of State at the time was assassinated. Nollywood appeared to be telling doubters like me with that strike, that they weren't joking anymore, enough of "Aki and Pawpaw" teaching children bad manners, or producers connecting mishaps in people's lives to the diabolic, and the varying instances of bad research in subjects related to the medical, historical, traditional (for instance as regards how the Igbo "Igwe-In-Council" operates, amongst others) even socioeconomic lifestyles of average Nigerians. I have seen the trailer (which doesn't look any different from most Nigerian movie trailers) but not the movie, though I'd like to give the producers of this one the benefit of the doubt.

POSTER OF THE MOVIE '76

While I was pondering about how to go about seeing '76, "93 DAYS" which I'd followed since it was in the conception stage, immediately after we'd managed to put the EBOLA outbreak behind us, and Danny Glover visited (though not his first having visited severally to attend movie awards, even became an awardee at some point if memory serves me right). When I saw the trailer recently, I was glad that the period between the actual event and the movie depicting it isn't far and wide apart. I feel it's pertinent that for the lessons from the period a few months back, to be imbibed and not easily forgotten, the release of this film at this time is the best that could've been done. This, featuring as usual Hollywood and Nollywood stars and household names looks to me like a must see.

DANNY GLOVER IN "93 DAYS" 

Interestingly, I have found over time that when blockbusters are about to be made, there are names that feature in such movies that you would hardly find in your everyday Nollywood movies, because the caliber of actors and actresses you'd find in such  intercontinental and international collaborations such as "93 DAYS" are such that would never soil their reputation with the crap that Nollywood routinely churns out in the name of home videos. Even the Nigerian cinemas wouldn't touch these movies for a while, till recently when a few stakeholders in the industry started upgrading their acts, enough to begin to tempt perennial critics like me to begin reconsidering seeing Nigerian movies once again as pastime.


These few sparks in the sea of unimpressive performances by Nollywood practitioners, show that they can actually be better than what they currently put out. Even Africa is tired of the poo they'd have to put up with over the years because of lack of alternative from their own film industry and expectations are high for the pacesetting movie industry in Africa to pioneer the new way forward. Apparently, Nollywood must chart this next path, like it did the initial one on its own, as even the best intentioned Nigerian government hasn't done much to help, even when state governments like Cross Rivers incorporated a movie studio in the Tinapa project, it ended up failing because Nollywood had no input hence till date, like many  government projects in Nigeria without input of those meant to benefit, the complex remains, though completed, a white elephant project, hosting only once a while, conferences mainly by the state  government which would either not pay or pay subsidized fees to use the facilities, rendering the complex an unsustainable edifice, and not the legacy project the governor who conceived it meant for it to be.


Sometimes, the blame hardly lies with the government, nor with Nollywood, as with the proposed FILM VILLAGE that was meant to be built in Kano, to help move "Kannywood" (the Hausa-speaking film industry based in northern Nigeria) to Nollywood's level and hopefully beyond, but was thwarted by protests from Muslim clerics, who claimed that the film industry is anti-Islamic and would erode the good character of the youths of the region, even though the movie industry in that region, except for very few instances hardly deviates from what is culturally and religiously acceptable. Not even the fact that the film village was to be named after President Muhammadu Buhari (who apart from been a "son of the soil" is beloved of the people of the north, with a huge cult following, that cuts across all ages), could sway the hard-line stance of these so called policy-shapers and moral police of northern Nigeria, talk more the possibility of such a structure contributing employment and boost revenue generation at least to some extent in the region that's considered by their southern counterparts as consumers of wealth produced in the latters' region, besides engaging more youths in more productive activity than leaving them easy prey to religious opportunists who may engage them in destructive activities associated with terrorists, after becoming radicalized at the hands of Islamic Fundamentalists.


Even if it is true that the present crop of actors and actresses in Kannywood are people of questionable character and prostitutes, shouldn't the idea be to work at reforms, rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water? This is another area where the refusal to delineate between "mosque and state" is stagnating progress in the north of Nigeria. Interestingly, all of the morality of that region has not reduced by any means, the bloodshed, corruption and all the evil as you'd find in any modern society from taking root, even spreading from the region to other parts of Nigeria.


Before I digress (as I am wont to) any further, I want to congratulate those who made these two  aforementioned movies possible. For daring to tell our ancient and modern history via the screen, even when it isn't the easy way to go considering the complexities the Nigerian environment portends for those who dare. I will go ahead and plan to see both movies as soon as possible, especially "93 DAYS" seeing that I was also in the thick of things working in Lagos, with my protective gear daily as we hoped to stem the tide of a hemorrhagic fever that landed our shores from Liberia, and would've easily decimated the population of Lagos, even unto Port Harcourt in Rivers State, had it not been for the heroic efforts of the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her team, some of whom also lost their lives, to save us! The recognition the Nigerian government has failed to give these heroines and heroes, they will now get internationally, with the launch of this movie at various film festivals worldwide, screenings at cinemas home and abroad, as Nollywood hits another notch, in spite of its hostile surroundings.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.radiorepublik.com
- http://www.youtube.com

WHEN MARK ZUCKERBERG CAME TO TOWN

Funny how CNN knows to say that "NIGERIA ENTERS RECESSION" but headlined Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg's visit to Lagos as his visit to sub-Saharan Africa. Of course, trust the vibrant Nigerian e-warriors to deal CNN a harsh response on Twitter, and at the same time not losing any opportunity to celebrate the epoch making visit of a great icon to one of the world's Facebook hub, Lagos. Yes, I wasn't fortunate to be among those who saw, walked with him, or made the audience at events he attended, but I followed every bit of his visit since the day he landed in Lagos, on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media platforms.


It is norm for me to put off my data on my phone before I nod off into somnolence at night, then catch up on instant messaging only when I wake and put it back on, but I woke up yesterday to find that my IMs have come into my phone, and I could even browse without data, which I quickly put out on Twitter in order to find answers to the free browsing I was enjoying without Wi-Fi, or putting my data on and to find out if it was linked with the presence of Mark Zuckerberg on the mainland. @GreyWorth provided me the much needed answer thus: "@madukovich @Gidi_Traffic Yes! Its called Facebook Xpress Wifi in collaboration with COOLLINK. He's also in Nigeria to visit the sites &....", unfortunately once I left my abode on the mainland for the island, where I work, I lost the connection (somewhere along the third mainland bridge). So it was that though most of us couldn't be part of his itinerary on the mainland we benefited from his free Wi-Fi.

MARK  ZUCKERBERG WALKING ON THE STREETS OF YABA, LAGOS MAINLAND.

Interestingly, when Mark walked the streets of the mainland like a mere Lagosian mortal (unlike the norm where wealthy and influential Nigerians, talk more foreigners as wealthy as Mark, would do same only with armed bodyguards and police/military convoy for security reasons) two days ago, the mainland/island rivalry was once again stoked, with "Mainland 1:0 Island" trending for a while, before Mark compensated the island with an early morning jog across the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge yesterday. For me it was a win-win situation as I spend my daily life on both sides of Lagos. While the day dragged on, I watched videos of his many interactions and town hall meetings in my spare time, which I managed to stretch a tad longer than the usual.

MARK  ZUCKERBERG JOGGING ACROSS THE LEKKI-IKOYI BRIDGE ON THE ISLAND, LAGOS. 

Much has been said about Mark's simplicity, but I had to see it to believe it. The movie didn't even do him enough justice, nor anything that I have ever read about him since he became a public figure. I was intrigued by the way he could easily relate with his environment, and with the people around him, many of which in this case were strangers. Despite his status, there was no single instance where he talked down on any body, even though I am sure a few of the questions put to him by the creme of Lagos techies may have sounded quite pedestrian to him. This man simply has no airs about him, even when he knows that visit of his, is capable of bringing these roses and diamonds from concrete and dirt respectively (in these cases, the tech and electronic entrepreneurs of Lagos that have suffered neglect from their own people and government, as well as the outside world) to limelight.

FACEBOOK FOUNDER AND CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG MEETING WITH TECH ENTREPRENEURS IN LAGOS.

My greatest joy was the fact that he kept the  government totally out of it. Not the local state government, not even the federal could benefit politically from what he's done. Apparently, his visit must've been unannounced, as the usual evidence of Nigerian governments' incompetence (especially in maintaining security, and event bungling) at organizing an all-inclusive event of this nature was totally absent. Ime Archibong and his crew deserve a pat on the back for making this a totally hitch-free and qualitative visit, where every minute counted. I was proud to see Nigerian tech entrepreneurs (even Seyi Taylor, who was a year my senior in medical school, but never practiced medicine beyond the much in housemanship) give good accounts of themselves, as viable alternatives for a government truly willing to diversify its source of revenue, if only government could look for once to developing their capacity, sometimes just by providing the enabling environment for them to thrive, and freely express themselves and their franchise, in order to move Nigeria from a resource dependent mono-economy to a service driven, human capital developed and explored one, just like many of the developed countries with little or no natural resource. Unfortunately, Nigeria's  government at all levels remain blind to the opportunities and prospects, a visit such as this, can avail us as a country.


It is no surprise that Lagos is the home of innovation, and hence attracts personalities like Mark Zuckerberg. This is a city that regards enterprise in spite of the (state) government. The north of Nigeria prides itself with the visit of Islamic scholars and imams, from Saudi Arabia for instance, but that has done little to nothing in terms of improving the economic well-being of the people of such places (besides the building of  magnificent mosques), with crippling socioeconomic indices that leave youths and their impressionable minds at the mercy of religious fundamentalists and  fundamentalism. Not even the recent ill-thought out visit by American Secretary of State, John Kerry to the north last week while ignoring the rest of Nigeria will change the status quo that fans the backwardness of that region. Governors of other states, even the president go investor-fishing abroad to no success, because nothing they do at home, especially in terms of policies show foreign investors that they are indeed willing to accommodate and keep them within the country. The reverse is the case with Lagos. Mark Zuckerbergs' visit will encourage that niche in Lagos, that are proper citizens of the world, who have always wondered if someone out there is noticing the feat they've managed to achieve and keep achieving against all odds. They have the answer now, and the sky just ceased to be their limit.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDITS:
- http://www.nairatrends.com
- http://www.nairaland.com
- http://www.tech point.ng

IGBO WOMEN'S AUGUST MEETING

As usual my Naija Tour can't be said to be complete without a trip to the southeastern part of Nigeria. Interestingly, I haven't made one in August since it became official to make such cross-country trips an avenue to explore the environments that I visit before this time. So when a two week break fell on my lap once again to do as I deemed fit, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to add the southeast to my traveling itinerary.


As a member of the executive of my village association in my place of residence outside of Igboland, I have noticed that every August the women wing of such Igbo associations don't meet unlike the men in August, as they are said to have traveled to the East for AUGUST MEETING. A discovery that I had to make rather than just automatically know, seeing that I'm no Catholic or Anglican, neither was I brought up in the village to know about these things till I became my own man. For this sake I was determined to find out what happens during these meetings in the east.


Turns out that in that month of August when children are usually on vacation, the dominant Christian denominations in the eastern part of Nigeria, organizes a weeklong (usually) convention-like program for its women, based at home and abroad. Though many of the women may belong to Pentecostal churches in the cities and towns across Nigeria and outside of it, they retain their membership of either the Catholic or Anglican Churches back at home in the east. It is to these that they return during the "August Meeting".


These Igbo women, or non-Igbo women married to Igbo men who are Catholics or Anglican are compelled to attend these meetings annually in the village or town of their husband's ancestry, usually in the early days of the month of August but not later than the second week of the same month. They attend the meetings in uniforms, consisting of a white blouse or top (which for so many women have begun to turn blue due to use of WASHING BLUE apparently to improve the "whiteness" of their fabric), and a wrapper, which may not be that uniform nationally, but more like uniform for the states where the women are coming from to the east.

A CROSS SECTION OF WOMEN ATTENDING "AUGUST MEETING" IN ANAMBRA STATE, SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA.

Though the program is declared open by a member of clergy, with some words of admonition, the activities are soon taken over by the women for whom the meeting is designed. They provide lecturers amongst themselves who take them on topics from the spiritual to the not so spiritual, up to the very mundane. Lofty ideas are shared during these meetings, including how to better the lots of the less privileged in their midst amongst others using financial contributions from members, with those who have been defaulting having theirs calculated in arrears, sometimes with some interest. Donations are also welcome, even amongst non-members and the menfolk.


There's no gainsaying the fact that the August Meeting affords the women an opportunity to network and fan the embers of camaraderie amongst one another. On the vain side of things, it is also an occasion where they size one another up, and with lots of gossip permeating the air (as with some women, who will rather be outside of church premises sharing tales while their peers are within the church taking in the various programs organized for their individual and mutual development), it's no surprise that once a while conflagrations occur but thankfully such are quickly put down and erring parties appropriately sanctioned.


The Igbo are a consensus seeking people, hence you'd find them meeting at varying levels of the societal strata, in fact I surmise that if infrastructural development can be brought about singly by the act of meetings, Igboland will be like Dubai or even better. Though that utopia may not have been reached, the meetings have in no small measure led to the development of that marginalized region of Nigeria since after the civil war in 1970. It is my hope and desire above all, that these August Meetings will reap fruits in the direction where Igbo women wouldn't need the validation of the menfolk (in marriage or the likes) to be considered fulfilled, but rather to be fully emancipated in all  ramifications by their own right, of their own will.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.anambrastate.gov.ng

AS NIGERIA FORGETS JULY 29, 1966

29th July fifty years ago, Nigeria's story took another turn that appears to have eternally sealed it's fate, as a country whose  nationalities will forever remain distrustful of one another, for as long as they will manage to cohabit. It was the day the revenge coup was launched against military and civilian Nigerians of the ethnic Igbo stock, of southeastern Nigerian origin, everywhere outside of eastern Nigeria and their closest neighbors in the Niger Delta. I say another, because the first turning point had occurred on the 15th of January of the same year, with the first coup, which was welcome by many as an act of  patriotism, but as the days passed, was given the coloration of been biased in favor of the Igbo, and against most especially the northern Hausa-Fulani hegemony, which controlled power at the center in the days following Nigeria's independence from Great Britain.


Unfortunately, a day like yesterday passed without official statements or program by the government, apart from some discourse on some media, a few of which I was able to follow on radio and on the social media. It is sad that Nigeria pretends to move forward without any attempt at burying the ghosts of the past, while making the same mistakes over and over, enabling some Nigerians to ensure that the so called giant of Africa remains a perpetual Lilliput. Taking one step forward only when it had made plans to the effect that ten steps backwards was mutually assured, only to their own benefit, as well as their acquaintances.


I believe that Nigeria cannot make progress in the forward direction if our history isn't truthfully addressed and told. This is not a nation, it is a country of nations, or nationalities if you like, and it is built on a lie. Our founding fathers weren't the saints that they are officially made out to be, or else their ouster in the January 1966 coup wouldn't have been widely celebrated and greeted with wild jubilation and ululation in the nooks and cranny of Nigeria back then. They laid the foundation of  corruption mixed with tribalism and nepotism, amongst many other ills, that is strangling us as a nation today. The coupists were idealists but failed to convince Nigerians that they had no sectional agenda, in sparing Igbo politicians and soldiers, and officers of the eastern Nigerian extraction, a few of which were conveniently outside the country as at the time of the coup, or were simply not found in their usual and unusual locations when the coupists struck. Some were even seen to be chatting with some camaraderie with the those meant to "neutralize" them, as they crossed paths on some bridge.


General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, having successfully quelled a supposedly Igbo coup, been an Igbo officer, erred in not immediately restoring power back to the politicians regardless of their sins, rather he accepted to rule Nigeria. I saw a few of his interviews on YouTube and he didn't even strike me as one who recognized the import the weight of ruling Nigeria means. He was largely aloof. He also dilly dallied on the fate of the coupists whose ringleaders were five majors, four of which were Igbo like him, and a Yoruba from Nigeria's Southwest. The unitary system of  government that he had decreed  (Decree 34, which amongst others abolished the regions, which were three at independence, and four at the time, in favor of provinces) into being, which he embarked on a journey across Nigeria to sell (and from which he never returned alive) has remained an albatross for us. The northern Nigerian elite who rejected it at the time because they felt it was a ploy to keep and foster the Igbo over and above the other ethnic groups in the civil service and elsewhere, have over the years after the revenge coup of July, 1966 become the greatest beneficiary of the system. And though Nigeria today lies that it's a federation it has remained a unitary state, where once the center coughs the states catch cold. We had simply exchanged external colonizers for internal colonizers, all thanks to the military's foray into politics, after coups and counter-coups, and in the democratic dispensation after elections, dressed in civilian garb.


The 1999 constitution (as amended) handed over to us by the military (like many others before it) has made any attempt at changing the status quo democratically, impossible. No constitutional conference or the likes held severally over the years have been trusted enough by governments and succeeding governments, as well as contending ethno-religio-social groupings across Nigeria, as documents viable enough to change things. It is become obvious that the change mantra that ushered in the new incumbent government isn't worth the paper on which it was written. The hue and cry now is about RESTRUCTURING, yet none of the advocates mentioned anything about July 29th,1966 yesterday at public fora or the likes, seeing that any restructuring that needs to be done must recognize that it was on that date that an opportunity to truly restructure things despite the needless bloodshed that followed (for days on end, of Igbo folk nationwide, save in the east) was missed, rather the "revenge coup" by soldiers of northern Nigerian extraction like vampires thirsted insatiably for Igbo blood, and encouraged the civil populace in the north to do likewise, if not worse, then went ahead to embrace the unitary system, adding to it other lingua such as federal character, quota system, rotation, etc over the years that have perpetuated mediocrity and nepotism over merit in our public, even private spaces nationwide.


Twas yesterday, fifty years ago that some Nigerians corrected a supposed wrong with another wrong, and today we reap the fruits thereof, and even worse set ourselves on the pedestal to continue taking such sour grapes by not recognizing that day fifty years ago, when Nigeria lost its soul and humanity. Many will say that the war after the event of that day whetted appetites and we emerged stronger from it, but that's also yet another lie, because the truth is that Nigeria as presently constituted is tearing up at its seams and the center can no longer

NIGERIA

hold. We have failed to tell the truth about our past, therefore a truthful foundation for the future based on mutual trust cannot be laid, or built upon. There's no stopping this groping in the dark for a long time to come, not even the anti-corruption fight by President Muhammadu Buhari will change anything, even that as sectional as it continues to play out is just treating the symptom and not the disease, for Nigeria is sick!


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- GEORGE A'S GALLERY

AS MUSLIM FANATICS MOWS DOWN EUNICE ELISHA IN ABUJA

I couldn't keep this bottled up any longer. Just this last Saturday a female preacher, and I hear assistant pastor of one of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG parish in Abuja, by name Eunice Elisha was murdered while doing her usual early morning preaching near her abode. This just a few weeks after a septuagenarian Christian woman (also a pastor's wife) from the southeast was murdered for blasphemy in Kano, followed by the escape from death by the whiskers of a young man in Kaduna for eating during the "Holy" month of Ramadan, even though he isn't a Muslim, and before all of that, the beheading of another Christian man in Niger State for blasphemy, which only came to light after the Kano story, meaning that there are many of such stories of religious intolerance in the north, that hardly comes to light, until one in a major city occurs and people begin to recount experiences in other places.

THE LATE EUNICE ELISHA, WITH HER HEAD RESTED ATOP HER BIBLE, AND MEGAPHONE ON THE SIDE, IN A POOL OF HER BLOOD AFTER HER MURDER BY SUSPECTED MUSLIM FANATICS IN NIGERIA'S CAPITAL, ABUJA.

And as usual, the police have swooped in to arrest the so called perpetrators of the act. An imam whom we are told asked some boys to "chase" the woman away, but apparently ended up killing her. These suspects supposedly now in police custody weren't named, just like those arrested in the case in Kano and Kaduna. Though unlike in the past where culprits in the killings of non-Muslims in the north were simply described as a mob and never arrested (with one henchman in a notable case, rising to hold  governmental position at one time, and even went on to become a powerful emir), there are now arrests made.


Unfortunately, beyond that nothing else seem to happen by way of bringing perpetrators to book following these gruesome killings. Not even the visit of the wife of the Vice President to the widower in this case is sure to change the status quo. No date will be set in court, no human Rights activists pressuring government, even the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN besides issuing a terse statement will go to sleep, and the Muslim ummah? I even read Facebook comments of Muslims who claimed Eunice was intolerant of Muslims in trying to convert them to  Christianity by preaching daily early in the morning in that vicinity, hence an infidel like her deserved to die the way she did. As usual I have only read of just one moderate Muslim on Facebook who condemned the dastardly act, while the Muslim umbrella bodies, as well as a government many suspect of harboring plans to islamize Nigeria have yet to release a  statement, even when the murder happened at its doorstep. If you thought that was because just a single human being was involved, then what would you say about the genocidal killings in Benue State (as recent as last week in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas of the state with more than eighty dead), and other states in view of Fulani cattle and herdsmen, which the President Buhari-led federal government is yet to react to, amongst several, but quick to send condolences to Saudi Arabia over the suicide attacks in Medina last week, even appealing to warring factions in South Sudan to let peace reign while ignoring the smoldering embers in his backyard.


You know, some years back it was norm to find Muslims in northern Nigeria copy what Muslims in places like Pakistan and other places where Islam is fanatically practiced do. So, if there was a protest in such places over cartoons depicting the prophet in a supposedly "untoward" manner, or against Israel or America, fanatics in Nigeria's North take to the streets in solidarity, sometimes going to the extent of maiming and killing their Christian neighbors, even when the matter at hand has no immediate bearing on them. This copycat syndrome is what I think is at play now, as killings of non-Muslims in the north by radical Muslims reads like a newspaper cutting from anywhere in Pakistan, Bangladesh or the likes. These killings in Bangladesh for a long time had no one claiming responsibility for them, until recently when the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS began not just to take responsibility, but to expand recruitment in that country.


That is why this particular copycat situation is a very unfortunate one for Nigeria, because though the military may on the one hand be celebrating the success it has so far recorded against Boko Haram in Nigeria's northeast, there's no guarantee that a greater than Boko Haram isn't far away from us, as the conditions which bred Maitatsine before the Bokosites remains raw and quite alive in the north, and the  lackadaisical reaction of the federal and state governments to them, coupled with the conspiracy of silence of the state owned media outlets (like the Nigerian Television  Authority, NTA that was tweeted about the Dallas Shooting of police officers two hours after it occurred, while the killings in Benue of inhabitants by Fulani Herdsmen is yet to be considered newsworthy several days after), as well as some privately owned news media organization, and citizens conspire to ensure that the cycle of radical Islamic groups continue to dog this artificial contraption that we like to call Nigeria.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.nigerianmonitor.com

OF AFRICAN PRESIDENTS AND FOREIGN MEDICAL TRIPS

It is in the Season 6, Episode 3 of the Fox Series House, titled THE TYRANT, where  President Dibala of a fictitious African country, played by James Earl Jones fell ill while in the United States to attend the United Nation's General Assembly, and one of the doctors having developed some conscience (after been made aware of the acts of genocide perpetrated by the ailing president back in his country in Africa), puts same over and above that of saving the life of the president, to compromise the treatment plan, such that the president later dies due to wrong treatment been administered on him by the medical team attending to him, and on the plus side ensuring that moderates get into power in the African country to hopefully turn things around for good.

JAMES EARL JONES AS PRESIDENT DIBALA IN HOUSE SEASON 6, EPISODE 3 TITLED: THE TYRANT

Seeing this episode, took my mind back to the many cases of African leaders, despots and none, who had died abroad while receiving treatments which they considered their own people incapable or the hospitals in their countries ill equipped to manage, and if there wasn't the possibility that what happened in the House (MD) series couldn't have happened in any of the cases. Yes, much of what we see on TV is fiction, but couldn't there be some element of truth and reality in them? If somehow, the tightly held secrets that's the ailments of some of these presidents on treatment abroad manage to still get leaked to the people back home, how can we be sure that their treatment as well isn't compromised?


I hope African presidents will watch this particular episode of House, and begin to do right by their people in their countries as regards health. If a President Muhammadu Buhari after allocating to the State House clinic in Aso Rock multiples of the amount budgeted for all the Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria put together, but yet flies to the United Kingdom to treat an Ear Infection, what hope is there for the common Nigerian who depends on underfunded teaching hospitals and those below it when they have life threatening diseases? Will these presidents for the sake of avoiding the fate of the fictitious President Dibala in House, not begin to tinker with the idea of turning the present situation of the health sectors in their countries for good, if not for anything but for their own safety?


As President Buhari returns today, I wish he will ensure this be the last time he and his ministers (three of whom are also abroad for treatment) will waste scarce resources going abroad for treatment, and make it priority to build capacities of Nigerians in the health sector as well as health infrastructure to meet the health needs of the teeming population of Nigerians, rather than the embarrassment they cause the country with their frequent visits to hospitals abroad to treat even the slightest discomfort to their physical well being.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.house.wikia.com

AS TERRORISM VISITS ORLANDO

After it became public that it was a Muslim that shot, killed fifty and wounded fifty-three at a gay club in Orlando in the United States, in what's now known to be the worst terrorist act in the States since 9/11, coupled with the fact that the suspect, American born Omar Saddiqui Mateen had called 911 pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, the narrative has once again turned to Islamic Fundamentalism, as it is wont to, save for the fact that in recent times the frequency has become a source of concern for many watchers of world events. I decided not to let this pass without dropping a word or two, when something gnawed at my innards as I read the chat shared between a victim (of the gay club shooting incident) and his mother, as the event unfolded.

PULSE NITECLUB WHERE THE LATEST SHOOTING HAPPENED IN ORLANDO

President Barack Obama aptly put it when he said the act involved "terrorism" as well as "hate", and if I might add "intolerance", a recurring decimal as we've found in Nigeria in recent days in the killing of a septuagenarian in Kano for blasphemy, a man in Niger State for same, another man in Kaduna who barely escaped with his life, for eating during Islam's holy month of Ramadan, even though he is Christian, amongst many others. Then you think of the killing of bloggers in Bangladesh, with extremists there looking to outdo Pakistan in extent of terror they can unleash on those with whom they disagree on religious basis mainly. At a time a state, an ally of the United States from where Wahabism was born, detains a blogger, which it routinely flogs in public, besides doing everything terrorist groups and Islamic religious extremists and fanatics do to people in areas under their control legitimately, it is hard to see how international terrorism will abate without a change in how things are done in Saudi Arabia.


The sad thing for me however is unlike an Obama who rallied Americans against the terrorists, warning that an attack against one American is an attack against all Americans, Nigeria's president couldn't care less about people killed by Fulani herdsmen, his kinsmen, and would be quick to urge people to respect the religion of others after an old woman was killed on trumped up charges of blasphemy in Nigeria's north, by people who share the same religious beliefs as his, probably acting up vigorously now that he's in power, which he rode onto on the premise (not necessarily by the president, but his campaign team mainly in the north) of elevating Islam to state religion. Interestingly, some so called "moderate" Muslims think it was wrong for the mob to have killed the woman, when she could've been charged to court, and I ask which court? Could she have been taken to a Shari'a court as a non-Muslim? Is blasphemy a crime under Nigeria's constitution? When I hear so called moderates talk like this I find it hard to fault Mosab Hassan Yousef's assertion in his "SON OF HAMAS" where he said "A moderate Muslim is actually more dangerous than a fundamentalist, however, because he appears to be harmless and you can never tell when he has taken that next step toward the top."


It was after the incident in Kaduna, that a friend wrote on Facebook, that he decided not to eat groceries he bought at the market while there, to avoid unnecessary brouhaha from fasting Muslims, though not necessarily because if push comes to shove he couldn't defend himself, but then it brings me to the question of what Muslims actually want. You can't have a church or synagogue in Saudi Arabia or in Muslim majority regions the world over, yet Saudis and Muslims in the west will fight the state hands down for a mosque to pray, spill over into the streets and block traffic like they do in Nigeria, shutting down  economic activity on the affected road even in places where they are the minority. I feel now, that there's nothing that can be done from the outside to change the growing radicalism in Islam. The target for change definitely can't even be ISIS and those aligned to them in thought, word and deed. Even the opportunity with moderates may also have been lost, but they remain the only hope over Muslims who are just so in name only. It is their voice of condemnation of these acts of intolerance that we must constantly hear over the din of the fanatics, in updates on Facebook, in tweets on Twitter, on social media and several other media at their disposal, rather than the disappearing act we observe with them after incidents like that in Orlando, or elsewhere in the world. The narrative about Islam has gotta stop being about, and associated with terror and terrorism, or else they shouldn't blame passengers when they ask a bus conductor to return their fares just because a bearded man, with trousers defying gravity joined them on the bus.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.CNN.com

KANO, THE RELIGIOUS INTOLERANT STATE

I could never have imagined that Boko Haram will be a thing associated with Borno State, until it happened. Even when it happened, somehow I felt Kano State must have something to do with it. Yet, when the few attacks in Kano occurred it was still apparent that the headquarters of the  fundamentalist Islamic group was in Borno State, which has a sizeable Christian population. I cannot now say that I was somewhat disappointed in the fact that Kano wasn't somehow linked with Boko Haram, seeing that it had once hosted something of the likes in the name of Maitatsine group in the 1980s.


Besides that, Kano has never shed its notoriety for religious intolerance, and the beheading of a woman from eastern Nigeria on Thursday evening, for blasphemy with her husband barely escaping with his life could be said to be one in a litany of shameful religious intolerant behaviors associated with the northern part of Nigeria generally, and Kano in particular.

MOB PARADING WITH THE HEAD OF THEIR VICTIM

Interestingly, when the former Central Bank governor became the Emir of Kano, I had very little hopes that much will change in that direction, knowing that he was some kind of a zealot when it comes to religious matters, and to now have to be the face of it in Kano, and the second in rank for same in Nigeria. I felt it would further embolden extremists and fanatics in the region, most especially in Kano, and recent events there before this one have done nothing to assuage my fears.


Unfortunately, as with beheadings in the past in Nigeria's north, of mainly Southern Nigerian, Christian victims of both sexes, this will definitely not be probed, with the perpetrators brought to justice, despite the rantings of the Nigerian police, even though ensuring justice is done has the power to at least nip such activities in the bud. It is even more unfortunate, that prominent Muslim personalities and groups have yet to speak up in condemnation of the act of persons purporting to be acting on behalf of them and their religion (of peace).


This is why, when many people say that they are lauding the present government under President Muhammadu Buhari for downgrading the ability of Boko Haram to continue attacking the Nigerian state, I don't rejoice, because the environment that breeds such groups in the north of Nigeria still exists, and enjoys support both at the state and national/federal levels. Therefore, even if the deadly group is defeated now, another is sure to come in its own name to continue where it's predecessors have stopped.


It is no wonder Nigeria can not know peace, with so much injustice in the air, and blood of innocents rising to the highest heavens. It is no surprise why the insular North, especially in the areas of religious fervency and intolerance remain challenged in terms of development, as no sane foreign investor will consider a location competing with the tribal areas of  Afghanistan and Pakistan ideal for serious investment. If only the federal and the Kano state governments, could insist that the Nigerian police should go beyond rhetorics to do it's job, to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book, and the religious and traditional rulers of the north, work towards eradicating the penchant of mobs to lynch people accused of blasphemy, then maybe we may begin to see some change for the better. For now it's nothing but gloom.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- https://mobile.facebook.com/photo.php

A SECTIONAL BUHARI AND A DIVIDED NIGERIA

I have been saddened since President  Muhammadu Buhari made his Democracy Day speech last Sunday, the 29th of May. I had felt that I was the only one who noticed that he made no mention of Fulani Herdsmen amongst groups he declared security threats to the nation, despite the fact that the group, his kinsmen may have killed more people, who hadn't the opportunity to fight back, than the official enemy of the state with whom his government now seem set to dialogue, the fundamentalist Islamic group, Boko Haram.


Interestingly, the next day security forces clashed with unarmed pro-Biafra activists during a peaceful protest in Asaba, Onitsha and Nkpor, amongst several locations in the southeast, where according to the latest report forty of the protesters are said to have died, while two policemen lost their lives, in what seems to have become a recurring decimal each time protests like this takes place in the East of Nigeria. In fact, during an interview,  which President Buhari granted Al-Jazeera months back, he refused to watch footage of security operatives swooping in on unarmed pro-Biafra activists during a prayer session, in an open field and shooting some of them in cold blood.

UNARMED PRO-BIAFRA ACTIVISTS HOLDING A PEACEFUL PROTEST BEFORE THINGS WENT AWRY 

It pained me to note that a President of a multiethnic nation like Nigeria could be so sectional to ignore in that speech, the genocidal activity of his Fulani kinsmen,  to focus on groups especially in the South by whose hands no life has yet been lost, and who after much criticisms for his silence over the continued menace of his kinsmen on the lives and livelihood of other Nigerians, simply claimed that the marauding Fulani were none other than strangers from Libya, despite mounting evidence in text and video that these were armed Fulani militia from Nigeria, ranked fourth on the global index of terrorist groups, whose activities aren't even covert but carried out with impunity, sometimes with the security agencies conveniently staying out of their way when and while they strike.


It is therefore with much sadness that I heard the Inspector General of Police, instructing his men to disarm unarmed pro-Biafra activists and protesters while he has never said anything close to that concerning Fulani Herdsmen who have replaced bows and arrows and sticks with AK-47's. The only group besides security forces, armed robbers and terrorists who travel with such light weapons, discharging bullets with reckless abandon, when simple citizens could spend the night or more (to be bailed only after parting with huge sums of money, and physical and mental torture) in the police cell for having a pen knife in their person during the usual illegal police "stop and search".


To compound my sadness, is the deafening silence amongst so called Igbo  leaders, political or not, who haven't deemed it fit to confront the government for the wanton killings of their own for engaging in what is seen to be very legal in democracies worldwide, even going to the extent of calling their own hoodlums, at a time accused terrorists are been released in droves on the instance or prodding of the northern political, traditional and religious oligarchy. Even a former governor and now senator Kwankwaso from Kano came to Lagos to bail out Hausa youths arrested for complicity in the recent clashes between the Yoruba and Hausa in the Mile 12 Area of Lagos. It had to take an Ekiti governor,  Ayo Fayose from the Southwest to stand with the Igbo youth for daring to mark the anniversary of the day in 1967 when the Late Dim Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, then a colonel, declared the Sovereign State of Biafra, separate from Nigeria, to which Nigeria responded with a war of attrition for three years, after the Igbo safety couldn't be guaranteed any longer within the geographical space called Nigeria, a situation that seems not to have changed much,  not just in the North where many of them reside, but now even in their own land.


Nigeria may have survived the prophecy that it was doomed for disintegration in 2015, but it doesn't mean that it can't still happen in the immediate or remote future, especially with a sectional president who feels that the so called oneness of Nigeria is non-negotiable, and would die rather than see the day, than submit like former Vice President Abubakar Atiku did at a book launch recently on the subject of Biafra, that Nigeria needs to be restructured such that the constituent parts can have a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, President Buhari has chosen to waste this golden opportunity to become a statesman, even stating that the document from what is viewed by some, as a flawed National Conference held while former President Goodluck Jonathan was in power isn't worth even as much as a skimming through for some of its merits. Of course, with that attitude, it isn't surprising that vistas of hotspots are opening up in different places all over Nigeria with each passing day, chief of which is the Niger Delta Avengers who have managed to half Nigeria's crude oil production capacity with their precision attacks on oil drilling platforms and pipelines, while the economy seems to be trying to drill into the earth's core at the rate at which it's falling, just months after he came into power, and Nigeria's economy was adjudged the biggest and fastest growing in Africa, and third in the world. He forgets easily, that the trouble we brew today, we drink tomorrow!


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.nigerianeye.com

I'M THE MAN

I spent much of yesterday watching the remix of 50 Cents' "I'M THE MAN" featuring the very talented Chris Brown, 'pon the replay on YouTube (https://youtu.be/ZB7Xjd34pjo). Even as I write this, it plays in the background in my ears. This is like the best I've gotten out of this duo together, most likely my first collabo from them if memory serves me right, unfortunately it had to be of a song that would make feminist the world over whimper with righteous anger. The male masochism isn't just evident in the lyrics, but even in the video.


The four females or video vixens as they call 'em these days in the video, did nothing but waltz lazily in the pool and bedroom, moving sensually and seductively, when not smoking shisha, or e-cigarettes, they are semi-nude and saying zilch (not even the usual dancing or twerking allowed them)", while the "MEN" (Fi'ty and Chris) fully clothed, non-smoking nor drinking, serenade them and us with lyrics about what art they could sculpt with female bodies in ways that couldn't even be directed at inanimates, such as property we own, just to show us how "manly" they both are.


Even in the hook (which in fact is the closest attempt both made at keeping the song "clean", repeated resoundingly thrice, so you don't miss anything) we aren't spared the inanities, they both croon -
       "Bitch, I'm the Man,
         Hoe, I'm the Man,
         You know I'm the Man...."
And you wouldn't but agree with me that this particular song is the anthem in waiting for acceptance by sexists.

CHRIS BROWN AND 50 CENTS IN "I'M THE MAN"

Interestingly, Chris Brown did something similar with 50 Cents' arch nemesis, Rick Ross in "SORRY", almost making me think both artistes, who have no love lost for each other, intended through their songs featuring Chris,  to prove to male folk their "manliness" (though not unusual in their hip-hop and rap music world), in how far they can go to degrade women, in order to win over to their sides the core of their misogynist audience, who see nothing in women besides bed warmers or at best a play things or sex toys. I couldn't help but imagine that in carrying out their mission, they employed one of the best male voices in the industry, with a history of battery (well, against Rihanna mainly), who was supported by male industry peeps from going under when the world turned on him (besides the fact that no one with a gift as he possesses can simply go under just like that).


Now, you may want to ask why the same song has been 'pon the replay in my ears since I stumbled upon it yesterday, and why before that "Sorry" had been for weeks on end? It's because of the great beats, even the word play is head shattering, hence difficult for me to ignore. If only gospel music could sound like that, but unfortunately this is how things are, and I've heard it said severally that Lucifer was a great musician while in heaven, and if he's at the heart of the great secular music been churned out these days, then it is hardly surprising what we get, as well as the effect these songs are having on impressionable tabula rasa minds, and by extension in relationships with the opposite sex.


It doesn't even look like this song is going to get the kinda negative publicity that greeted Rick Ross' "molly..." verse in U.O.E.N.O., that appeared to condone rape, which almost cost him a Reebok endorsement, and kept that version of the song by Rocko off some airwaves for sometime. Feminists the world over should probably shudder at this but would probably be too overcome by the silky sound to give a Damn about raising their voice against it (one amongst just so many for that matter), but what do I know? Okay, that's it! My thoughts out there for you, about how I feel about this great slow, rap and R&B song blasting my ear drums away right now, as I make my way through Lagos traffic to work. Do have yourself a fun filled day y'all.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.magugudi.com

NIGERIA, AND THE CASE FOR A SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Nigeria can never be a nation until the constituent parts resolve the conditions under which the units can coexist as an indivisible entity. Several attempts made in the past through constitutional and/or national conferences fell short of achieving the desired goals because of the exclusion of germane and very fundamental aspects considered to be "no-go areas",  as well as insincerity on the part of the conveners, amongst a myriad of other factors.


The system that currently subsists breeds and perpetuates only mutual suspicion, and is at the root of everything that is wrong with this country, including corruption. I singled out corruption because this government's attempt to nip it in the bud, though commendable despite its one-sided outlook, is just like treating the symptom rather than the disease.


Unfortunately, the much touted change by this President Buhari's government, has ended up being much of the same, as after getting into power, the government appeared to have found that the path to nationhood is Herculean (though not necessarily unattainable), thinking only to make do with the system they met on ground, rather than employ a more radical and holistic approach in tackling the challenges of nationhood and nation building.


I understand the fears expressed in certain quarters, that a Sovereign National Conference without "No-Go Areas" can birth a situation where delegates may propose a split of the country into it's constituent parts, and the possibility is high especially if one considers the "self determination" struggles in the Southeast region, which has once before gone to war to press for same, or the now resuscitated restiveness in the South-South region with militant groups on the prowl, of which one of the demands of the group championing the present attacks on Nigeria's major source of revenue been a National Conference along the lines many Nigerians have been advocating, a clear departure from the agitations of the past, which was "resource control".

WHAT A NIGERIAN CONFEDERACY MAY LOOK LIKE

But if people of a country do not want to be part of it, why shouldn't their demand be acceded to, especially if there are democratic means by which such sentiments can be gauged for level of acceptance? South Sudan did it, even in the United Kingdom, Scotland tested the popularity of their independence campaign but lost, so why should Nigeria continue to shut the door to such a proposal, while inundating the ears of the comity of nations with such sad and unfortunate news that continue to point to the fact only, that the people would rather not smell the scent of those of a different tribe or religion if they can help it, expressing that desire in the most violent of ways at every given opportunity.


It is why any so called change that doesn't factor the reorganization of the entity called Nigeria, with the implementation of recommendations from a tete-a-tete of the nations that make it up is NO CHANGE, but a perpetuation of same old ideas that has brought us to the unenviable position we are today. If only we could find that bold and charismatic leader, with a party that believes in same objectives that will find the political will (or just manage to pull the majority of the Nigerian people in that regard in making that superior argument), to take this bull by the horn, to do the necessary that's needed to turn Nigeria in the path it should take to attain a federal, or Confederacy status, or even a split into it's major parts, as it is apparent that this pseudo-federal, unitary system cannot yield any good beyond the bit that it has so far afforded, while the fragile attachments continue to loosen further by the day.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.chatafrik.com

R.I.P PRINCE & PAPA WEMBA

I think myself an eclectic because I listen to and enjoy all kinds of music, many times without understanding what's been said or sung about. Sometimes I purposely don't rush to learn the lyrics of songs or rap music in English, because I fear I might lose interest in the song, especially when the song is still "pon da replay".


When I learnt about the death of "Prince" I wasn't devastated. I doubt I had heard any of his songs recently, but I felt bad that he had to go still so young with what many consider enough time to continue to churn out the kinda music that made him peculiar. Back in the day, Prince' music was thrown at me by the TV and radio without much I could have done about it. Eventually, his music grew on me as long as I saw or heard it before I began to have much of a choice about what I heard or saw, with my TV and Radio, and my remote control, and began to hear and see less and less of Prince, not because I didn't enjoy his music while it lasted, but because most of the time I was confused about him, what he tried to say, how he tried to say it, and how he expressed himself.

PRINCE WITH ONE OF HIS GUITARS

Much later, I guess on discovering he was black (after seeing him as white in our Black & White TV many time as a kid), and didn't look it, also began to affect how I felt about him, though Michael Jackson who was also black and looked whiter than Caucasians was never diminished before me. Also, it was such that each time I saw a Prince video, I was easily distracted by the shape of his guitar, or the feminine way he went about gesticulating while singing, as well as all of the lights, that before I had the chance to pick the lyrics the music was over. That honestly, was how it had been between me and Prince before I took control of TV and Radio, saw and heard less of him, except for a few times in recent years and then last week when he died.


It was different between me and Papa Wemba, who also came to my consciousness about the time Prince was riding the waves. In his case however, I continued to see and hear him after I had my remote control. It didn't matter that I understood no word he spoke in French or the local Congolese language he often used in his Makosa. Somehow I felt I got the message he was passing in his songs in that very peculiar soprano of his, even when I had no idea what he was singing about, like in my best of his, "YOLELE". It was a great relief for me when he did a collaboration with another artiste in English, unfortunately the song didn't resonate with me as did the ones in lingua I didn't understand.

PAPA WEMBA DURING A SONOROUS RENDITION

His death late last week didn't shock me, but I felt bad, just as with Prince'. Apparently, both of them left right in the middle of doing what they loved most. Prince found dead at an elevator, days just right after a tour promoting his latest work, and Papa Wemba after he collapsed while performing at a show in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan. Both weren't retired from their careers when the grim reaper visited, rather they left while in very active service, associated with what both have always been known with and for. I definitely may not miss them as much as those close to them, but having played some roles in my formative years musically, I will notice their absence, especially their peculiarity, especially in an age where almost every singer sounds the same, killing the very essence of music.


May the souls of Prince, and Papa Wemba Rest In Peace, and their works Live Forever!


'kovich


PICTURE CREDITS:
- http://www.laineygossip.com
- http://www.thecitizen.co.tz

FULANI HERDSMEN AND THE SACRED COWS

President Muhammadu Buhari's media aide Femi Adeshina is once again defending the indefensible. What has become very obvious despite several attempts at masking it is that the President cannot help being less sectional in his utterances and dealings with Nigerians. You can see it in the way he has rushed to warn pipeline vandals (as with Niger Delta militants and pro-Biafra groups) to stop their activities or else he'll deal with them like he's done with Boko Haram, yet no such statement issued against Fulani herdsmen, who are his kinsmen.


The most he's done, according toMr.  Femi is release a statement or something of the like regarding what happened in Agatu, in Benue State, which isn't even a warning to the marauding Fulani, who carried out something akin to genocide there, and even in Taraba, amongst other communities in Nigeria where the murderous activities of the group (known to be the fourth most dangerous militia in the world) have continued unabated with impunity, with no single herdsman punished even when there are people that can be held for been privy to such activities, if not active participants.


Now a bill to set up a grazing commission is before the National Assembly, at a time the presidency has promised to bring an end to constant clashes between (Fulani) herdsmen and farmers across the country, which in itself is a farce considering that most times the casualty levels (which is more on the side of the farmers and inhabitants of the host communities, than the herdsmen, who many times record no casualties) is disproportionate, unlike what you will find in a true clash between two groups like that between Hausas and Yorubas in the Mile 12 area of Lagos recently.

 FULANI HERDSMEN WERE KNOWN TO BE ARMED IN THE PAST WITH BOW AND ARROWS TILL RECENTLY WHEN THEY STARTED STARTED MOVING AROUND WITH AK-47'S

If it is this controversial bill before the National Assembly, which will empower a commission to takeover just about any land, anywhere in Nigeria for grazing purposes in contradiction to the dictates of the Land Use Act, as well as extant laws of the different states, and traditional means of land ownership in the different areas, is what the federal government is looking at as the possible solution to the massacring of innocent Nigerians who couldn't stand aside to allow their lands to be ravaged by cattle led by armed Fulani herdsmen, then even that is dead on arrival owing to the opposition that is currently mounting against the bill within and without the National Assembly.


While I would also love for a solution to be found to the growing menace these herdsmen pose to Nigeria's sovereignty, it is pertinent that justice and rehabilitation be accorded the victims and survivors of Fulani herdsmen attacks, as there can be no peace without justice. The body language of President Buhari seem averse to this, as well as that of the security agencies which over time have not only watched helplessly as these herdsmen wreaked havoc on the localities they fell on, but even said to overtly provided logistics to the marauders, and as if to rub salt on injury as with the case in Enugu, arrested farmers while protesting the wanton destruction of their means of livelihood by the Fulani herdsmen, not to talk of the recent statement credited to the DSS in regard of the discovery of shallow graves in a forest in Imo State of five Hausa-Fulanis who were allegedly killed by pro-Biafra activists, when that agency had never spoken up about Fulani killings.


The killings, if true of the Fulani by so called elements of pro-Biafra groups (or any other group for that matter) is wrong, so also is the statement by the DSS that is capable of aggravating the tension in the polity, especially after keeping mute on Fulani herdsmen atrocities for eons on end, which only feeds into the conspiracy theory of an agenda by the Fulani to expand their territory even to the Atlantic, and have seen no better opportunity than now that one of their own is in power, as well as having the instruments of coercion also either in their hands or those of loyal stooges. Therefore, it behooves on government to act in a way to allay these concerns speedily before aggrieved groups organize themselves in a way to prove to all that no particular group in Nigeria has the monopoly of resorting to violence to settle grievances, by exploring solutions that will not leave any side disadvantaged, or else whatever peace that will come out of the so called solution will be short-lived.


'kovich


READ ALSO: FULANI HERDSMEN: RANCHING OR NOMADISM, PEACE OR WAR | https://madukovich.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/fulani-herdsmen-ranching-or-nomadism-peace-or-war/


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.nigeriannewsdirect.com