Nollywood, Nolly What?” is the title of Eddie Iroh’s surprise rhetoric of Monday, May 25, 2009 on the back page of THISDAY. As a former Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and a writer, one expected Iroh’s critique of Nollywood to be pungent but professional. Sadly and with due respect, Iroh chose, albeit unwittingly, to elevate himself to the chair of the club of quasi-literary figures, armchair critics whose criticisms of Nollywood can, at best, be described as poetics of pseudo tradition. In concise terms, Iroh’s piece offers decidedly a mixed bag of campy humour and the hilarious tone of a farcical comedy as it lacks knowledge of the tempo of motion picture development around the world and specifically the colour and culture of Nollywood.But let us even begin with the curious premise upon which Iroh’s stinging hypothesis is based. This is the failure of Nollywood films to win major awards at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMMA) which held early this year in Yenagoa, Bayelse State, Nigeria. For this author of 27 years, this failure shows that Nollywood is an amateur video enterprise and not a film industry, a triumph of quality over quantity (for those African countries whose films won), and a victory of creativity over commerce.The question that even an undiscerning mind would easily ask is this; must Nollywood films win major awards every year? Wouldn’t that turn AMAA into a Nigerian thing? Nollywood films have dominated the awards in the last four years, winning all the awards in the main categories. Wouldn’t it then look suspicious, even manipulative, if AMAA inspired and produced by Nigerians, is dominated year in, year-out by Nigerian films?May be we need to ask Iroh whether Hollywood has also failed woefully simply because Slum Dog Millionaire, a film produced in India and acted by an all Indian cast, won all the major awards at the Oscars this year.Let us even bring the subject closer to Iroh. Professor Wole Soyinka, our renowned writer, has been writing since the late 1950s. Today he has the Nobel Prize for Literature as a worthy reward for excellence. Ben Okri with The Famished Road won the Booker prize. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who started writing only “yesterday”, also won a major international award, the Orange prize for fiction with her novel Half of a Yellow Sun.However, Iroh, whose first work was published in 1981, is yet to win any major prize, not even the local Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) award. Among his many obscure books, only Toads of War, has succeeded in being a literature text in a second generation university. Does this then make Iroh’s books amateurish? Better still, does that make them an abysmal creative disaster?Again, I dare to say with respect that Iroh exhibited a profound lack of knowledge of trends in motion picture development internationally. To begin with, even Hollywood is at present shifting towards digital video production, eager to dump the cumbersome celluloid tradition. Eminent directors/producers that include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and George Lucas among many others have produced movies on digital videos.Besides, Nollywood does not have to graduate into celluloid culture as Iroh envisioned. The truth is that Nollywood movies are what we call FUBU; produced FOR US BY US. It is the first time that we are telling our story in our own way, by our own practitioners through our own medium and ecstatically embraced and accepted by our people. Nollywood may not have told the stories the best way possible, but it is better for us to tell our story, even if poorly, than for outsiders to tell us our story the wrong way.Iroh would want Nigerians and the world to believe that Nollywood is for idle minds, yet on November 7, 2007, far away in the United States, Hollywood’s own home, eminent professors in Humanity, Film and Theatre first class scholars, professors of Anthropology and Psychology under the auspices of the Global Media Research Centre gathered at the Southern Illinois University to dissect the mystery called Nollywood. Some of the pioneer practitioners of the industry that included Joke Silva, Francis Onwochei and Madu Chukwendu sat for hours at this elite rendezvous to answer questions on the emergence and phenomenal growth of Nollywood. Yet for Iroh, Nollywood deserves no credit of any kind.Iroh rightly observed that Nollywood movies “came at a time of cultural famine, when there were no cinemas, no theatres and very little avenues for creative outlet and enjoyment”. This statement, to say the least, is a creative castration of Iroh’s own generation to which belongs Ola Balogun and Eddy Ugbomah that he mentioned. If that generation lived up to its creative calling, would there have been that entertainment lacuna, the “creative famine” that Nollywood sprang to fill? If Eddie Iroh’s generation are the immortals of our film industry, how is it that some of them ended up as quasi-musicians entertaining less than quality audience in scanty restaurants scattered all over Lagos.He consigned Nollywood actors and directors without exception into the trash bowl of amateurs. Yet Nollywood parades men such as Olu Jacobs, who has starred and played major roles in Hollywood films that include Slave and Dogs of War; Lari Williams, one of the first blacks to perform at West End; Tosan Ugbeye, who has performed at Broadway, US and in several of Soyinka’s plays at home and abroad; Joke Silva, a veteran of both stage, television and film. Still Nollywood parades other thoroughbred professionals that include Tade Ogidan, Francis Onwochei, Kingsley Ogoro, Chico Ejiro, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Stella Damasus, Kate Henshaw, Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Zeb Ejiro, Amaka Igwe, Charles Igwe, Mahmond Ali-Balogun and Lancelot Imasuen among others. Unknown to Iroh, most of these people trained in Theatre Arts, Film, Cinematography and Dramatic Arts in some of the best institutions both in Nigeria and abroad, some having both local and international awards for their roles in Nollywood. Some of these people have travelled across the entire five continents of this planet, on invitation to give lectures, attend seminars and workshops on the astounding subject called Nollywood.This much castigated Nollywood has produced stars, who have become matinee-idols in other African countries. In 2007, over 2000 fans stood for hours at the airport in Free Town, Sierra-Leone to catch a glimpse of Genevieve Nnaji and ran after her convoy over a stretch of 10 kilometres. In the same manner, over 20,000 fans gathered at the stadium in Free Town just to see the little men - Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze - popularly known as Aki and Paw-Paw.At the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria, in early 2008, Justices of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court that came for a conference from East Africa practically abandoned their breakfast tables when they saw two Nollywood stars. They confessed that their people are almost addicted to Nollywood films. Yet some discerning writer would not see anything good in Nollywood except “shallow storylines, poor scripting, one-dimensional acting …… inept directing….”This writer is not in any way saying that all is well with Nollywood. Indeed some story lines and plots in our movies are sometimes pathetic. But same also applies to Hollywood and Bollywood stories. There are both good and bad actors in Nollywood, but this also is universal. No doubt, the quality of sound, pictures, and cinematography are still far from best practices, but Nollywood is on the march and needs only time.Iroh touched a vital area in our films and that is props. He derided Nollywood for using toy guns and poor props. While it is true that toy guns may have been used in some films, Nollywood producers have long past that stage. However Iroh needs to be enlightened on the challenges of the producer in Nigeria. In the US, Hollywood producers have access to their airports, presidential jets and arsenal. American government recognizes the importance of film as an instrument of propaganda. In Ghana, Ghanaian producers need to pay only $100 (N16,600) to use their airport and they can legally acquire arms from the police and the military, free of charge.But in our dear country, Nigeria, a producer has to pay N1 million to use the airport. Still you will need to pay a choking amount, up to N150,000 and then grease many palms just to hire little arms for a few hours. Does our eminent Iroh think a producer would opt for a “plastic gun” if he had access to the real thing?Despite its obvious short comings, despite its constraints, Nollywood, like wind of silent mystery has forced its way into international reckoning. Contrary to Iroh’s un-researched opinion that Nollywood movies are only popular among Nigerians in the Diaspora, Nollywood movies have dominated African countries and are popular in the Carribeans and North America.A tragic flaw in Iroh’s purgative commentary is its total lack of appreciation for anything in Nollywood. Here was an industry inspired by one man, Kenneth Nnebue, whose movie, Living in Bondage, produced by an ambitious young man, Okey Ogunjiofor, stirred the soul of Nigeria. Seventeen years after, Nollywood, which emerged from the bowel of Nnebue’s film, employs about five million Nigerians from CD-producing factories and importers, through video clubs, CD distributors, whole sellers, retailers, movie equipment dealers, marketers and movie practitioners. It is the second highest employer of labour, next only to the Federal Government. Indeed, Nollywood is today valued at over $2.3 billion, (about N330 billion) including revenues from broadcast and Internet rights. All these achievements are without any input by corporate Nigeria and importantly, without any significant government policy to enhance practice and encourage growth.The undiluted truth remains that in spite of its clear shortcomings, Nollywood has revved the engine of change and spirit of a new generation of Nigerians, a generation with a robust confidence in simple dreams and unshakeable faith in small miracles.This confidence and faith will strengthen Nollywood in its long walk through the Golgotha of professional odyssey and literary immolation by critics such as Iroh. But ultimately, at the end of the Golgotha is a glowing light of a new dawn ..
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THE Hackney Citizen asked the little guy with the big DVD stall in Ridley Road Market for the four best-selling Nollywood films that are keeping Hackney’s Nigerian community glued to their sofas. Patrick Pringle and Josh Loeb review these Lagos epicsONCE you get over the fact that the pregnant woman in the opening scenes of Royal Messengers quite obviously has a lumpy pillow shoved down the front of her dress, the film settles into a plot that would have most right-thinking people shooting steam out of their ears. Royal Messengers is a tale of an ageing prince called Igwe (Leo Mezie) who has 21 daughters but not a single son to take over his kingdom.When the woman with the pillow down her dress shamefully gives birth to another girl, Igwe gives up any hope of having a young prince. But fear not: the local witchdoctor foresees that Igwe has a son that he does not know about, who lives in a slum in Lagos. The mystery son, played by child sensation Chinedu Ikedieze (think Macaulay Culkin, Lagos style) is accompanied by his sidekick played by Osita Iheme. These kids are easily the best actors in this film, possessing comic timing and precocious delivery.De Prof, starring Nkem Owoh and Clem Ohamezie, is an interminable film. Equipped with the somewhat incoherent tagline, “Will one scheme against the other? Maybe the younger one will or vice versa”, De Prof is a tragic Cain and Abel-style drama about two brothers who jealously vie for leadership of their community.De Prof is hampered by atrocious production. At a cost to any reasonable narrative structure early in the film, the cameraman develops an unhealthy obsession with a dwarf who inexplicably appears at various points throughout the film. In addition the same epileptic keyboard loop provides the soundtrack for the entire two hours. Owoh and Ohamzie - both able actors - are lassoed by the most hackneyed of scripts that simply goes nowhere. In spite of the actors’ best efforts, De Prof is a very difficult film to watch.Village Destroyer, starring Kenneth Okonkwo, is easily the pick of the bunch, with the best acting and tightest script. This is another film preoccupied with male fertility problems, only this time, poor Nwabueze seems to be infertile and has become the laughing stock of his village. Then one day his wife gives birth to a baby girl. After initial elation, Nwabueze inexplicably goes mad. At this stage the film slightly falls apart, becoming a confusing mush of screaming women and voodoo ceremonies. It is nevertheless highly entertaining: you don’t really need to understand it to enjoy the emotional uproar. This film is worth watching for the star turns by Okonkwo and Emeka Ani alone.When You Are Mine is a hilarious (though perhaps not intentionally so) take on adultery and disability. Joyce (Queen Nwaokoye) marries Ken, a slimeball who mysteriously bleeds from his forehead and has a bloated mother called ‘Madam’.When buxom maneater Chessy (Patience Ozokwor) arrives in town, ‘Madam’, who lives vicariously through her son, encourages her to seduce him with the immortal words: “A man can be made to commit adultery, even against his will.”There is clearly some sort of reverse Oedipus complex in operation in this film: ‘Madam’ exults in Chessy’s unwanted affection towards Ken and the pregnancy that results. Meanwhile, Joyce is wheelchair-bound after a car accident. Eventually, Ken and Chessy get their comeuppance when they both die on their way to the registry office.
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Looking resplendent and gorgeous in his milk-coloured suit, all smiles, he moved around majestically in a nobly fashion, depicting his gargantuan status as a seasoned actor and erudite scholar as he welcomed in warm embraces very eminent personalities to the Ptotea Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, venue of the Bread Fruit Foundation’s (BFF) 1st Annual Patrons Dinner held recently.BFF is a non-profit organization that famous actor and Lagos State University lecturer, Sola Fosudo founded to plaster smiles on the faces of widows, widow’s children, orphans and other vulnerable children in the society. A man of charisma, who has been described as an astute personality with a golden heart, and inspired by God to care for the underprivileged, Fosudo has established the foundation because of his experiences in life.But what was his growing up like? How has it been in the Nollywood industry where he has held sway over the years?How has he been able to combine teaching and acting? What about his pet project, BFF, as a president and founder? All these and more were extracted from philanthropist Fosudo. Excerpts:For Sola Fosudo, growing up was like that of a normal child from a middle class family. He was well trained and had the privilege of a good education.But then he confessed to have been very lucky to receive the grace of God. “Personally, I have been very lucky to receive the grace of God in my life. I had a very fruitful and well trained growing up. It is really with the guidance of God and of my parents. I have been privileged to have a very good education, privileged to have had several opportunities in my profession, my career both as an actor, director and a teacher, so I am grateful to God.”According to Fosudo, the journey to acting stardom all started while he was in primary school. Then they used to have end of the year activities in the school and he turned out to be one of the prominent artistes, a hero in those events. The same thing happened when Fosudo got to secondary school where he was a very strong member of the dramatic and cultural society. But it was while at the Teacher’s College that the turning point happened.He was involved in a play and one man in the audience who happened to be a seasoned and accomplished professional saw him on stage, summoned him and said, ‘you are the man of the theatre. I think you should consider theatre as a profession when you grow up’.Fosudo recalls: “I didn’t know what he was talking about because I was just having fun doing school plays. But he saw something that later metamorphosed into what we are appreciating God for now, because eventually I found myself taking to that advice. I took the necessary actions and steps to go to school and to be immensely involved in the profession. It is by providence, and planned by God. By the time he said that to me I had other plans. I wanted to read History which was my best subject in school. At a time, I wanted to go abroad to study Computer Science, when it did not work out, I went back to the man and said ‘sir, tell me more about that Theatre Arts, I want to do it now’, that was in the 1970s. It was that encounter that eventually saw me in the theatre.”The actor cum University lecturer is enjoying the best of two worlds. Fosudo believes he is doing just the same thing as an actor and teacher of Theatre Arts. “I was not combining anything. If am a medical doctor and at the same time acting then I am combining. But I teach and practice Theatre Arts so, they are one.”But as a popular actor and lecturer, how does Fosudo cope with his numerous female admirers? His response: “I don’t have anything to cope with. I have not experienced advances from women because I don’t recognize it. There was no room for it .My lifestyle does not allow for such things. From the way I was brought up and trained, those things did not count.”Movie industry, says Fosudo, is moving in an unsure direction. It is an uncertain industry that can collapse anytime unless practitioners move away from passion for home video production and move into cinema, while government should also encourage production of films to be shown in cinema theatre where the private sector people can begin to invest in cinema structures.“This is how Nigeria can grow in terms of movies. It is then you can talk of movie industry. For now, they are doing television video drama, home video and they call it movies. Go to Hollywood and ask them if it is this kind of camera we use here that they use to record their films. Our people carry TV cameras to locations. When you say movies or films, you are talking about motion pictures, so the television is also motion pictures, that is why they are saying movies or films. Film is cinema and big business. If we are actually doing films or have film industries in Nigeria you can’t be seeing actors anyhow. But here, you see actors at Idumota bus stop. God will help us.”Does Fasudo have any regret for being an actor? He responds thus: “No, God has been very gracious to me. I had good parental care from the beginning, good education and good opportunities for career development. I have a job and a family. God is supporting my endeavours, and He puts in my heart this time around to set up a foundation to take care of other people. So, it is marvelous in my heart.”On the future Of Nollywood, Fosudo says it’s difficult for anyone to forecast into the future. The actor is even afraid that if care is not taken, the movie industry may crash.He says the imminent crash can only be aborted only if the practitioners take advice and move away from the present deception in which they are and move into the right direction. But then there is still hope as Fosudo predicts a booming and vibrant industry very soon.The actor, however, asked a nagging question thus: “Is Nollywood a concept, a notion or an entity, or is it a place? Go to San Francisco in USA, they will take you to where Hollywood is; it is a big city where stars live and where they have their studios. It is the same thing in India. If the Hollywood people come to Nigeria and say ‘Hello, we have been hearing of Nigerian movies, can you take us to Nollywood?’ Will they take them to Idumota? Or is there any other place? It is Idumota where they are selling films in the streets, inside noise and rowdiness. Since this Nollywood thing has been on, no government whether state or federal has deemed it necessary to begin to build infrastructure for the development of Nigerian movie industry. No government, no professional studios, no serious policy directed at driving the industry to really make it a world class, the way it is in America.”One of the things Fosudo has been advocating as a lecturer in LASU is the development of the curricular for a film education in Nigeria. A curricular that will cover cinematography, film techniques and film production among others.He says: “We don’t have the theatre people who we can rely upon to fill the gap for film industry. They are not really trained for films even though they can find relevance there. I am a theatre person and not film, I will say that anytime. Even though, when I was in school, I received some training about acting which is a general course. You can act on stage or on different media, television, film, etc. You are also taught as a director, you should be able to direct plays because it is only about production in different media which have their own techniques.“The stage where artistes are principally trained has different techniques to the medium of television or film. There is a serious gap in Nigeria. These other people, many of them are not interested in joining Nollywood, you will be surprised to find out. The only other thing that comes near film education is mass communication and those ones are not really trained to be producing films. Also, they are communicators even though they might have done some courses in television production, but not in details as they would do in film schools. Theatre education and mass communication are different from film education, and there is no university in Nigeria where they are offering film studies, yet we have many people who are practicing it. Where did they come from? They are roadside people and we cannot be driven intellectually so they are all merchants doing business.”BFF, which means Bread Fruit Foundation for widows and orphans, was launched in 2008. Luckily for Fosudo, that event was also used to mark his 50th birthday. According to him, the foundation is a non-profit organization, whose sole objective is to cater for widows, widows’ children, orphans and other vulnerable children in the society. It is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.“This is the first dinner organized by the foundation and it’s going to be an annual event where we bring together our patrons, board of trustees and raise money even if it is just for next year, we will keep it on,” he concludes.
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Democracy is "not" for the Masses because Time and Time it has been proved the "masses" dont care because they think they dont know ANYTHING !They "cant" think for themselves and like sheep will listen to the black sheep who know no better and accept any Shepherd even those clearly in Wolves clothing ! and BAAA BAAA straight to Destruction !that is the way things ARE ! and will stay if the "MASSES" dont do anything !!
Prof. Taiyewo Ogunade, a musicologist at the City University, New York was a close friend of Late Abacha, he spoke of his experiences .
General Sanni Abacha died exactly a decade ago, what does that mean to you?
To me, I feel I lost a friend, but then, as a democrat, I don’t lose too much because I believe in democracy and then Abacha didn’t believe in that. That is the dividing point between the two of us. I met him immediately Babangida took over in 1985. And they invited all of us to Kuru, near Jos, most of us intellectuals, for a debate on Nigeria’s foreign policy. And we were put in a famous hotel called Hotel Thirty. While the conference was on, the Department of Political Science of the Ahmadu Bello University, led by Professor Bala Usman came with a document in which they catalogued all the rich Nigerians. They called it from Balewa to Babangida and they were distributing it to selected people.
But, the security got angry and wanted to recover it while we were in the conference hall. That was how I met Abacha. They were trying to struggle and take it from me and Abacha said, ‘leave him alone’. I never met him (Abacha) before, I didn’t know who he was. So, he gave me protection and by the time I got it, he said well, are you going to drive with me to town? I never even asked who he was. It was when we got to his car that I saw it was a military car. Babangida was there and we were talking about Nigerian political affairs. So, he took me to town. That was how I was able to escape with my two copies without them being confiscated like others. And from then, we became friendly.
I use to go to his office when I had the time and from there to his guest house. By the time we would get to the gate of his guest house on Raymond Njoku, girls would be at the gate, as many as twenty of them. When they see his car, all of them would stand up. As he is driving in, he would bring down his glasses, point to about six or eight of them for security to allow them come into the house. He is a person who likes women all the time. It was a daily routine that he does. And so, when I wrote a musical on Cyprian Ekwensi’s ‘Passport of Mallam Ilia’ which I turned into an opera, I needed a band to perform it. Abacha was able to give me a note to the army band. So, I went to the army band and then, I started rehearsing with the Nigerian Army band that played the music for me. But, then, Tunde Akogun was giving us so much trouble. He didn’t want us to rehearse at the National Theatre. Each time we wanted to have rehearsal there, he would turn us down. He was driving away my artistes. So, I went to Sani Abacha again that Akogun keeps disturbing us. Abacha would say, ‘don’t worry, I would talk to them which he would do’. When Fela Anikulapo Kuti finally came out of prison, I was doing the Fela musicals and he heard that Fela was coming once in a while when we were rehearsing. So, he came to meet Fela and they had a very wonderful rapport. For about two or three days, he was coming because Fela was coming there to rehearse. And finally, he gave me money to pay for the theatre and do the musical. That was the last thing I did before I left Nigeria.
Can you give psychoanalysis of Abacha?
You see, Abacha has a very reserved mentality. Abacha would listen to you; he would make very little comments or none. But, therein, he has known what he wants to do. But, he is a very jovial person who plays around with teasing you and doing everything. But, he is not an outspoken person. Abacha never discussed Nigeria with anybody as far as I know. He never discussed Nigerian politics, but he likes to discuss entertainment, films and what not. I’m amazed that he ended up acquiring that kind of money that he did. But, I know from my own judgment that being product of the ’College of Assassin’, that is what they are trained to do.
What is the history of that college?
What is the SOA?
The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was kicked out of that country in 1984 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian President, Jorge Illueca, stated that the School of the Americas was the “biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” The SOA, frequently dubbed the “School of Assassins,” has left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where its graduates have returned.
Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins.
The college was established in the 1940s in Fort Benning, Georgia. It’s a big college. I think it’s about 22 miles radius. And they have all kinds of things there. All the Latin American dictators went through there. Like Argentina’s Pinochet, Panamas’ Noriega, most Vietnamese military leaders went there, Kagame of Rwanda went there. I was there when Kagame graduated and we became good friends. And the young Kabila went there. But he didn’t finish. I think he was a year there before Collin Powell took him out and made him head of state in the Republic of Congo. But Abacha went there.
Is he the only person that went there from Nigeria?
I believe he is the only one. Bolaji Johnson went to the Rangers College in Indiana. He was the first military person to go to America for military training. Abacha is the only one that went to the Fort Benning School that I know.
What is the kind of training?
They train them how to disorganise a whole country and become dictators. They train them how to kill people. There was a series of twelve tapes made by Edward Kennedy that showed what type of activities went on there. He was the one that got the American Congress to call it the ‘College of Assassin.’ They teach you to fight lions barehanded, to fight crocodiles, so, you become quite fearless. They show you lots of blood activities, so that shedding people’s blood don’t move your emotions anymore.
At what period in time did he attend the school?
It must have been the early eighties because he was given the Grand Order of that school by Collin Powell in 1986. They gave him a best student award. And we tackled Collin Powell because he was a product of my school at the City University. And he said that he was a good student. And I am amazed today I am reading in the papers that he said he warned him about what he was doing. So, they were very good buddies. They related well.You and Abacha were very friendly, when did it all turn around?
I was out of the country when he became head of state. When Ken Saro-Wiwa was killed, I lost confidence in him. He killed Ken Saro-Wiwa. For that, I don’t think I wanted to relate with him. I knew Ken as a good friend and I didn’t feel comfortable that he should have been killed. Abacha knew Ken well too. They were very good friends. So, it is not that he doesn’t know who Ken Saro-Wiwa was. But, if it happened to Ken, it could happen to me.
Did you get close to any of his children, or family?
No. Like I said, he has a routine when he leaves the military headquarters at 1:00pm. It is either you see him at the office or at the guest house. By 11:00pm, he goes home to sleep. So, his family is never in the guest house. They don’t come there at all. Himself, Jerry Useni, Gwadabe and some other people are the ones always there.So, you were not surprised about the story that he was killed by women.
No. Even at my playhouse, we used to joke about it because when he comes for rehearsal, he would be asking me, which of these girls I should take away. I would say, sir, these girls are artistes. I cannot order anyone of them to go with you. One of my girls slapped him one day and I was shocked. I don’t know what he did to the girl, but the girl smacked him. He must have done something stupid to the girl.You said that Abacha and Babangida were all together….
Yes, actually I knew two people before I knew Abacha. I knew Mamman Vasta and Babangida. I knew them during the war. They were both colonels and I knew their wives. They were three girls - Ada who became Ada Vasta, Maryam who became Maryam Babangida, and another girl we knew as Chinyere. She became the famous Gloria Okon. She was married to Jeff Chadler a Tiv who was a Lieutenant Colonel of Tiv extraction. He was the one who killed Nzeogwu when Nzeogwu was captured at the Nsukka sector. They were bringing him to Kaduna but when he heard, he went on the road and killed him. And he too was killed that night that he killed Nzeogwu. Now, the wife, I knew her as Chinyere. The three of them (Babangida’s wife, Vasta’s wife, and Chinyere) were staying at No. 27 Adeniji street in Surulere. So, when her husband was killed, she started trading and going to London. Something happened and she was arrested by the Customs for trying to take money out of the country. Mrs. Babangida had to intervene and got Vasta to go there and deceive journalists that she died. And they took them to the Kano mortuary and showed them the body of a dead woman.
How do I know this?
When Vasta was arrested for coup, Vasta refused to talk to interrogators because he was a Major General. But, he said he would give his testimony at the trial. So, at his trial, he gave a four hour testimony and made sure that the tape of that testimony was sent to me to take to his wife. From that tape, we were able to get information that Gloria Okon did not die and that Gloria Okon had just had a baby with somebody in England.
Now, for you journalists, the aspect that will interest you is that Dele Giwa got to know that I had the tape of Vasta’s testimony. So, he came to me and I loaned him the tape. He listened to the tape and commissioned somebody in England to trace Gloria Okon. And fortunately for them, Gloria Okon and Maryam Babangida were celebrating the child naming of Gloria Okon’s baby. They got the pictures and Kayode Soyinka brought the pictures to Giwa in Lagos. Dele Giwa then took the pictures and went to Babangida and said, ‘I want to be minister of information or I will destroy you. These are pictures of your wife doing this with Gloria Okon.’ And so, they tricked him and got rid of him in 48 hours.
Vasta testified for four hours and sent the tape to me. I was there the day he was killed. His wife called me early in the morning and said they were going to move them and that I should go to Kirikiri. Then, I was living in my house at Festac. And I took the waterside by the Vanguard Newspapers. As I was arriving at Kirikiri, at about seven o’clock in the morning, I saw Black Marias moving off. They told me, ‘that’s Vasta and his people. They just killed them.’ They shot them at 6:00am. So, I followed the Black Marias in a taxi. By the time we got to Iyana Isolo, we lost them. At that time, there was no okada. I knew they were going to Atan Cemetery. So, when I got to Atan Cemetery, they had already buried them in a mass grave and threw acid on them. Then, Tunji Abayomi, a Lieutenant Colonel who led the corpse there, drove back and said, ‘where is Vasta’s watch?’. Vasta had given instructions that if they killed him, they should send his watch to his wife so that his wife would know that he is dead. He had a Rolex watch.’ The attendants were relunctant to open up. So, he just said, line them up, and let me shoot all of them. So, one of them threw the watch down. Then, another guy was trying to hide Martin Luther’s chain, a gold chain that had the number of his bank account in a Swiss bank. So, he threw the chain to my direction and I just put my foot on it and I was looking at them. So, the guy took the watch and drove away and I took the chain. I went to Daily Times. Titus Soyombo was the Evening Times editor. So, I told him that they have killed Vasta. He asked me, ‘are you sure’? I said yes. He withdrew his paper and made the first headline, ‘Vasta would die today if Babaginda does not intervene.’ Less than forty minutes after, the military came and started ransacking the whole of The Times. So, we went opposite The Times where they sell food those days and sat down there. That day, he sold about 400,000 copies of the paper because they made five editions of the paper. So, when the government got to know that the newspaper was in circulation, they sent Admiral Aikhomu to go on the air by 2:00pm to say that by 4:0pm today, Vasta would be executed. Whereas, they had been executed in the morning.
Is it true that he (Vasta) was IBB’s best friend when he (IBB) got married?
Not only was he his best friend, IBB grew up in his father’s house. Now, he was the one who christened one of IBB’s daughter. They are very, very close, because hardly would you see Vasta without seeing Babangida. It is Abacha that I got close to later. But, with IBB and Vasta, I knew them from the time Sir Harold Wilson (former British Prime Minister) came. The day Adekunle killed the guy in the Delta, Isaac Boro. We went with the observer team to Port-Harcourt. Isaac Boro was the leader of the group that liberated Port-Harcourt and then declared Republic of the Niger Delta there. And then, Adekunle was taking. You know, Adekunle was always stealing money then. He would come and blackmail Gowon. Gowon would tell him to go to Central Bank and carry four or five lorries to Central Bank, load them with money. Halfway, he would divert it back to Lagos, he would then take half to the front. So, the British Prime Minister came on that day. We were on the observer team with Harold Wilson when we got to Port-Harcourt. Boro did not allow the British team, so when Adekunle came, he was so furious and then they fought for about thirty minutes before they captured him.
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A Mushin Customary Court in Lagos yesterday endorsed the break-up of a 12-year-old marriage between an estranged couple on grounds of infidelity.Agency reports say that Banfor Williams, a retired civil servant, and his wife Basirat, a trader, had told the court to dissolve the marriage.Banfor, 62, had approached the court on March 16, seeking an end to the relationship, accusing the wife of prostitution.“Basirat had packed out of the matrimonial home since 2007 to another man’s house and now she wants to come back to me.“She has no respect for me because her boyfriends have been patronising her in the shop I got for her,” he told the court.The petitioner who resides at 1, Sanusi Street, Mushin, also submitted that his wife’s boyfriends had been coming to his house to threaten him.“She has turned the soft drinks business I established for her into a joint where people drink gin mixed with herbs,’’ Banfor added.In her plea, Basirat urged the court to dissolve the marriage since it produced no children.“I regret marrying Banfor, he is dirty,’’ she said.After listening to their arguments, the court’s President, Dr Abayomi Ipaye dissolved the marriage since both parties had consented.“You are free to go on separate ways,’’ he ruled.
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Please read and enjoy………………………With the recent MD's directive this is a true story that happened at one of our branches on the mainland.The following conversation took place between an Americana bobo and some staff of this branch.The Americana just came from America and is interested in depositing some amount of money in the bank. He approached the branch and immediately was welcomed by the security officerSecurity: Good day sirAmericana: Good day nigga, I wanna see your fucking managerSecurity: I beg your pardon, the word ‘f...k’ is not allowed in this bank, this is a corporate environmentAt this junction, the BSM came into the sceneBSM: What is going on here?Americana: Good day nigga, I wanna see your fucking managerThe BSM repeated what the security personnel said; we are in a corporate environment and the 4 letter word is not encouraged:At this junction, the BDM just coming from an unsuccessful marketing call entered the officeBDM: What on earth is going on here?Americana: I said I wanted to see the fucking manager and these niggas are preventing me;BM: Sir, this is a corporate environment and we would appreciate it if you are less vulgarAmericana: OK, I only wanted to deposit a fucking N200 millionOn hearing this, the BDM shouted Ha! Olodumare “I am the fucking BDM, this is the fucking BSM and the other nigga over there is the fucking Security personnel, all of us are here to provide fucking service!
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Please take some time out and go through the mail below. A friend shared it with me over the week end. Two different banks in Ikot-Ekpene were robbed, 2 weeks ago; same day, same time. My contact was not too sure of the banks. However, the banks are closely located to each other and here are the details:A truck broke down in front of the banks, and for 2 days, some mechanics appeared to be working to get it fixed. At about 10.00 a.m. on the third day, a man in crutches walked into one of the banks.He had to pass through the security door, which was specially opened for him, unknown to the security guard that the seemingly disabled man was armed. In the banking hall, he identified his colleague that had earlier walked in, signaled him, dropped his crutches and handed him a gun. They fired some short into the air and in a short while, bedlam was let loose, as about 20 heavily armed young men emerged from the truck outside and headed into the banks. The rest of the story can better be imagined.Kindly share this with our colleagues as I feel there are a couple of things to be learnt from it. ThanksMay god continue to protect us all.amen.
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They are sleek, damn too good-looking and have everything going for them with nice cars, damn-the-devil ‘effects’ complete with posh houses and the fame to get any woman to toe the line they want. They are the Nollywood stars who have glamourised our screens for years and thus have found some wanton way into our hearts.The ordinary drop-dead gorgeous beauties prone to Idol-worship are not only their easy preys, some very talented, self-made actresses or starlets have also melted before their charm. No husband likes them hanging around and the woman in their lives just couldn’t help hating every other woman.Of course, when they date the average girl next door it isn’t always news but when they dip their way into the industry it becomes hot. Though most actresses have walked their ways clean, avoiding relationships with these dashing dudes who have ‘the bang-bang thank you’ as their modus operandi but many have fallen victims when they were the green starlets looking to get a break in the movie Industry.Pat Attah is perhaps the most dangerous of the lot. Tall, dark and handsome, Pat Attah is a ladies’ delight any day. Whatever rave Pat is letting slip through his finger in the movie business he is sure making up as a playboy. The actor who now hangs out, most nights, at Options Nite Club, Ikeja, probably doing more lady-poaching, reportedly had an affair with Empress Njama, Regina Askia, Maureen Solomon, Nkiru Sylvanus, Genevieve Nnaji and lately Lilian Bach.His romance with Regina Askia made the papers in the early 90s. The two stars must have developed the juice during their exploits in the soap opera ‘Mega Fortune’. Around year 2000, he was accused of going out with Genevieve Nnaji.Next to be hooked was Empress Njamma at about year 2004. Others ladies linked with the Nolllywood hunk were Maureen Solomon, Nkiru Sylvanus and Lilian Bach. Rumour-mongers had it that his affair with Lilian Bach would have headed to the altar but all it ever ended was a rumour.Ramsey Noah is another hot dude. So hot the wife has been visiting the divorce lawyer to get cracking on him. Ramsey’s has never pretended about his craving for ‘varieties’ and this much he said during the Nigerian Entertainment Award for Best Actor in New York “ I want to marry up to three hundred wives and have three hundred concubines “and be like King Solomon, that’s my dream”.A close friend of Noah said something that supports Noah’s long time desire to have three hundred concubines.It has been said that Ramsey’s two main passion after acting are women and drinks with women coming tops. Everybody knows of his passion. He has made it public time and time again.Van Vicker is a happily married man but his moves has a ring of a playboy to it. Recently the media was awash of his rather unprofessional involvement with Nadia Buari.May be the duo have been doing it by the moonlight but the world caught up with them at the Five Continent Academic Award in Brooklyn, New York. The Ghanaian Stars came in walking hand in hand in the banquet hall as thousand of fans from various parts of the United States clap in thunderous applause. A close source to the two stars who disclosed the secret love affairs developing between the two stars hinted that Van and Nadia have been “seeing each other for a while”, but he was not too sure whether the beloved movie stars were actually having an affair.A well placed source also hinted that Vicker carries an unusual smiles that is unprecedented of him.Jim Iyke might be all enamoured with heart-throb, Katura Hamilton but his exploits as a playboy is still very fresh in the memory. As he confirmed himself in an interview recently “ ...women have come and gone in my life. There are days I wake up and say to myself that, if I name people I have been with in this country it will be a revelation of sort”.Nobody questions that, at least Olisa Adibua still has some marks to show for fooling around with your woman.Even Chidi Mokeme agreed in an Interview that he is a playboy. “I’m a positive kind of playboy. My idea of what people call a playboy is some guy who is sleek, good looking and got everything going for him with nice cars and good house. Somebody who wears the right clothes, says the right thing without any impure intent in his heart.I want to look good, drive the kind of car that makes me happy. And also make those around me happy”. As saintly as Chidi may wants to look everyone knows he likes well-endowed women.Although Norbert Young has finally closed his chapter with Gloria Anozie and looking like done with back-bashing but his escapade with Uche Jombo seems to be dying very hard in the actress’s mind. Recently, when she was asked about the good-time with the Ibom star she replied “I don’t like talking about my affair with Norbert. He is now married and we greet whenever we see,” she said in a voice filled with emotion.Also unforgettable is the frolicking fling between Kalu Ikeagwu and Alex Okoroji. Whatever happened in that relationship, Alex seems to have fond memories of it. Fred Amata and Ibinabo Fiberesima are also another hot item in the news.
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Like the Top Drama Series on american TV Prison Break ! complete with TBagwellWe will fill you as more reports flow in !Enugu — OVER 150 of the 734 inmates in the awaiting trial section of the Enugu Prisons broke out of jail in the early hours of yesterday, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe, confirmed yesterday.Ogundipe, who flew into Enugu to assess the situation, also said that one of the escapees was unlucky as he, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe plunged headlong to his death, after scaling the high fence.Similarly, he told reporters that three wardens of the prisons were seriously injured and are presently undergoing treatment in an unnamed hospital.Two inmates were said to have been killed in the incident while 36 female prisoners were gang-raped by the fleeing inmates.Inside sources said the Awaiting Trial Members (ATM) were said to have facilitated the jailbreak which spread to other cells in the prisons, leaving about 20 prison wardens seriously injured.Enugu-based oil magnate and Chairman, Nowas Group, Dr. Ignatius Nnubia and his manager, Emma Okoli, who were remanded in the prison for their alleged involvement in the kidnap of Dr. Francis Edemobi, younger brother of the Minister of Information, Dr. Dora Akunyili, narrowly escaped being lynched as some of the jailbreakers reportedly forced their way into their cells to attack them but were protected by about 10 other inmates who volunteered to protect them.However, the Nnubia family raised an alarm yesterday alleging that the criminals may have been sponsored to kill the businessman and his manager.“We believe those people who are desperate to see that Nnubia and his manager, Okoli, do not regain their freedom and sent this group of boys to kill Nnubia and his manager in prison. Otherwise why should their fellow inmates attempt to attack them? If not for the 10 volunteers among the ATM that fought hard to prevent them, it would have been a sad story today,” one of Nnubia’s lawyers said yesterday.//9jabook sources learnt that the ATM inmates in G Ward initiated the jailbreak around 1.30am yesterday when they broke the ceiling of their ward, which later collapsed and from the roof top hundreds of them trooped out attacking the prison wardens. The source said some of the wardens who could not escape were held hostage by the violent inmates who asked them to say their last prayers, as they were going to be killed.From the G Ward, they marched to the main entrance gate which they forced open and provided unhindered access to the fleeing inmates some of whom have spent about three years in the prison, awaiting trial.Hundreds of them were said to have fled even when armed prison guards outside the premises reportedly released several shots into the air to dissuade them.In the process, some of who were not interested in escaping, the source further disclosed, started rioting inside the prison. They moved to the E and M Wards also occupied by ATM and forced the gates open, thus increasing their number as they marched to other wards including Ward D and the Condemned Criminals (CC) Ward.Death row inmates shun jailbreakThey were however disappointed when the ‘officials’ and inmates of Ward D and their 76 colleagues in the CC Ward resisted them, saying they were not ready to engage the government in a battle since they were sure that the fleeing inmates would be apprehended in the long run.//It was further learnt that the riot became violent when some of the inmates resorted to stealing their colleagues’ money and raping the female prisoners. All the 36 female inmates were reportedly gang-raped by till dawn and most of them were seen lying naked in different locations within the prison yard yesterday morning before the authorities rushed them to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.“Only one mentally-deranged female inmate in a separate cell was left untouched”, said the source who described the treatment meted to the female prisoners as “very dehumanising”.An unconfirmed prison source said about 50 ATM inmates were arrested outside the prison yard through the combined effort of the prison guards and policemen from the nearby Central Police Station.During the riot, the office of the Chief Warder was vandalised by the prisoners who removed the green regalia which prisoners wear each time they are to attend court session and set them ablaze, while one of the rooms in the welfare block built with bricks was razed. The roof of the building was seriously damaged.Why inmates broke jail, by Prisons bossComptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe, yesterday gave a graphic account of the tragic of the jailbreak to reporters and attributed the ugly development to agitation of prisoners arising from slow judicial processes, saying the 734 awaiting trial inmates, male and female “have been agitated because of slow judicial process”.He expressed delight that the state Chief Judge, Innocent Umezulike, on May 28, visited Nsukka Prisons where he took up some jail cases of inmates rather than waiting for the cases to be treated in court, recalling that on May 26 the CJ accompanied by 12 judges, also performed similar function (jail delivery) at the Enugu Prisons.//He said: “But you know, having over 700 Awating Trial Inmates, it takes a long time and so the Chief Judge promised coming back on the 5th of June this year for another set of jail delivery. You know inmates, everybody wants his case to be heard as soon as possible. And so this agitation was the primary cause of this jailbreak; around midnight, they broke the ceiling, got to the yard; broke down some of the security measures and there was a massive escape of prisoners.”130 escapee recapturedOgundipe said the run-away inmates were not so lucky as the security men on duty were quite alert and were able to get help from the army, police and the Civil Defence, who all teamed up to ensure that “Enugu city is not bombarded with escaped prison inmates.”So far, he said, the squad of security operatives had recaptured 130 escapees while trailing 23 others.“As I am talking to you, about 150 inmates awaiting trial broke their cells and we were able to recapture with the help of the police and other security operatives 130 immediately. And presently, the remaining 20 we are on their trail, we are still bringing them back,” he said.He added: “As I am talking to you, the situation is fully under control. The yard is calm. I have gone round and I have seen those in the hospital; they are being treated. I assure you that everything is under control.”According to him, not even one convicted inmate or any of the condemned ones escaped. “We have 77 inmates on the death row. I must commend them that not a single one of them participated in the jail break,” he explained.On prison reform, he said the authorities of the prisons were concentrating on the inmates.“Presently, part of the report is that you have the Attorney-General of the Federation engaging some lawyers to take up cases of indigent inmates. This has been going on all over the federation,” he said.The prison, Ogundipe said, was inherited from the British Colonial Masters, who commissioned the prison block on February 5, 1926, noting that the prison administration has been putting some new structures to improve on what the colonialists left.“The problem we have is that we are battling with archaic structures. The federal government is trying its best. If you look inside the yard you will see that we are putting up a storey building to replace the old ones,” he said.
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There is no better time to liberate our country than the year 2011. By then, Nigeria would have been 51 years old as an independent nation. We would have wasted a total of 50 long years trying to build a solid foundation for democracy, good governance and accountability. We would have endured incompetent, kleptomaniac, insensitive, wasteful rulers, for those number of years. 50 years in the life of a people
cannot be a joke. As Chief Moshood Abiola once noted at the launch of Dream-maker by May Ellen Ezekiel Mofe-Damijo, “If we spend 50 years dreaming dreams, when are we going to see vision?”
That profound statement encapsulates the story of Nigeria. We have spent 50 years daydreaming. Our so-called leaders have continued to do the same things in different ways. They have not learnt any lesson from history. They have treated the ruled with incredible disdain. Just look at what they’ve just done again in Ekiti. The ruling party told us all to go to hell, when it announced that it had won the most improbable gubernatorial election, practically with the much disputed, and most likely-doctored votes from one local government. What chicanery is this?
But they are wrong in thinking we can be treated like rams being led to slaughter. The shame is theirs to live with, when tomorrow comes. The world would laugh at us as usual. The infidels would ask, where is our God? The faint-hearted would easily give up. But we must not allow the shameless old fuddy-duddies to savour their pyrrhic victory. We must continue this match towards the redemption of our souls. We must prepare for the battle ahead, now that we know the PDP would continue to force its ill-assorted candidates on us. We must reject this slavery, by all legal means available.
There is always a purpose for every situation we find ourselves in. Without the madness of the Bush years in America, there would have been no Obama today. Yar’Adua will be the catalyst for our own Obama. Mark my word. We are back at the barricade, and it is time to scream, Let my people go! We must pray every day for Yar’Adua. We must ask God to grant him long life, so that he can feel what Obasanjo is feeling today. We must pray for him to run for his own second term. This is what we should all push for, for our own Obama to emerge. We must demonstrate our anger against these reckless riggers by making up our minds to register to vote, and stand by our votes henceforth.
We must encourage as many good candidates as possible to come out nationwide. The search for our own Obama has now become a task that must be accomplished. We must stay many steps ahead of our oppressors. Never again must we allow these insults to stick. Nigerians must speak up from every corner. In the mosques, and in the churches, we must continue to pray, for our walls of Jericho to collapse. We must encourage our congregations to stay strong and support good candidates. We must emphasize the ugliness of our rulers. We must put their incompetence on display for all to see. We must convince ourselves that we deserve better. We must accept the fact today that our redemption lies not in the hands of incurable desperados, who must cling to power at all cost. We must salute the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, for showing us good example, and for being a voice of reason.
Our Obama must be bold. He/she must be selfless. Donald Duke is a good material any day. But he is in a wrong party. PDP will never field such an urbane candidate. The party is led by control freaks and warlords. They will always pick one weakling after the other from their database of political zombies. They care less that the world today is led by smart, young, energetic, trendy, and brilliant leaders. If Donald wants our votes, he must quit the party that has attracted so much shame and repulsion to Nigeria. He has to make his move very quickly.
But will he? Analysts have said he is not likely to do that. Their reason is simple. The average Nigerian politician is never prepared to take the risk of quitting the party that controls all the plum appointments. He’ll rather continue to hope that something would drop in his laps. His is never a call to service. Any job would do. The world is waiting to see if Donald can call the bluff of PDP and join forces with more forward-looking Nigerians.
Nasir El-Rufai is an erudite and tested leader. He demonstrated enough guts in dealing with environmental issues in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Of course, like all mortals, he made a few mistakes, and stepped on powerful toes. But he remains one of the brightest hopes of Nigeria. There are allegations of improprieties against him, and he’s being pursued with the agility of a horse. That is to be expected in a country where we love to chase shadows and the leadership has gone neurotic.
He must make plans to return to Nigeria to defend himself. Every soul knows there are desperate attempts to smear him. Not that he’s a saint. But if we can keep some of the characters we see in the corridors-of-power permanently in government jobs, then Nasir smells like a beautiful rose. He should remain unruffled. Persecution sometimes helps its victim. A good example is that of Jacob Zuma of South Africa who got the overwhelming support from his people despite his “bad boy” image. Such is life.
Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola is one of the greatest things to happen to Nigerian politics. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and current governor of Nigeria’s most important state, Lagos. Babatunde reinforces the theory that the future of Nigeria should be placed in the hands of members of the private sector. Our incorrigible politicians would never change their bad habits. Babatunde is strict, smart and business-like. He has given Lagos a good direction by promoting good governance above partisan politics. He was a virtual underdog at the time his former boss, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu practically forced him on the Action Congress.
He was young and shy. But he has matured into a confident leader who clearly has his master-plan in view, and the willingness to execute it with clinical precision. He has shown exceptional courage in dealing with grave issues. And he’s being applauded by everyone for his stupendous efforts. The question on people’s lips is if Babatunde would risk his plush job to attempt a shot at the presidency. The answer is that he needs more time to tackle the many challenges of Lagos, and that he must wait till 2015. But Nigeria is in dire need of a new leader and cannot wait or waste much time getting such a man.
So our search continues. Professor Pat Utomi should step forward. His rich knowledge of the Nigerian economy should naturally qualify him for this most important job. He also comes with the experience of running for the presidency in the last election. His major problem is how to persuade a largely illiterate community that a very academic man can take Nigeria to the next level of prosperity and accountability. As good as he is, he seems to have an uphill task unless he can get a broad coalition of Nigerian parties to adopt him.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is primus inter pare amongst the women who are qualified to lead Nigeria. Her intimidating job as the managing director of the World Bank makes her a veritable candidate for the presidency of Nigeria. She also comes with the wonderful experience of being our former minister of finance, and subsequently foreign affairs. She ably distinguished herself on both jobs. She was a powerful voice on the continent of Africa and beyond. It is yet to be seen if a largely male-dominated country like Nigeria is ready to jettison its traditional chauvinism to enthrone a proud daughter of Africa in power.
Next on our list of potential Obamas is Dr Oby Ezekwesili, current vice president (Africa) at the World Bank. Reasonable Nigerians would forever remember her heroic deeds for institutionalizing due process in government activities. They will remember with fond memories her epic battles against the enemies of qualitative education for Nigerians. In a very normal society, technocrats like Oby should make a spectacular showing in governance. She’s one of the leading lights of Nigeria, and definitely a lady to watch in the near future. She would be needed to perform some of the badly needed surgeries on our cancerous nation.
One of our best women, Professor Dora Akunyili, has been sucked into government full time. She gave a good account of herself as the Director-General of NAFDAC, where she executed a running battle against the producers and marketers of fake drugs. Her fame grew in leaps and bounds, and she almost won a Nobel Prize for her gallant efforts. There is no woman more popular in Nigeria today than Dora Akunyili but her recent appointment as Minister of Information and Communications has placed her in a very precarious situation. Many of her great fans are very worried about how this job of defending a poor government might affect her political future. She would have to learn how the other women on our list left government with their reputations intact, by not being overzealous about a thankless job.
We welcome Fola Tajudeen Adeola, the whiz-kid of Nigerian banking and co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank, to this great company. The gentleman with very extensive contacts is respected in many circles. He endeared himself to most Nigerian youths when he voluntarily quit his powerful job as managing director of GTB, and headed straight to the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, near Jos.
It was a move that was seen at the time as preparatory to joining the presidential race. He was briefly involved in political assignments under the Obasanjo government, an experience that must have taught him a few things about the intricacies of working under an insincere leadership. If he works very hard, he’s well positioned to attract massive support from both the Muslim north and the southern Muslims.
No one can ignore Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa in the scheme of things in Nigeria. There were attempts to rubbish him when he showed interest in the presidential race under the government of Olusegun Obasanjo. He had to make a quick retreat after he was whipped into line by the powers that be. His sparkling military career and outstanding performance as the military governor of Lagos State are enough reasons for his fans to see him as a potential Obama. He’s one cosmopolitan figure within the military mafia in Nigeria, and his relevance endures by his appointment as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa and Lesotho. His albatross would be his membership of an irredeemable political party, and like Donald Duke he may find it difficult to pull out.
Another school of thought believes that one of the biggest problems Nigeria faces is that of a negative perception by the global community. There have been suggestions that Nigeria should adopt the Italian style of putting a media mogul in power. Such a man would be able to put his journalistic experience into good use by re-orienting our people and building a credible image for a much-maligned nation. The name of THISDAY publisher, Nduka Obaigbena, looms large across the world as Nigeria’s most influential publisher. His foray into showbiz promotion and political and economic summits are said to be part of a calculated strategy to launch a mega political career, an assumption he readily dismisses.
In all, there are many more potential Obamas. The idea was to tickle us into thinking that Nigeria desperately needs a change, and that we are not lacking of our own Obama. The logical follow-up to our search is how to successfully launch and install such a great character in a country where a Moshood Abiola was left to rot in prison until he died. What was worse, the beneficiaries of his death never acknowledged his amazing contributions for the eight years they spent in power. It was as if they even hated him more in his grave. But no man can kill a dream when its time has come.
Our next challenge is no longer the search for the representative of the true aspirations of the people. It is how to ensure that our candidate is not mercilessly bruised or battered by the wolves on the rock.
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Goodluck Jonathan Vice president made a quote in this article : “ If we cannot correct the rot at the lowest level, then it would be cumbersome to do same at the top” wonders will never cease ! now blaming the people !
We do not want Sanni Abachas picture to scare our readers that is why it is not here.
1.who killed Dele Giwa ?
2.How did MKO Abiola Die ?
3.Shell,CIA Ken Saro Wiwa the real truth .
and many more ! What
editorial edited and recut from Thisday
Former US Secretary State and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff of the American Armed Forces, General Colin Powell (rtd), has revealed that on the night the late General Sani Abacha was to overthrow the Interim National Government (ING), headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, he was informed at 2 a.m.
Powel said he had protested against the decision, but was ignored by the late head of state.
but he did nothing as they allowed 9geria to slide back into Military Rule again.What kind of Strategic Partners are these americans.They folded their hands in Rwanda during the tutsi slaughter .powell a known admirer of the yahooze song by olu Maintain seems to be getting more and more ingrained within 9gerian politics since his retirement.close Sources say he is involved in a CIA plot to embed Top ranking former serving americans to a final solution of the 9gerian problem.
The USA has had great interest in 9geria since Communist China planted tenterhooks within the countrys resources.China is secretly buying up half of Africa and America is not having that.
Powell, who had supervised American involvement in 28 conflicts around the world including the Panama intervention, and Persian Gulf Operation Desert Storm, also noted that 9gerians do not trust their leaders.
He said many do not consider the current 9geria democracy as that of the people.
Powell made these remarks in his speech during the breakfast meeting organised by Tell Communications Limited (publishers of Tell Magazine) to mark 9geria’s 10 years of unbroken democracy (May 1999 – May 2009).
“I have watched as someone who sees and believes in the great potential of 9geria as an economic power and a political leader in the region and the world- as someone who wants to see that potential realised,” said Powell.
“Yes, I have seen the turmoil”, he added. “Shortly after I retired from the Army in 1993, I began getting letters from Sani Abacha, telling me of the problems in 9geria,” he told the audience.
“His letters were disturbing, and foreboding,” he added.
He continued: “Then, late one night, around 2 a.m, I got a phone call from him at my home that the situation, in his view had become so bad that he had to act.
Said he: “I pleaded with him not to, that America and the world would not understand and would react badly. He did not listen, and you know the rest of that story.”
Powell said in 1999 he was part of the election monitoring team in 9geria and had a profound experience.
He regretted that by all independent accounts he had seen the irregularities and corruption seen in subsequent elections is deeply troubling, adding that there is a real danger, that the will of the people is not being determined, but instead is being manipulated and pushed aside in the quest for power.
Vice-President Dr Goodluck Jonathan who also spoke at the event where he represented President Umar Yar’Adua said the government was committed towards ensuring that the votes of 9gerians count in all future elections.
Jonathan stated that part of what the nation was celebrating was the successful transition of one civilian government to another.
According to him: “ This is the first time the nation’s parliament has been in place for 10 years although the judiciary and executive existed throughout the period of military rule.”
He further observed that 9gerian politicians had a tendency of challenging results of elections whenever they lost, noting that there was need for stability if the nation’s democracy would grow. The Vice-President enjoined the mass media to be more balanced in its reporting of political events in the country.
Said he : “ It is not in all cases that the ruling party is on the wrong side during political developments in the country” .
He cited the fraudulent manner in which state independent electoral commissions conduct local government polls in different states of the country where parties in power always swept the polls. He however regretted that the trend never attracted the attention of the media which only preferred bashing the Independent Electoral Commission ( INEC).
Said he: “ If we cannot correct the rot at the lowest level, then it would be cumbersome to do same at the top” . i magine ! the cheek of the VP Are they trying to absolve themselves of their wrongs ?
This is shifting of blame at the highest level .So so rotten !
Also, speaking at the event was Justice George Oguntade, a Judge of the Supreme Court of 9geria, who described the existence of the current 36 states structure as a drain pipe to the economy, and advocated that some states be merged.
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not necessarily in this order
1.Nuhu Ribadu
2.Pat Utomi
3.Governor fashola
4.Fola Adeola former MD GTB
5.Buhari
6.Buba Marwa
7.Donald Duke
8.Dangote if he can stop loving money
9.Nasir El rufai
10. Dr Akin Osunlaja
read more here
http://www.9jabook.com/profiles/blogs/the-search-for-our-own-obama-1
It is difficult to meet Mallam Nuhu Ribadu without having some sort of liking for him. I saw the embattled pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the first time at a 'state of the nation' symposium organised by the Nigerian Liberty Forum at the Metropolitan University, London, on May 29, 2009. A man whose slender frame and boyish looks often mask his lion heart and iron resolve, Mallam Ribadu easily stole the show at the gathering. He was literally mobbed as he entered the hall, and as he stood to speak, almost everyone, as if by some sort of invisible instigation, stood up in respect, and remained standing for a long time.
I was never a fan of Nuhu Ribadu's methods as the EFCC chairman. I still hold the EFCC under his watch partly responsible for the joke that was the 2007 elections. I had written about his recent travails as a comeuppance for his misdeeds as chairman of the financial crimes buster. I had strongly disagreed with arguments that he meant well despite his obvious excesses, noting that even the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Ribadu spoke on Nigerian unity, making what some people would regard as a populist appeal for Nigerians to overcome their differences and come together to reclaim the Nigerian state from the grips of a corrupt and visionless elite. He argued that there was really no substantial difference in the needs and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic and other primordial differences, because "all they ask for are the basic necessities of life." For Ribadu, the Nigerian elites like to harp on the differences among Nigerians because it is in their interest to do so, to "keep us divided". He called himself a simple Fulani man, whose role model had always been Gani Fawehinmi, a man he said he would name Abuja after, if he had his way. He rhetorically asked, to thunderous applause, whether we are being fair to the likes of Wole Soyinka and Anthony Enahoro, who had given over 50 years of their lives to the struggle to make Nigeria better, but are still forced to remain in active service. in their old age, because the problems of the country appear to remain intractable.
I respected Mallam Ribadu for not using the forum to get back at the Nigerian government, his current traducers. He wisely focused on positive messages, admitting that mistakes were made when he was boss of the EFCC. There was something about the way he spoke that touched most people in the audience, including those of us who are his ardent critics. It was easy to believe that he spoke from his heart rather than from his head.
As Ribadu spoke, I noticed that a Nigerian lady sitting next to me was struggling to hold back her tears. "This is a very honest man, a very rare Nigerian," she muttered, more to herself. I tried to engage her in a discussion. I agreed that Nuhu was obviously an honest man, who meant well and had a lot of passion for the job he did as EFCC chairman. I however disagreed that his good intentions were enough excuses for some of his unacceptable methods. Her facial expression changed as if I had uttered a heresy.
"Whether any one likes it or not, he will be our next president," she muttered and moved farther away from me as if to clearly indicate that she did not want to pursue that discussion any further.
Nuhu Ribadu for president? Though not his supporter, I have always believed firmly that in Nigeria's game of musical chairs, his rehabilitation would be only a matter of time, and his traducers would inevitably one day take their own turn of being painted as villains. This is one of the iron laws of our politics: there are no permanent messiahs or permanent villains. Just think of Abacha, the poster boy of Nigerian dictatorship and corruption, and the efforts made not long ago by a section of the country to rehabilitate him.
In the Tube (underground train) on my way home from the symposium, I found myself standing next to three gentlemen who had apparently also attended the event. The discussion was again on Nuhu Ribadu.
"He is very inspirational. He is our Obama," one of the three men, who looked Caucasian to me, declared. I decided to barge into the discussion but resisted the temptation to ask the gentleman if he was indeed Nigerian. I asked whether the genius of Obama was because he was inspirational or because he was post-racial, and a reconciler, with wisdom and a good organisational sense.
"Nigeria needs an enlightened leader who can inspire confidence in Nigerians, whom Nigerians will be proud of, and who genuinely wants to transform the country," he declared.
I agreed that Ribadu inspires confidence and will make a genuine effort to transform Nigeria if he becomes president of the country, but again expressed concerns about his democratic credentials. I reminded them that when he was boss of the EFCC he virtually kidnapped or forced some House of Assembly members in Plateau State to impeach their governor. I also reminded the three gentle men that during the 2007 elections Ribadu appeared to sit in his office and decide which people to disqualify from running for office before finding evidence against them.
"I don't think you will vote for him, will you? Your question to the founder of Sahara Reporters [the online blog] gave you away," the bulkiest of the three, with obvious Nigerian features, said, with a smile of superior wisdom. I had asked Omoyele Sowore if he ever saw anything good in the Nigerian government. I also accused him of appearing to romanticise the Niger Delta militants, and of failing to distinguish between the cause they espouse (which most Nigerians support) and their methods (which many find abhorrent).
"Look brother," began the third man, "we Nigerians made Obama President of the United States. More than 25 percent of the people who organised and knocked on doors for Obama are Nigerians. Nuhu is not perfect. But do you think any of the people currently being touted as presidential candidates in Nigeria will be better than Nuhu?" He had a slight Igbo accent.
I agreed with him that if Nuhu ever became Nigeria's president, it would never be business as usual and that he would be prepared to give his life to make a difference. I however once again reiterated my concern about his antecedents, including a tendency to be carried away by emotions.
As we disembarked and went our different ways, what became obvious to me was that Nigerians had not heard the last of Nuhu Ribadu.
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Despite beating France, the 1998 World Cup winners in a friendly game on Tuesday night in Saint Etienne, Nigeria’s Super Eagles retained their 30th position on the global scale of the FIFA ranking released yesterday. Nigeria however remains Africa’s second best behind Cameroon.
Ghana’s Black Stars are third while Cote D’Ivoire is fourth with Egypt fifth. In the sixth place is Gabon while Burkina Faso moved up to the seventh. Nigeria’s rival in the World Cup Group 2 Tunisia is eighth with Guinea and Mali completing the African top ten placement. A jump-up of six places in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will help the morale of the team, who are chasing a first-ever place at the FIFA World Cup™ finals which next year is being hosted in neighbouring South Africa.
After holding Nigeria to a draw in their opening tie of the final group phase in March, Mozambique's Mambas are brimming with confidence as they prepare for two matches on the road in June - first away against Tunisia on 6 June and then onto Kenya for a meeting in Nairobi on 20 June.
Mozambique are now in 80th place in the world standings, edging ever closer to their best-ever position of 66th, set some 12 years ago. The team are now well ahead of their average position of 104 and showing steady progress with each passing month. Indeed, Mozambique won the award in 2007 as the Best Mover in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, ahead of Norway and New Caledonia.
June will be a watershed month as the two away trips present a real examination of the extent of their potential. Mozambique have been flirting with African football's superpowers in recent years but the jury is still out on whether they have the credentials to join the elite ranks.
European champions Spain continue to lead the way in the June edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, and they still hold a comfortable lead at the top.
Within the top ten, there is movement directly behind the Iberians, however, as the Netherlands have overtaken Germany and reclaimed second place in the Ranking for the first time since October 2005. Other teams to have traded places are Italy (4th, up 1) and Brazil (5th, down 1), as well as England (6th, up 1) and Argentina (7th, down 1).
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 1 July 2009.
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CULTURE is the totality of a way of life of any people. It embraces the mode of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Culture is also exemplified in the form of language, music, dressing, eating habits, shelter, norms, values and the ethos upon which a particular society is built.In Africa and indeed Nigeria, hospitality for strangers, care for the extended family and other members of the community are rich aspects of our culture. However, with increased scientific and technological advancement, culture has been a subject of dynamism. Thus obsolete technologies and archaic ideas are daily being discarded.But a radical departure from the very fabric upon which a society depends and a complete substitution of its culture with aliens culture, has resounding repercussion on the dignity and pride of any people. The people of Nigeria have been deceived to believe that anything African is evil and uncivilised and have come to accept western and to some extent oriental culture as the best standards.Indeed, we have seen how our local languages are being neglected. Some of our children cannot communicate in their mother tongues today and the only language some understand is English.Thus, these types of children are aliens in their own land. Besides, African names, proverbs and music always have an underlying meaning which has a bearing on the life of the people. We are gradually witnessing a decline in African names, music and literature. We have also seen how our decent mode of dressing has been giving way to the culture which recognises public nudity as part of a growing civilisation.Now, we are left to face the problems arising from the kind of music, pictures, films and immoral alien cultures, passed to our youths through the cable networks and internet. This has led to disrespect for elders, upsurge in various crimes such as prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug abuse and trafficking. Thus, the nation is caught up in the web of cultural imperialism of the West.In order to free ourselves therefore, some measures have to be adopted. First, the government should introduce the teaching of history and culture and make same compulsory at least up to secondary school level. This will make our youths to understand our glorious past and the need to preserve it. Such countries like the United States have similar programmes for all her citizens.Secondly, there should be a deliberate policy like that of the Indians to promote the positive aspects of our culture – language, mode of dressing, music, works of arts, hospitality and high moral standards both in our schools, institutions of higher learning and every other segment of the society.Thirdly, the Ministry of Culture, National Orientation and Tourism and the media should adopt collaborative approach to educate the Nigerian people on the need to preserve our cultural identity. Our re-branding and nationalism begins from our national identity-namely culture.Comment
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Angel Gabriel came to the Lord and said, "I have to talk to you. I have some Nigerians up here in Heaven who are causing some problems. They are swinging on the Pearly Gates, my horn is missing, and they've got Maggi sauce and Ogbono soup all over their robes; hamhocks, Isi-ewu, Cow-feet and Bokoto bones are all over the streets of Gold.Some folk are walking around with one wing; they have been late taking their turn in keeping the stairway to heaven clean. There are soda bottles all over the clouds, some aren't even wearing their halos, saying it doesn't fit with their hairstyles."The Lord said, "I made them special, as I did you, my angel. Heaven is home to all my children. If you really want to know about problems, let's call the Devil."The Devil answered the phone, "Hello? What the.!!, hold on one minute." The Devil returned to the phone and said, "Hello Lord, what can I do for you? The Lord replied, "Tell me what kind of problems you are having down there." The Devil said, "Wait one minute," and put the Lord on hold.After 5 minutes he returned to the phone, and said "Okay, I'm back. What was the question?" The Lord said, "What kind of problems are you having down there?" The Devil said, "Man, I don't believe this.....hold on, Lord".This time the Devil was gone for 15 minutes. The Devil returned and said, "I'm sorry Lord, I can't talk right now.These Nigerians put the fire out, and now they are trying to install air conditioning!Read more…
Sent by Michael Ojugbo ! Thanks !
Did you hear about the man who was looking for a job overseas? He noticed there was an opening at the local zoo. Upon inquiry, he discovered the zoo had a very unusual position that they wanted to fill. Apparently their gorilla had died, and until they could get a new one, they needed someone to dress up in a gorilla suit and act like a gorilla for a few days. He was to just sit, eat, and sleep. Of course, his identity would be kept a secret, and no one would be the wiser, thanks to a very fine gorilla suit. The zoo offered good pay for this job, so the man decided to do it. He tried on the suit and sure enough, he looked just like a gorilla.
They led him to the cage; he took a position at the back of the cage and pretended to sleep. But after a while, he got tired of sitting so he walked around a little bit, jumped up and down and tried a few gorilla noises. The people watching him seemed to really like that. When he would move or jump around, they would clap and cheer and throw him peanuts. And the man loved peanuts.
So he jumped around some more and tried climbing a tree. That seemed to really get the crowd excited. They threw more peanuts. Playing to the crowd, he grabbed a vine and swung from one side of the cage to the other. The people loved it and threw more peanuts. "Wow! This is great," he thought. He swung higher and the crowd grew bigger. He continued to swing on the vine, getting higher and higher and then all Last, all of a sudden, the vine broke! He swung up and out of the cage, landing in the lion's cage that was next door. He panicked.
There was a huge lion not twenty feet away, and it looked very hungry. So the man in the gorilla suit started jumping up and down, screaming and yelling, "Help, help! Get me out of here! I'm not really a gorilla! I'm a man in a gorilla suit! HELP!"
The lion quickly pounced on the man, held him down and said, AKIN NO FEAR NA ME CHUKWUDI "be quiet! You're going to make both of us lose our jobs"
Be cheerful and let’s face this job squarely!!!!!!!!!!!!Read more…
Families pay tribute to Air France victims
By EMMA VANDORE – 32 minutes ago
PARIS (AP) — Three young Irish doctors, all close friends, enjoying a two-week vacation together in Brazil.
That's how their families want to remember Aisling Butler, 26, Jane Deasy, 27, and Eithne Walls, 29 — three of the 228 passengers who met with tragedy as Air France flight 447 ended up in the Atlantic Ocean.
The women boarded the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Sunday night after a reunion with a larger group of former students who graduated in 2007 from Trinity College medical school.
Aisling's father John Butler paid tribute to his daughter Tuesday from his home in Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he told Irish reporters. "She never flunked an exam in her life — nailed every one of them — and took it all in her stride as well."
He said he initially thought Aisling was booked on Monday's flight and had to retrieve her itinerary from his deleted e-mails folder.
"When I opened it up, a nightmare opened up as well," he said.
Walls was working in Dublin's Eye and Ear Hospital. Before starting her medical studies she worked full-time as a dancer in the Riverdance troupe, and continued to perform part-time during her six years in Trinity medical school. She performed at Radio City Music Hall and in Germany, France, China and Dublin.
Julian Erskine, executive producer of Riverdance productions worldwide, described Walls as "bright and sparkling."
"She made an impact on anyone. When she wasn't dancing, she was studying. She was on a mission to be a doctor," he said.
Investigators were still looking into what brought the plane down in the Atlantic Ocean hours into its flight to Paris.
Among the 216 passengers were 61 French citizens, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, nine Chinese and nine Italians. A lesser number of citizens from 27 other countries also were on the passenger list, including two Americans.
Ten salesmen from CGED, an electrical distributor, were on the plane with their spouses after winning a vacation to Brazil, Europe-1 radio reported.
French tiremaker Michelin lost three executives, including two senior Brazilian managers and Christine Pieraerts, a young French engineer. Spokeswoman Sophie Perrier said Michelin's staff was "very moved" by the tragedy.
Michelin's president for South America, Luiz Roberto Anastacio, 50, had been promoted May 4 and was traveling to France to meet fellow top executives. He had worked for Michelin for 27 years.
Brazilian information systems director, Antonio Gueiros, who had worked for Michelin for over 20 years, was coming to Paris for a computer seminar.
Michael Pieraerts praised his younger sister Christine, who was just short of her 29th birthday.
"Christine had, a short while ago, a stroke. She had recovered. We were very happy because was starting to take up her activities and a normal life again. Fate caught up with her and us," Michael told Le Parisien newspaper.
The five Britons on the plane included 61-year-old British engineer Arthur Coakley, from near Whitby, North Yorkshire. His wife of 34 years, Patricia, broke down in tears as she described her "fabulous husband," father to their three grown children.
"He worked so hard for his family, that's all he wanted, to retire. It's not going to happen, is it?" she told Britain's Press Association.
Coakley, a structural engineer for PDMS, an Aberdeen-based oil company, was helping with a survey in Brazil. He was booked onto an earlier flight, but was bumped onto the doomed jet after the first flight was full.
Patricia Coakley said her son Patrick raised the alarm, phoning to ask "What flight is Daddy on?"
She tried phoning her husband's mobile on Monday but gave up Tuesday.
"Yesterday I was really optimistic, today maybe more realistic," she said.
Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, 26, a member of Brazil's now-defunct royal family and a descendent of Dom Pedro II, the nation's last emperor, was on the plane. So was sailor Zoran Markovic, 45, from the village of Kostelji in northwestern Croatia.
Air France said 11 of the 12 crew members were French but did not release their names.
The flight captain, 58, joined Air France in 1988 and had 11,000 hours of flight hours including 1,700 on aircraft of the same type as the A330-200 that disappeared.
The two co-pilots were 37 and 32 and had over 9,000 flight hours between them.
The head of the cabin crew was 49, his deputies were 54 and 46 years old. Of the six flight attendants aged between 24 and 44, one was Brazilian.
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Did you hear about the man who was looking for a job overseas? He noticed there was an opening at the local zoo. Upon inquiry, he discovered the zoo had a very unusual position that they wanted to fill. Apparently their gorilla had died, and until they could get a new one, they needed someone to dress up in a gorilla suit and act like a gorilla for a few days. He was to just sit, eat, and sleep. Of course, his identity would be kept a secret, and no one would be the wiser, thanks to a very fine gorilla suit. The zoo offered good pay for this job, so the man decided to do it. He tried on the suit and sure enough, he looked just like a gorilla.They led him to the cage; he took a position at the back of the cage and pretended to sleep. But after a while, he got tired of sitting so he walked around a little bit, jumped up and down and tried a few gorilla noises. The people watching him seemed to really like that. When he would move or jump around, they would clap and cheer and throw him peanuts. And the man loved peanuts.So he jumped around some more and tried climbing a tree. That seemed to really get the crowd excited. They threw more peanuts. Playing to the crowd, he grabbed a vine and swung from one side of the cage to the other. The people loved it and threw more peanuts. "Wow! This is great," he thought. He swung higher and the crowd grew bigger. He continued to swing on the vine, getting higher and higher and then all Last, all of a sudden, the vine broke! He swung up and out of the cage, landing in the lion's cage that was next door. He panicked.There was a huge lion not twenty feet away, and it looked very hungry. So the man in the gorilla suit started jumping up and down, screaming and yelling, "Help, help! Get me out of here! I'm not really a gorilla! I'm a man in a gorilla suit! HELP!"The lion quickly pounced on the man, held him down and said, NNAMDI NO FEAR NA ME CHIJIOKE "be quiet! You're going to make both of us lose our jobs"Be cheerful and let’s face this job squarely!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ebuka told his Oga at the shop to wait at the gate and pick him up after his Commerce exam at the Commercial Secondary school where he was registered.He was given Commerce Exam question paper and the only question he could answer was question number 3 and it says:''Differentiate between a Warehouse and a Shop.''(20marks)After much thinking he smiled and wrote his answer:Warehouse is at Ladipo while shop is at Alaba.Then he submitted his paper and went to meet his Oga at the gate.Oga : Ebuka , how did it go?Ebuka: It was so simple Oga, question number threesays : Differentiate between a warehouse and aShop.Oga : And what did you write ?Ebuka: Well I wrote that warehouse is at Ladipo while shopis at Alaba.Oga : So is that all you wrote ?Ebuka : Yes .Oga : Common go back and put the phone numbers andcomplete address , stupid boy!That's how you get customers, idiot.
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