Nigeria in the Vicious Circle of Anomie

"Great nations have not been built by building houses and skyscrapers, but by building lives and leaders."

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Author of "In the House Dogs" and other books.

When you do a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria and degradation of the government by corruption, you will see the genesis of the Nigerian crisis and the consequences which are now the worst fears and nightmares of widespread intellectual ignorance and violence.
It is unfortunate that while the educational institutions are collapsing, the federal government is celebrating pyramids of bags of rice and state governors are celebrating building flyovers while the drainage systems have collapsed.
The local governments cannot even clean up their streets with nauseating filthy environment of dirty inhabitants.

There cannot be good governance in the state of Intellectual ignorance and incompetence.
There is an epidemic of gullibility, irrationality and stupidity in every sphere of the dog eat dog Nigerian society.

The terrible predicament of intellectual ignorance is that the ignorant don't realize their ignorance. Living in denial of the truth is a common lifestyle among them. It is an oddity to be honest and straight.
The youths and elders are equally living in conceit and deceit.
Fathers and mothers have become pimps of their daughters.
The religious leaders are partners in crime of the rogue politicians and their rogue contractors in the private sector.

The country is full whited sepulchres
of rotten people with empty lives. And they don't even realize that they are empty in the vicious circle of their anomie.

-  By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Author of "In the House Dogs" and other books distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers worldwide.

Speaking Out on #Nollywood: Majority of Yoruba Filmmakers Are Intellectual Illiterates

Speaking Out on #Nollywood: Majority of Yoruba Filmmakers Are Intellectual Illiterates

Majority of Yoruba filmmakers are intellectual illiterates and by their movies you shall know them.
They portray Yorubas as fetish and superstitious people with low IQ.
If you watch their movies, you will be scared of having relationship with Yorubas.
They are the largest producers of Juju movies in Africa.

They seem to have forgotten that Yorubas have produced great  intellectual minds; from the greatest Nigerian polymath of modern education, Bishop Samuel Ajai-Crowther to the first black Nobel Laureate in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka. And the most outstanding founders of tech startups that are among the Unicorns in Africa are Yorubas. But I have not seen Yoruba movies about outstanding Yoruba geniuses and technocrats of Arts, Sciences and Technology who have achieved success by their education and erudition. All I have seen in over 90 percent of Yoruba movies are fetish and superstitious people using Juju rituals to get rich quick and succeed in life.
Even some of the Yoruba movies and  series showing educated Yorubas in the modern Nigerian society have glaring shortcomings in the characterization and personification of the middle class and upper class Yorubas such as in the TV series of "Hush" of the Africa Magic channels on both DStv and GOtv.
The telenovela about romantic, economic and political lives of Bem and Arinola in fashion and politics. The personality of "Bem" acted by Richard Mofe-Damijo as one of Africa’s biggest fashion designers based in Lagos failed to show any expertise and lifestyle of a guru of the fashion industry. The producers should have studied the personalities of the leading male gurus of fashion in Africa and their knowledge of the fashion industry from Lagos to London to Paris to Milan to New York. They should have consulted Ohimai Atafo and Duro Olowu, two of the top Nigerian international fashion designers. Bem looked more like the owner of a club than owner of a top flight fashion house.
Then "Arinola" portrayed by Thelma Okoduwa as one of the state’s fastest rising politicians did not have the political knowledge and personality of any notable female politicians in south western Nigeria.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

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#BishopAjaiCrowther #WoleSoyinka #Nobelprize
#nigeria #filmmakers #africa #technology #education #dstv #success #people #tech #gotv #startups #like #fashion #fashionindustry #london #paris #founders #society #designers #Africamagic #movies #series

Ideato Federal Constituency and Dr. Pascal Obi: When Continuity Becomes the Only Road To Travel

Ideato Federal Constituency and Dr. Pascal Obi: When Continuity Becomes the Only Road To Travel

- By Clifford Dike 

The legendary British writer C.S Lewis, perhaps had Ideato North and South federal constituency and the exhilarating performance of its representative in the House of Reps, Dr Chigozie Pascal Obi in mind when he uttered the timeless quote:"mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth.

Conversely, a broad spectrum of Ndi Ideato ultimately shares C.S Lewi's sentiment on continuity judging by the current groundswell of support for his re-election to the House of Representatives

Who would not w.ant a continuation of a quality and people oriented representation? Nobody, of course and this explains why the Ideato nation insists it cannot afford not to return Dr. Obi to the House.

Apart from the need for him to continue with his superlative representation of Ideato people and delivery of dividends of democracy, political leaders and opinion moulders in constituency hing their desire for Dr. Obi's re-election on national interest as regards parliamentary stability and growth of participatory democracy such as ours.

The high turnover of federal Parliamentarians every four years, especially in the Southeast, according to them does not make room for a robust legislative experience as obtained in the United States and other participatory  democracies around the world where some Parliamentarians spend upward of two, three decades in the hallowed legislative chambers.

A beautiful road is the darling of motorists and thus they keep plying it. This maxim finds definitive expression in Dr. Obi whose three and half years legislative journey is replete with quantum achievements.

When he was elected to the House of Reps in 2019 to represent Ideato North /Ideato South federal, his constituents entertained no doubt about his preparedness and capability to perform and he has not disappointed so far.

It is for this reason that the mantra in the constituency today is: Pascal, ga na agara anyi ije na Abuja ( Pascal will continue to represent us in Abuja).

In just three and half years in the House of Representatives, Dr Obi has brought the Ideato nation and indeed Imo state to national consciousness  on the floor of the House through:  

*Urgent call on the federal government of Nigeria to carry out full rehabilitation and reconstruction of Akwakuma - Orlu - Mgbee - Obiohia - Urualla - Akokwa - Uga federal road. It was adopted by the House and equally captured in the 2021 budget.

*A motion urging the federal government of Nigeria to create one more Federal Government College (FGC) in Imo State. Every state has three except Imo. This received instant approval and Obi, a result-oriented Federal Lawmaker insisted that it will be sited in Ideato Nation.

*A motion for the extension of Federal Medical Center Owerri to Ideato. It was also approved and included in the  2021 budget.

*A motion for the total turnaround of the National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu vis-a-vis workforce, facilities and structures. It gained approval.

*A motion for the canalization of river banks. This will protect our communities from excessive flooding during the rainy season.

*A motion urging the federal government of Nigeria to build more Ear/Eye hospitals in other parts of the country since the only Ear/Eye Hospital is located in Kaduna. It was approved, hence Ear Center for Lagos and Eye Center for Owerri, Imo State.

*A motion on the looming reoccurrence of Ebola crises in Nigeria: The need for the federal government to put in place detective measures in our airports, seaports and land borders.

*Calling attention to the need to construct a perimeter fence at the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri.

All communities in the federal constituency bear witness to Dr Pascal Obi's socio-economic and infrastructural blitz.

This can be gleaned from the total number of boreholes  he has drilled at designated points within the following communities:

URUALLA

OBODOUKWU

DIKENAFAI

UGBELLE

ORIE UMUOBOM

UMUMAISIAKU

AMANATO

NDIANICHE UNO

OSINA

OBIOHIA

He has also either established or upgraded comprehensive Health Facilities situated.

AKPULU, OSINA, OZU - URUALLA, UMUOKWARA, AKOKWA, DIKENAFAI, OBIOHIA, NTUEKE, UMUMAISIAKU, UMUOBOM and OGBOKO.

Phase similar project is also  ongoing at UMUALAOMA, UMUAGHOBE, UMUCHIMA, UGBELLE, UMUESHI, FMC ANNEX UMUEZEALLA - OGBOKO

Ideato is prone to erosion hence Dr Pascal Obi is paying special attention to roads and erosion control in the constituency.

So far, to his credit are a 1.5 Km Road at Akpulu, a 1.5 Km Road at Nneato-Ogwugwu Dikenafai, erosion control at Obiohia,

Solar-powered street lights at Umukegwu- Akokwa, Ozuakoli - Urualla and Obiohia - Umuago road.

A firm believer in human capital development, Dr Obi has established a plethora of various skill acquisition and empowerment programmes and centres across the constituency and has also, through his influence, secured federal jobs for several qualified persons in the constituency.  

A seasoned optometrist who has transversed public life at a relatively young age, Dr Obi was born in 1970. He read Optometry at the Imo state university and later capped it with a Masters's degree in Public Health from the University of Nigeria Enugu campus.

A knight of the Catholic Church, Dr Obi joined the  Imo State Ministry of Health Owerri in 1998.

He would rather rise to become The Acting Director of Public Health and Primary Health Care in the ministry and also the coordinator, of the National Programme for Prevention of Blindness (Vision 2020).

Former  Governor of Imo State Owelle Anayo Rochas Okorocha appointed Dr Obi Permanent Secretary and Principal Secretary to the Governor, a position he held till August 2018 to seek elective office.

As another election year (2023) approaches, the mood in Ideato is that of unwavering determination to travel the Dr Pascal Obi's route once more,this time around through the Labour Party route.

As a deft politician who  correctly guages the mood of his people and weighs their political aspirations and interest, Dr.Obi has keyed into the raging Peter Obi and the Labour Party revolution for the overall interest of the Ideato Nation.

Labour Party and its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi has become a national movement, a moving train every right-thinking politician who wants the best for his people must join hence Dr. Pascal Obi wasted no time in hopping in on board.

From all ramifications,  the people's parliamentarian, the Avatar of Ideato politics, Dr Chigozie Pascal Obi ( Ugwusinachi) is a king awaiting formal crowning. The crowning will of course happen in February next year when the Ideato nation would have resoundingly voted him and the Labour Party for a return to Abuja!

***

Clifford Dike writes from Urualla, Ideato North, Imo State.

Where Dogs Eat Dogs

Dog eat dog in capitalism.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

#Dogs
#capitalism
#society
#NIgeria
#success #art #communication #network #university #amazon #africa #writing #military #corruption #publichealth #television

I had early success becoming a
well paid professional TV scriptwriter at 18, the youngest in Africa writing for the weekly puppet drama on Channel 10 of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the largest TV network on the continent: a public health illustrator for the John's Hopkins University's Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) at 21; Art/Features Editor for the Kiddies World magazine at 24 and a national program consultant for the UNICEF in Nigeria at 25.

I was fully informed on both the legitimate and illegitimate businesses in Corporate Nigeria during the military administrations in Nigeria. But since the transition to civilian administrations from 1999 to date, I have seen that Nigeria has gone to the dogs caused by the insecurities of Machiavellian politicians and their beneficiaries without any dignity, integrity and nobility. The worst humans in any society are those without conscience and without shame. Their dog eat dog attitudes    made me to write "In the House of Dogs" distributed by Amazon.

The widespread corrupt practices and all forms violence destroying lives in Nigeria have been caused by the insecurities of majority of Nigerians. Insecurities manifest in various forms of human behaviours: from emotional insecurities to intellectual insecurities which can be seen in the irrationality and stupidity of majority of Nigerians.
Lack of intellectual comprehension can destroy a nation.

Dr. Chika Abazu and Ideato 2023: A Healer Cometh

Dr. Chika Abazu and Ideato 2023: A Healer Cometh

- By Michael Nnaji 

An Avatar is set to happen on Ideato North and South federal constituency of Imo state.Dr. Chika Abazu is an agent of redemption and has sprang forth from his comfort zone in the civil service to offer to fill a yawning void in political presentation of the constiency.

Round the clock care for patients is consistent with medical practice and as a medical doctor of many years standing, Dr. Abazu is emphatic that his mission in politics and desire to represent the Ideato nation is borne out of the urgent need to pull the federal constituency from the doldrums, to heal it of its myriad of ills.

World all over, medical doctors in politics, bringing to bear on governance and leadership, elements of the Hippocratic Oath they swore to, are known to have performed creditedly well in office.

History is indeed replete with an array of medical doctors who have been politicians and political leaders and offered quality leadership the same way they would give quality care to their patients.Some of the famous ones are the Latin American Revolutionary Leader, Che Guevara, Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, Agostinho Neto of Angola, Salvador Allende of Chile, Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) of Haiti, Gor Harlem Brundtland, First Norwegian Female PM, Houphoet Boigny of Ivory Coast, Nain Ramgoolan, PM of Mauritius, as well as the great Mahathir Bin Mohammed of Malaysia, who before his voluntary retirement from politics.

Here in Nigeria Medical doctors who became state governors or occupied other political office in the recent past and showed their mettle include Prof Ambrose Alli, Peter Odili, Bukola Saraki, Chimaoroke Nnamani, Chris Ngige, Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was also succeeded by another medical doctor, Ifeanyi Okowa, Olusegun Mimiko.

Also remarkable are former Secretaries to State Governments, Senators and Members of the House of Representatives such as Bisi Odejide, Dalhatu Tafida, Jubril Aminu, Martins Yellowe, Olorunnimbe Mamora, Aminu Safana, Wale Okediran among others, not to talk of Heads of Parastatals, Commissioners and Local Government officers.

From the foregoing, it is evident that medical doctors in politics have always left a trail of quality, people oriented and purposeful leadership.

There is no doubt that as the representative of Ideato people come next year, Dr Abazu will be following on the footsteps of these medical legends turned political icons.   

Sons and daughters of the the Ideato ancient kingdom who rue and grief over almost eight years of vapid representation at the House of Representatives in Abuja can now heave a sigh of relief  for Dr. Abazu is coming to right that which has been messed up and fix that which has been broken.

All he is asking for is to be given the All Progressives, APC House of Reps ticket and for the good people of Ideato to cast their votes for him in next year's election to enable him to usher in a dew of glory, the dawn of freshness and an exhilarating breathe of fresh air to the federal constituency.

If elected into the House of Reps as the representative of Ideato people, Dr. Abazu, pledges, in his words, "Prudent utilisation of Constituency Funds for genuine, people-focused, transparent and verifiable projects and programs".

His focuse, according to him will be social amenities and infrastructures, health care, quality education, economic empowerment, medium size agricultural and settlement  scheme akin to the Isreali Kitbzu system and social welfare for youths.

Dr. Abazu, is clearly the most prepared and focused among the aspirants angling for the Ideato North and South federal constituency seat.

Here is a man imbued with excellent mental, physical and academic qualifications to mount the exalted seat. He is God-fearing, honest, hardworking, dedicated, focused, charismatic and with rare leadership qualities that are tailored towards societal development.

A Public Health Physician of over 22 years experience in Civil Service; Dr. Abazu has risen to the position of a Director at the Federal Civil Service and has served at various levels with merit and distinction.

A consummate professional whose passion is excellence in service delivery for the good of humanity, Dr. Abazu is an alumnus of Abia State University,  Nigeria Defence Academy Kaduna, West Virginia University Morgantown USA and Emory University Atlanta USA. He is happily married with Children.

***

Michael writes from
Osina, Ideato North, Imo State.

Nations Are Not Built On Political Titles

Nations are not built on political titles.

Nations are built on principles.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Author of "In the House of Dogs" , "The Prophet Lied", "The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and The Nigerian Dream", "Diary of the Memory Keeper", "Scarlet Tears of London" and other books.

Nigeria is in sociopolitical crisis, because the country is ruled by political title chasers and political title chasers are not nation builders.

So, public office holders who are obsessed with their political office titles don't care about principles of visionary leadership. And until they realise their follies of selfish pursuits of political titles and greed for Machiavellian power over others, they will continue to fail in nation building from the local government to the Office of the President.

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

Over aged Nigerian Players in African Youth Championship Exposed

Over aged Nigerian Players in African Youth Championship Exposed

Cheating starts with lying.

In Nigeria lying is a way of life to make ends meet and to catch up the Joneses.

Couples shamelessly lie to cheat themselves.

Boyfriends lie to their girlfriends and girlfriends lie to their boyfriends in their two can play games of conceit and deceit to cheat themselves.

Politicians, pupils, students, scholars, professors and other professionals lie and cheat to succeed.

The most successful people in Nigeria lied and cheated their way to the top.
Nigerian soccer players are perhaps the worst cheats in the game. They lie about their ages to compete in both CAF and FIFA youth competitions. You see a young Nigerian who is almost 40 years old claiming to be less than 21 years and joining the Flying Eagles and playing in the African Youth Championship, FIFA U-20 World Cup or the FIFA World U-17 World Cup. But a former national soccer team star Adokiye Amiesimaka has been exposing them all. The following is Barrister Amiesimaka’s testimony on the current Flying Eagles team playing in the final of the 2011 African Youth Championship.

“The process for 2011 elections has been highly commended for being very credible. There have been a dramatic turnaround for the better, now we are getting there in politics but we are not getting there in sports. What do I mean? I’m saying that in politics, it used to be very bad, talking about rigging and all that. In football it has been very bad and it is still very bad.

This is 2011, why do we keep deceiving ourselves. Stanley Okoro, for instance, has no business in that team which everybody knows; he cannot be anything less than 33 or 34. Olarenwaju Kayode was also my player in the Sharks feeder team in 2002, he played alongside Fortune Chuwkudi, both of them were mates, he too cannot be less than 29 or 30. Abdul Ajagun was one of the highest goal scorers in the league. He was also in Command Secondary School in Kaduna or so, he dropped out of school in SSS2 in the 1990s and so cannot be U-20.

They have no business in that team, so why are we rejoicing and celebrating. We are not helping ourselves and our football, we are just cheating and ridiculing ourselves and then making nonsense of the whole thing. Even if other countries are cheating, let them cheat because of their ignorance, we know better than them.
Age grade teams are meant to help us develop a serious senior national team but we are not doing that. I passed through the age grade level, I played for my secondary school, played for the Lagos team in the National Sport Festival, I played for the national academicals team, and I played for the University and the senior national team. I went through a process and that is how it should be, that is the truth."

Soyinka warns politicians to stop using his name for campaigns

The PM news of Nigeria has reported that Nobel Literature Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has raised alarm over some political statements being circulated in his name. He has refuted the false messages being used for political campaigns.


Recommended books by Prof. Wole Soyinka:

Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World (Reith Lectures)

The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis