One of the most regularly used truism in the third worlds is the nugget that “Children are leaders of tomorrow.” Unfortunately, it is used with brazen duplicity, as statistics implicate how their political leaders pay lip service to the noble nugget. Nations that are devoted to the care of their children are undeniably the most prosperous. There’s no investment more reassuring than banking in the lives of our children, both as individuals and as a State. Africa has been conspicuously lagging behind in this respect compared to other nations who were signatory to the UN convention on Child protection in…
Author: Eze Jude Ogechukwu
This is actually a wrong time to author any write-up on executive Governor of Anambra state — His Excellency, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, since he’s already enmeshed in a tussle, analogous to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, with the “Obidients.” And so, it is necessary to raise a caveat, that this piece was formerly sketched to appraise Soludo’s six months in office, before his needless assault on Peter Obi’s probity and daylight disavowal of his presidential ambition. Earlier in April this year, when Soludo was barely three months in office, having seen the sweats beneath his armpits as he tested the waters,…
One of the demerits of liberalism in any belief system is its propensity to scandalization of faith. This was how pentecostalism (an offshoot of protestantism) which is reputed for its attenuation of christian message took off; following series of reformative movements led by the likes of John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, King Henry VIII, John Knox and Martin Luther, barely 16 centuries after Christ. From the protestants came countless splinter independent churches that dot every nook and cranny of modern world. The wave even surged into Catholic church irrespective of her uncompromising traditions. To tame it a little, the magisterium accepted…
In the words of one of the most electric and practical child-rearing experts in contemporary times — Dr. Ron Taffel: “even as kids reach adolescence, they need more than ever for us to watch over them. Adolescence is not about letting go. It’s about hanging on during a very bumpy ride” This didactic advisory re-echoed in my ears three times in four years. The first time it rang was in June 2018, when ace Singer, Daniel Oyebanjo, more popularly known by his stage name D’banj lost his little son to drowning in his family pool in Lagos. Then followed the…
Observers of political struggles ahead of 2023 general election can attest that since it became the new bride in the nation’s political ecosystem, Labour Party (LP) has been struggling to adjust to the demands of its new position albeit uneasiness. When Peter Obi’s widening influence in the buildup to party primaries was getting declining attention in PDP, some youths voluntarily organized peaceful protest rally at Wadata Plaza headquarters of the party in Abuja, asking PDP and Sen. Iyorchia Ayu to give their ticket to Obi. This voice of reason was neglected by the party, and they opted for the highest…
The event of Tuesday, 11th October, 2022 at the International Conference Centre Abuja has kept current affairs analysts busy weeks afterwards. It was the day and venue for conferment of varied grades of National Honours award to over 500 ‘deserving’ Nigerians (and some friends of Nigeria) by President Muhammadu Buhari. Considering the state of the nation with all indices of state failure staring on our faces, the event looked like stark insensitivity to our already-severed collective sensibility. Heightened insecurity, moribund economy, disharmonous political ecosystem, comatose education sector, deteriorated healthcare system, polarized sociocultural milieu etc, are currently entrenched in our land,…
An annotated bibliography of similarities can easily be drawn between the biblical Saul of Tarsus who become Paul upon his baptism (Acts. 9:10-21) and foremost Nollywood ace, Barr. Kenneth Okonkwo monikered Andy Okeke from his 1991/92 premiere movie “Living in Bondage.” Saul of Tarsus 64/65 AD, commonly known as Paul the Apostle or Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle who spread the teachings of Jesus Christ in the first-century world. Generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the apostolic era, he founded several christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.…
Something is phishing in some Catholic dioceses in Igbo land. Signal disobedience is acutely brooding among the laity. And it’s worrisome that such imprecatory error is getting capacious by the day. Let’s not forget that it was easy for Christianity (Catholicism) to permeate Igbo land with its tenets gaining general acceptance among the people because it operates, in a sense synonymous with their primordial religion. In African traditional religious practice prevalent which was among prehistoric Igbos, “Eze Muo” (the Chief Priest) wields unquestionable reins of authority, since he is believed to be a medium between his people and the gods.…
“When I first ran for public office, it was with the passion and idealism of a young man who believed that government could help make our lives better, that public service was a calling and that citizenship demanded responsibilities. There was a greater good.” – James McGreevey The sensibility of average Nigerian voter has been serially wounded by untoward grandstanding of our political elites that it beggars question if there is anything the people would ever consider offensive to their psychè again. The elites prey on the naivety of the masses and their gullible tendencies, just to keep their obscene…
The Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Reverend Godfrey Igwebuike Onah on Sunday said he is sorry for anybody trying to obstruct Nigeria youths in their new resolve to right the wrong in our polity. Bishop Onah, who noted that the current movements erupting In Nigeria and being propelled by Nigeria youths is beyond political parties and he feels sorry for anybody who tries to frustrate it. Speaking during the dedication of St Mary’s Catholic Church, Ada Agu in Obollo Etiti, Udenu Local Government Area LGA of Enugu State, Bishop Onah recalled that the youths in 2020 wanted to use…
The Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN)’s invitation to a senior lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Nnewi campus, Anambra State, Professor Anthony Ugwu to an investigating panel and his subsequent suspension for refusal to honour invitation have attracted the anger of the Center for Prevention of Corruption and Human Right Abuse Initiative (CPCHRAI) and the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO). Chairman of the CPCHRAI, Comrade Eburu Inya in a statement, said that if RRBN can be administratively reckless as to dabble into a civil matter between two persons that did not concern the Board and also punish someone…
“De mortuis nihil nisi bene” – (say nothing but good about the dead) — ancient Latin adage Of late, there had been an upward trajectory in the spate of social media backlash over lies being told of the dead in funeral eulogies and farewell tributes, especially among elites (VIPs and Celebrities). One of the smileys read “live a just life so that we don’t have to lie in your funeral oration.” Because the world had inordinately became obsessed with that medieval Latin adage cited in the opening quote of this piece; every dead man is by default, deemed a candidate…
The Concerned Igbo Eze North Youths (CINY), a voluntary, nongovernmental, non-profit-making organization of patriotic young men and women of Igbo Eze North LGA, Enugu State has called for immediate restoration of law and order in the local government, following a prevailing insurrection that has plagued the town over a period now. In a statement, made available to newsmen over the weekend, and jointly signed by the President and Secretary of the Association, they pleaded with government to relax the dusk-to-dawn curfew currently in force in the town. They lamented many unprinted economic hardship the order has caused the indigenes. The…
Politics of acrimony and campaign of calumny are inevitable among elites bereft of ideas even amidst their megalomaniac followers. When one is desperate to grab power at all cost, one usually don’t take the stairs. All requisite decorum obtainable among power seekers in sane societies are jettisoned. Vitriolic aspersions are casted against opponents. Antagonistism characteristic of aquatic animals is prevalent. Territorialism which is a zoological features of reptiles annotates their behavioural patterns. Vendettas, customary of Nazist tendencies lace their body languages. And the throes of survival of the fittest conceptualized by Charles Darwin and expanded by Herbert Spencer as far…
Dr. Obong N. S. Etukudoh, Provost/CEO Federal School of Medical Laboratory Technology (FSMLT), Jos has charged the youth forum of the Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria under the auspices of the Young Medical Laboratory Scientists Forum (YMLSF) on innovation, good ethical and professional practice and private sector engagement and collaboration. That these represent the way forward for Medical Laboratory Science Profession and practice in Nigeria especially in this era of global competitiveness. The charge was given on the occasion of the national summit of the body tagged Capital City 2022, held from the 4th to 6th of August 2022 in…
Physicians and other healthcare professionals are in a position to refer business to a variety of individuals and entities: specialists, companies, home health agencies, and others. But what criteria are used when deciding where patient referrals should go? Is it always what is in the best interest of the patient? Are there other motivating factors? How ethical are those ‘motivating’ factors? This, we will dissect in this week’s edition of our digest. Have you ever reported sick to a clinic and found yourself being referred to another clinic for a particular procedure, be it diagnostic or curative? Chances are high…
No counter argument was more baseless on the road to 2023 general elections than the “religion shouldn’t matter” shenanigans by APC and Tinubu supporters. Pardon me for using separately, two words that should be synonymous. Ordinarily, whoever is supporting APC is a Tinubu supporter. But it is not so in today’s reality of the ruling party. Their insensitivity to the countenance of millions of Nigerian christians that made them allow (or pressure) their Muslim flag bearer choose another Muslim as running mate has sharply divided the party into two lateral halves. In APC at the moment, there exists two camps…
“When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” – Euripides “You will find Nigeria a very interesting country” wrote P. Nwadike, “if you have the right mix of narcissism, sarcasm and sadism.” The unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2023 general election threw up yet another scathing cocktail of sarcasm and sadism. Some great men of letters in sacred science like Thomas Aquinas had argued that no sin of lying exists alone. It has multiple subsets of itself…
The last may not have been heard of the keenly debated Bill for the amendment of University Teaching Hospital (Reconstitution of Boards etc.) Act CAP U15 LFN 2004 which is currently before the National Assembly for deliberation, as more healthcare professional groups had continued to advocate for speedy passage of the bill unhindered. Recall that about three weeks ago, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) issued a statement, published by The News Chronicles, countering in unequivocal terms the position of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) which sought to stop the passage of the bill.…
Tuesday last week defined more concretely our previous assertion here that 2023 general election may be the most critically decisive poll in the anals of our national history. I was having a rough time, trying to tie off a tragedy that befall my family two weeks ago, which kept me away from this space for the first time in four years, when barrage of messages filtered into my WhatsApp, followed by torrential calls. It was so urgent, I had to mute notifications. But when the buzzing became unbearable distractions about to tear my already clocked day apart, I peeped into…
The leader of Catholic knights of St Mulumba in Otolo zone Nnewi, a lecturer in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nnewi campus, Anambra State and a visiting Professor in Benue State University, Professor Anthony Ugwu has expressed displeasure to Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN) for allegedly inviting him to an investigating panel without due process. Professor Ugwu of the Department of Radiography and Radiological Sciences of the university who is also a visiting Professor in Benue State University said this in a press statement made available to journalists in Anambra. He noted that it had become imperative for him to…
The perennial resentment at their systemic political exclusion in Nigeria, by Ndigbo, is gradually getting demystified. Prior to the recent party national primary elections, everyone had believed that this tribal alienation which Ndigbo has lamentated over the years was heightened by President Buhari’s apparent insensitivity to Nigeria’s delicate sociocultural and religious diversity. The blames were rightly shifted to the centre. It is always emotionally satisfying, to point fingers to external causes, for one’s misfortunes. So, the Igbos have since 2015 been taking respite in the convenient argument that Nnamdi Kanu, and all other secessionist crusaders (and the widespread bickerings) within…
Over the years, natural scientists had insisted that our body is 60% water, and so had social anthropologists been establishing that religion influences 60% of our actions and idiosyncrasies The same way, social scientists teach that man is homo-politico (political being), these anthropologists add that Man is also homo-religiosus (he is inborn religionist). Consequently, religious convictions, without appeal to any particular sex, inform people’s daily choices. And the choice of who becomes their spouses is not exempted in this respect. Inadvertently, it expresses itself, in the decisions of, to whom we commit our future as spouse. So, how did we…
“In the Bible story where Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego said they’ll not bow to the Babylonian god, even if God fails to deliver them. Nebuchadnezzar was more worried, why? Intransigent minority.” – Kelechi Deca. Obviously, Nigeria has arrived at a generational crossroad as 2023 general election beckons. More than ever before, she is seeing a postmortem of her 63 years of nationhood enmeshed in cotillion of tragic-comedy satirized by her character-flawed leaders. As the second tenure of the first opposition party that transitioned to ruling party eight years ago comes to an end in about eleven months time, well-meaning citizens…
World Blood Donor Day takes place on 14 June every year. The Day was set aside by WHO to: raise global awareness on the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion; highlight the critical contribution voluntary/unpaid blood donors make to national health systems; and to support national blood transfusion services, blood donor organizations and other nongovernmental organizations in strengthening and expanding their voluntary blood donor programmes by reinforcing national and local campaigns. In this year’s World Blood Donors Day (WBDD), a presentation to mark the day was made among the Medical Laboratory Scientists in Federal School of Medical…
This edition of our weekly discourse will look at the setbacks that fetishism, dearth of logical thinking and corporeal laxity may have had on the advancement of native medicine in African. This is not about the once publicized Madagascar Covid organics, because though, it did not pass through universally established phases of clinical validation, it is advanced to some extent compared to the type that formed our topic for today. We are focusing exclusively on those efficacious natural medicines which heal populations of native Africans in the hinterlands. Let’s kick-start with a true-life story. I, once had a distant cousin,…
The story of Most Rev. Peter Ebere Okpaleke is familiar among many, no thanks to the censurable hostility people of Mbise Diocese meted against his appointment as their Bishop. Recall: On 07 December 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Okpaleke Bishop of Ahiara Mbise Diocese Imo state. But he was pointedly rejected by the people (both laity and clergy), on the ground that he was not from their town, being a priest of Awka Diocese in Anambra. So, his episcopal consecration was held on 21 May 2013 outside the Diocese, in the Major Seminary of Ulakwo, Owerri Archdiocese. Having remonstrated his…
On February 02, 1602, when the global icon of English literature, playwright and poet — William Shakespeare published one of his major signature drama books, he was caught in a logjam of ideas, as to what could fit its title. But his genius quickly overran his confusion, and he named the book “Twelfth Night Or What You Will.” It is becoming difficult to isolate a single topic of interest for columnistic discourses in present day Nigeria. Before one could conclude one’s essay on a particular subject, multiple fresh developments have erupted on the same subject, that not just invalidate but…
2021 dusked in Enugu with unequivocal demand among the people for justice and equity in power-sharing formular of the state. All camps pitched tent with the governor’s body language — power should shift to Enugu East senatorial district. The delirious furore was rekindled by an undifferentiated ‘Ikeoha phobia’ that cascaded the coal city around July last year, when Distinguished Sen. Ike Ekweremadu (Ikeoha) reportedly threatened to swim against the tide of the entrenched power zoning formula and run for governorship of the state from Enugu West senatorial zone. The catchphrase then was “for justice and fairness, let Enugu east senatorial…
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” ~ Pascal Blaise. Nigeria has become a theatre of possibilities. An enigma to every known convention in human civilization. The happenstance that punctuate her history is as awkward as it is scandalous to sane minds. The differentiation between north and south in Nigeria is not just geographical, it is anthropological too. The character traits and behavioral patterns of the two sharply contrast each other. The horrific event last week, of the gruesome murder of an innocent student, Miss Deborah Samuel at the Shehu…
