I said, ‘people are with me’ not knowing it meant mourning not knowing it meant tears not knowing it meant sadness not knowing it meant graves I am not a funeral person, the whole episode as practiced is a whole contradiction for me as a person. Years back, at one in Kisumu, Kenya, I watched as a woman started singing with passionate tremolo while slow-dancing to the rhythm of her song. She scooped dust from the ground, showered it over her head, and finished by chanting the words of the dirge she had composed. “Achopo ka osiep agoga. Jaber thurgi…
Author: Prince Charles Dickson PhD
You go bow for the result oh Nothing to discuss oh ‘Cause I dey win by default And without any doubt oh Omo, me, I be adult oh … My feelings been dey swing like jangolova Feelings been dey swing like jangolova E don cast (e don cast) Last last (last last) Na everybody go chop breakfast (na everybody go chop breakfast) As the music blasted in the background, I recall the first time I really took the artiste Burna Boy seriously, was when I was at the poolside, in a trip to Kigali, Rwanda, I reeled in pride…
We know they are lying, They know they are lying, They know we know they are lying, We know they know we know they are lying, But they are still lying. Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn Complicit involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally wrong. Complaisant willing to please others or to accept what they do or say without protest. Complacent showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements. Once upon a time, there was a village of people who lived in handcrafted wood houses. And like other villages in this era, fires were a…
So, in case you missed the story. I reproduce it below— The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at the weekend insisted on using a Nigerian hospital and medical experts for the surgical operation to correct a fracture on his right femur despite the advice of his doctors for him to go abroad for the operation. It was supposed to be an achievement and one that we need to commend him for and praise him as is the case with many things normal in other climes but abnormal in ours. According to sources close to Duchess International Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos,…
I know the biggest crime is just to throw up your hands and say “This has nothing to do with me, I just want to live as comfortably as I can.” ~ Ani DiFranco. The world is adrift in the tides of hunger and desolation. It is difficult to think about education, or anything else, when your children are not able to eat. And yet, the sharp attack on education during this past decade forces us to consider the kind of future that young people will inherit. In 2018, before the pandemic, the United Nations calculated that 258 million, or…
“When the deaf man beats a drum for you to dance, just dance…” AbdulChukwudi According to online news outlet PREMIUM TIMES—Gunmen, believed to be bandits, killed at least 43 people including 30 soldiers and seven mobile police personnel in an attack on a mining site in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, local sources have said. The Niger State Government, while confirming the attack, however, said the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained. Residents said a search party found 37 bodies of soldiers and policemen in a bush near the mining site Thursday morning. Six other corpses…
One who believes that the earth is chasing him, where did he put his feet while running? At the beginning of the year, I had promised that for 12 months, In Shaa Allah, I will once a month X-ray the issues around the forthcoming General Elections in the world’s largest black population and sufacracy. This is number seven, and five more to go. I have watched the initial gragra of the current candidates for the office of president of the country called Nigeria. All the drama of stinginess and missing certificates. With each week, there is no new story but old stories,…
An empty stomach is not a good political adviser. Albert Einstein If I sing say water no dey NA OLD-U NEWS-EE BE DAT Old old old news be dat-ee-oh If I sing-ee say, food no dey If I sing-ee say, Inf-i-lati-on I come sing-ee say, corrup-u-tion I come sing-ee say, mismanagement I come sing-ee say, stealing by government Old old old news be dat-ee-oh Di problems still dey pa para pa Dey thing weh dey worry me How dis robbery come get-ee big-head The first one, na leg-ee robbery LEG-EE ROBBO-ERY Where man e go pick-ee pockets Dey…
Let me start my admonition in this manner, it is likely that you have seen this somewhere, in one way or the other, the current Governor of Katsina, Aminu Bello Masari, was the Commissioner for works, housing and transport in Katsina state from 1991 to 1993. He was the speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007. He is 72 years old. His profile describes him as a Nigerian politician and current Governor of Katsina State. It is safe to say that he has been in politics for the better part of 30 years, in street maths,…
Chicken cannot at this late date bemoan its lack of teeth, and when it sees the snuff seller, it enfolds its wings. (Everything at its proper time and when one sees potential danger approaching, one should take precautions). Emilokan, aka na me remain, aka na my turn, aka remaining me… By the time I was writing this, Bola Ahmed Tinubu BAT had won the All Peoples Congress APC presidential primaries by over 60%, the analysts, the hallelujah boys, the noisemakers, were making their permutations, Atiku of the PDP is still doing the maths of a running mate…the OBIdent ones, members…
If you must buy a baboon don’t buy the one with a 10% discount. Reality is a construct At the beginning of the year, I had promised that for 12 months, In Shaa Allah, I will once a month X-ray the issues around the forthcoming General Elections in the world’s largest black population and sufacracy. This is number six, and six more to go. So, there’s this theory we call the theory of the reality tunnel. The reality tunnel is a theory that, with a subconscious set of mental filters formed from beliefs and experiences, every individual interprets the same…
“Are you a politician or does lying just run in your family?” ― Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café A former United States President famously made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during the four years of his presidency. This is an average of more than 20 a day. In Nigeria a contender for public office will possibly tell twice that amount of lies depending on the office, and how long the campaign will last. And take it to the bank, they will most likely steal. In a conversation I was having with one…
Nigeria’s economic crimes agency arrested the country’s accountant general over charges of diverting public funds and money laundering to the tune of 80 billion naira. ORDINARY 80billion! At about the same time anoda tory burst. Follow me hear as The Guardian take report am; Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arrested the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nsima Ekere, for alleged diversion of funds to the tune of N47 billion through registered contractors of the agency. Very small something, like half of the one way AG chop! In January 2016 I had…
“The biggest enemy of Islam is the ignorant Muslim, whose ignorance leads him to intolerance, whose actions destroy the true image of Islam, and when people look at him, they think that is what Islam is.” Sheikh Ahmed Deedat Couple of years, I had written on what I called An Igbo Reverend Sister, An Hausa Ulamah, And Killing In Allah’s Name (Another Senseless Ethno-Religious Purge). It was my reflections on the reactions of Nigerians on the Danish Cartoons episode. Again, we have decided to misbehave in faraway Sokoto state, and I dare add my voice and sadly so. In horrific…
If you leave the baby lion in the midst of matured goats, there will be tales by moonlight… Indian PM: Namaste, Gangubai. Please sit Gangubai: Namaste, Mr. Prime Minister Indian PM: I hope you had a comfortable journey Gangubai: I did Indian PM: Have some tea Gangubai: Thank you, You have some too? Indian PM: Later, I have heard a lot about you, Gangubai. What you have done for downtrodden women is commendable. Your fight against injustice is a noble one. Gangubai: My father taught me all this. He was a barrister too. Mr. Jagjeevandas. First of all, I…
I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I’m dead. I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread. Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. I live here, too. I want my freedom Just as you. – Langston Hughes At the beginning of the year, I had promised that for 12 months, In Shaa Allah, I will once a month X-ray the issues around the forthcoming General Elections in the world’s largest black population and sufacracy. This is number five, and seven more…
At each stage in our life, we build rafts to get us from one level to another—Pushing through boundaries (How to create epic outcomes in life and business) By Innocent Usar It has been a while since I read voraciously a work by a Nigerian author without dropping it, till I was done, because not only was it well written but because I could relate with it, and it made me reflect again on the construct called Nigeria. I do not know exactly what was the driving force for Innocent Usar, but for the barracks raised lad turned great…
By Prince Charles Dickson PhD All idiots are morons, but not all morons are idiots On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the sleepy town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria Till date Chibok itself has witnessed almost a dozen and more attacks, Chibok since Chibok has seen almost one attack per year, per village after that incident, whether it is Kwarangullum, Piyemi, Kauitkari, Pemi, villages, it is tales of woes and neglect.…
It is a trap that the giant rat disdains that wrenches its testicles backwards. At the beginning of the year, I had promised that for 12 months, In Shaa Allah, I will once a month X-ray the issues around the forthcoming General Elections in the world’s largest black population and sufacracy. Kindly note my use of the phrase In Shaa Allah. This is number four, and eight more to go. And I start like this—the war in Ukraine, along with sanctions imposed by the United States and Western countries against Russia, have caused global food, fertilizer, and fuel prices to…
By Prince Charles Dickson PhD “An Ode To Death” Your ode to death is in the lifting of a single eyebrow. Lift it and see. (Conrad Aiken) Death is more than certain, says e.e Cummings, But the clocks go on ticking as before And in every particle of carbon dust There lives a diamond dream How many galaxies yet to be explored- How many seeds in the pomegranate of time? The pine tree blasted by last year’s Thunderbolt And the burn out match stick in my ashtray Look so terribly alike I have sat by your bedside and felt…
The Edos say “Ehemwen wÿÿ iren te gua so ihuan, ren te vbe gua ku, sokpan ukpÿ iye-ÿkhÿkhÿ ÿre ÿ ma gie iren ku iku iren vbe avan”. A cockroach knows how to sing and dance, but it is the hen who prevents it from performing its art during the day. (English) For this admonition, let me start with the critic’s anthem, one that has repeatedly inspired me. It is by H.G. Wells and he says “we are going to write about it all. We are going to write about business and finance and politics and pretences and pretentiousness, and…
By Prince Charles Dickson PhD I sorry sorry o, I sorry for Nigeria I sorry sorry o, I sorry for Africa Sorry sorry o (trice) But with these kind of leaders Africa no get hope Africans will suffer ‘Til the suffer reach our bone Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti This was the song playing at the other end of the bar. And then I could see from my seat an altercation a few meters away, voices, and from the gestures you could tell there was a fight in the making and what followed were a couple of hard-hitting slaps.…
“The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you’re not. And the other thing that the public really does like is the self-examination to say, you know, I’m not perfect. I’m just like you. They don’t ask their public officials to be perfect. They just ask them to be smart, truthful, honest, and show a modicum of good sense.” Ann Richards (recent death) In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye. “Have a…
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” – Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review. The Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has appealed to Nigerians to be patient, noting that the country had gone through the worst stage of fuel scarcity in the past and will therefore survive the current one. He made this known in his article entitled: Knock, knock, who’s there? Posted on his official social media handles last Friday. He said: “Be patient my soul, thou hath suffered worse than this. There were…
“My generation owes this country a debt of gratitude we can never repay because this country has given us more than we have given back and I look at your generation, I feel really sorry for your generation. Our parents did not pay a penny for our education from primary school to university, we got out to university in our part three. We were already in level eight, we bought cars when we were in part three, when we came out you had a house you had a car. Now Nigerian youth cannot get a job unless you are the…
The Indians have a proverb that literally means “Your future does not depend on the lines of your hands, because people who do not have hands also have a future”. Often people ask me why I write on certain topics and issues all the time, like bashing governments at all levels and the band of ‘confusionists’ that run them, my take on the education, health and power sector, insecurity, the lack of or non-existent governance, arguments on ethnicity and the indigene question amongst others. My answer is that I do because I believe that such subjects are important for Nigeria…
…I am not a candidate of rotation or zoning, I am a candidate of justice, maybe the Southeast or the South has not been able to present their matter very well before the rest of Nigeria. I am sure if you tell to a Muslim, a northerner, and say to him remember my friend, my friends from the North and my brothers of the Muslim Ummah, that remember the principal cardinal point upon which Islam is built is justice. Prophet Muhammed sallallahu alayhi wa salaam” acknowledges the fact that in Koran Chapter 16 verse 90…saying verily God commands justice and…
The sentence ‘a nut for a jar of tuna’ is the same when read backwards. Ademola Babalola wrote on his FB page last week about his mum… In 1982, I was a Meteorological Observer at the Headquarters office of Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority in Abeokuta. I was proudly a Level 4 Federal Government employee, earning N157 net wage monthly. We received our salaries twice in a month: mine paid N80 and N77 respectively. That year, all of us in my cadre had the opportunity of receiving Motorcycle loan of N400. No complications, just apply and get the loan. Our…
This is not just primitive rural superstition; [juju] is practiced by all kinds of people, from illiterate herd boys to multi-dregreed university professors. If you don’t understand the power of this belief, you will never truly grasp the rich albeit often incomprehensible spirituality of Africa. Lawrence Anthony, The Elephant Whisperer Nobody respects the law of Nigeria. Judges don’t. Police don’t. Lawyers don’t. Politicians don’t. Citizens don’t. Why? Because there are no consequences. Those who fear the laws are the downtrodden who have no godfathers. That is why stealing a goat is more dangerous than stealing billions. Nigeria is a country…
A lady in Chicago was reported to have used hammers to kill flies. When asked why, she replied that she wanted to make sure the sucker was dead! –Ezeana Achusim President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the relevant bodies to ensure justice is served in the murder of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old schoolgirl killed in Kano State. He specifically ordered the police and the Ministry of Justice to uphold the integrity of the detective work that busted the case by preparing well and presenting a good case that will earn the respect of the court. The President gave the directive…
