My good friends,
I know how difficult it may be for you to come to terms with my defection to another party. But I must assure you that it's a carefully considered decision for which I do not wish to hurt anyone's feeling. I'll not embark on a needless animosity with my good friends, irrespective of political, religious, regional and ethnic affiliations.
Let me quickly make it known that I did not issue a statement disparaging APC and its members, including Governors Amaechi, Kwankwaso... These were clearly fabricated, expected backlash, by mischievous characters interested in misleading the public and drawing a picture of non-existent feuds between me and my good friends.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Achebe Family Mourns Nadine Gordimer
*Nadine Gordimer
(pix:southafrica.usembassy)
The family of late literary icon, Prof Chinua Achebe, has joined the rest of the world to mourn Nadine Godimer, a leading South African writer and Nobel Laureate, who passed away in
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
President Jonathan To Buhari: You Have No Moral Right To Be So Carelessly Sanctimonious
“General Buhari talks about anarchy. He needs to be reminded that President Jonathan from his humble beginnings as a Deputy Governor in Bayelsa state to date, has never in his acts, or utterances, recommended or promoted violence as a tool of political negotiation… Also, President Jonathan has never at any time ordered that any Nigerian should be kidnapped or that anyone should be crated and forcefully transported in violation of decent norms of governance. We therefore urge General Buhari to tarry a while, ponder over his own antecedents and do a reality check as to whether he has the moral right to be so carelessly sanctimonious.” - President Jonathan
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
Don't Blame Me For Your Party's Self-Inflicted Woes
- President Jonathan Tells Buhari
We have noted with much surprise and regret, the statement issued by General Muhammadu Buhari today in which he made some wild and totally unsustainable allegations against President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
President Jonathan
Although he tries very hard to deny it in the statement titled “Pull Nigeria Back From the Brink”, there can be no doubt that General Buhari has sadly moved away from the patriotic and statesmanlike position he recently adopted on national security, which President Jonathan publicly commended, and has now reverted to unbridled political partisanship.
There can be no other explanation or justification for the completely unwarranted and very uncharitable assault on the conduct and integrity of President Jonathan which the statement he issued today represents.
Monday, April 28, 2014
British Expert On Terrorist Group Boko Haram To Open 2014 Achebe Colloquium
Chinua Achebe
The 2014 Achebe Colloquium on Africa] — African Literature as Restoration: Chinua Achebe as Teacher will be held at Brown University, from May 1-3, 2014.
An International
gathering of scholars, artists, musicians, writers, and officials will gather
at Brown University May 1-3, 2014, to discuss and celebrate the cultural
contributions of Chinua Achebe, the late Nigerian novelist and the David and
Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies at
Brown, who died
in March 2013
at the age of 82. Achebe started the colloquium in 2009 to bring attention to
issues affecting Africa.
On Thursday
May 1, 2014, Elizabeth Donnelly, Assistant Head and Research Fellow, Africa
Program, Chatham House, - The Royal Institute of International Affairs - London, Great Britain; will deliver the
opening address at the Colloquium. Her talk will “focus on Boko Haram -what is
known, what is not known, and the implications and what can be done.” The event begins at 5:30 p.m.
Chinua Achebe Colloquium To Explore African Literature
The 2014 Achebe Colloquium on Africa will bring
together an international group of academics, activists, African government
officials, and writers to examine the impact of the late Chinua Achebe’s
writings on modern African literature. The colloquium will be held at Brown
University Thursday, May 1, through Saturday, May 3, 2014.
*Achebe
The 2014 Achebe Colloquium on Africa will be held at Brown University Thrusday, May 1, through Saturday, May 3,2014, in
List Art Center
auditorium, 64 College St .
The Achebe Colloquium onAfrica brings together an
international group of academics, activists, African government officials, and
writers for three days of intense examination of the impact of the late Chinua
Achebe’s writings on modern African literature. The event is free and open to
the public, but space is limited and registration is required.
This year’s colloquium, titled “African Literature as Restoration: Chinua Achebe as Teacher,” will center around the life and legacy of the late novelist. Achebe, the acclaimed Nigerian novelist and the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies at Brown,died in March 2013 at the age of 82. Achebe started the colloquium in 2009 to bring attention to issues affectingAfrica .
*Achebe
The 2014 Achebe Colloquium on Africa will be held at Brown University Thrusday, May 1, through Saturday, May 3,
The Achebe Colloquium on
This year’s colloquium, titled “African Literature as Restoration: Chinua Achebe as Teacher,” will center around the life and legacy of the late novelist. Achebe, the acclaimed Nigerian novelist and the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies at Brown,died in March 2013 at the age of 82. Achebe started the colloquium in 2009 to bring attention to issues affecting
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Child, the Youth and the Country, Nigeria
By Carllister Ejinkeonye
*Mrs. Ejinkeonye
When
I saluted Nigeria on the
occasion of her 53rd Independence
celebrations last October, I was not too sure that my greeting rang out with joy
and optimism. I, however, feel that an occasion like that, largely received with
mixed feelings across the country, presents a wonderful opportunity to deeply
reflect on Nigeria
and share my very frank feelings about it.
*Mrs. Ejinkeonye
I
have been around for close to half a century now. From the experiences that
came with those years, my environment and the many occurrences we have
witnessed in my beloved country, I find it difficult to agree with the
dictionary definition of the word INDEPENDENCE as freedom from political control by other countries or as the freedom to organize one’s life, make one’s
own decisions and plans without the interference of other people. Truly
speaking, it would appear I even became more confused about the word when a
couple of months ago when I was reminded that Nigeria had attained 53years as an
independent country. As I tried to make calls, I heard a recorded voice scream
melodiously into my ears: ‘God Bless Nigeria!’
Now, I am forced to wonder: how would a man feel, if after 53 solid years, he sits down to take a stock of his life, and
all he discovers are that his woes far exceed his joys, his disappointments
overwhelm his achievements and his failures swallow his modest success? Certainly, he would immediately
become miserable; in fact, his misery would be worse than that of a captive. Now,
at 53, how free is Nigeria? Think about it.
I
am not here to merely enumerate and analyze the woes, disappointments,
failures, or even seeming joys, assumed peace and what have you, which our
‘FREE’ nation boasts itself of. (Well, so much of that flood our newspapers
daily.) I only wish to call our attention to a particular group of people which
this self-styled giant of Africa, NIGERIA, has been most unfair to.
I
discovered that on Saturday, 12 October 2013, at about 3:30am, I was just rolling
on my bed. Soon, these words were dropped on my heart: ‘The Child, The Youth and the Country, Nigeria.’ As I struggled with this, every bit of sleep departed
from my eyes, forcing me to stand up to write down this burden of my heart,
which I am quite sure, is also the burden of many well meaning Nigerians.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Pastor Kumuyi Is Right: Christmas Is Idolatrous
By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye
The recent statement
by the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor
W.F. Kumuyi, that Christmas is idolatrous has attracted widespread reactions. Pastor
Kumuyi was quoted in the Punch newspaper
of December 13, 2013, as saying:
These are indeed
weighty, unsettling words on a widely cherished festival. The reactions they
immediately stirred were, therefore, to be expected. However, it was a very
courageous assertion by Pastor Kumuyi and I would love to pitch my tent with
those who insist that he is right, and that those attacking him are either
doing so out of sheer lack of adequate information on the matter or, worse,
unwittingly betraying their reluctance to let go of a cherished idol.
Now,
despite the din, pomp and fanfare that usually mark this annual December 25
ceremony called Christmas, I have for many years now excused myself from
everything that has to do with it. In my household it is just like any other
day. And the reason is quite simple: I do not believe that December 25 is the
birthday of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In fact, what my research has
shown is that, just like Easter before it, Christmas is rooted in hideous
idolatrous observances and, in fact, predates the coming of Christ to this
world in human form.
One of the vehement
opposers of Pastor Kumuyi’s statement (as contained in the same Punch report)
is the Director of Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos,
Monsignor Gabriel Osu.
Hear him: “I don’t
know what he means by saying the practice of celebrating Christmas is wrong. Is
he saying that Christ wasn’t born? That he didn’t come to die for us? Does he
not celebrate his own birthday …The celebration of Christmas didn’t just start
today; it is too public an event for anyone to say that they don’t know what it
is about… Christ came to redeem us from our lost state; this was actualised
through his coming, his birth; that is why we celebrate Christmas… Kumuyi is
just saying what he feels; he is not making any doctrinal statement.”
Quite a passionate
reply, one would say. However, as a Roman Catholic cleric, Monsignor Osu may
wish to look at the 1911 edition of the Catholic
Encyclopaedia which states that “Christmas was not among the
earliest festivals of the church … the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt .”
Also, even before the New Testament Church was fully formed, Easter was mentioned in the Bible as feast already in
existence, showing that it was not ordained by the Apostles of Jesus Christ to
mark His death and resurrection (Acts 12: 4).
No doubt, what we
today know as Christmas is one of the prominent, irremediably polluted children
that emerged from the very ungodly marriage between a distorted and depreciated
form of Christianity and (Roman) paganism which crept into the Church many
years after the death of the Apostles of Christ and the genuine Christians that
took over from them.
Although the pagan worship of the SUN god had gained prominence in several parts of the world long before the birth of Christ, and had permeated and gained wide acceptance in imperial Rome, it was Emperor Constantine’s Edict in 321 AD which ordered the unification of the mostly apostate Christians and the pagans of that period in the clearly abominable observance of the “the venerable day of the Sun” that increased the influence of Christmas celebration in the Roman church. What has, however, become clear, judging from historical accounts, is that Emperor Constantine may not have truly become a Christian.
Although the pagan worship of the SUN god had gained prominence in several parts of the world long before the birth of Christ, and had permeated and gained wide acceptance in imperial Rome, it was Emperor Constantine’s Edict in 321 AD which ordered the unification of the mostly apostate Christians and the pagans of that period in the clearly abominable observance of the “the venerable day of the Sun” that increased the influence of Christmas celebration in the Roman church. What has, however, become clear, judging from historical accounts, is that Emperor Constantine may not have truly become a Christian.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Obasanjo: A Hypocrite And His Epistle
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
If I know Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, well, he will be beside himself now with joy. He has done what he knows how best to do – monkey business. He is a master in the game of mischief and I will not be surprised if some Nigerians hail him over his letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.
*Amaechi
Obasanjo’s Letter To Jonathan — Some Observations 2
OBJ’s
letter to GEJ—some observations 2
*Presdent Jonathan
By
Chinweizu
14dec2013
sundoor999@gmail.com
1]
Former President Obasanjo, OBJ, is a general. Like a good general he is trying
to defend a city under siege by launching a diversionary attack elsewhere, to
draw the besieging troops off to defend the target of his diversionary attack
and give himself respite to defend his city. That’s a military strategy that’s
been in use for thousands of years.
*Presdent Jonathan
I think
that’s the strategic objective of his 18 page letter to President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan, GEJ.
OBJ
is a diehard defender of the Nigerian status quo, of which he has been a major
lifelong beneficiary. This National Dialogue/Conference debate is directing
serious attack on the 1999 Constitution and the status quo that is based on it.
Presumably, being doubtful that the system can withstand this siege, OBJ has
launched this diversionary attack on corruption, which he believes will capture
the attention of the, supposedly, gullible Nigerian public and divert them from
the issue of the SNC and a new People’s Constitution. We must resist the
temptation to follow him and change the conversation to corruption from the
issue of the SNC and a new Constitution.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Open Letter To Junaid Mohammed And His Fellow Shariyalanders--Re 2015 Bloodshed And Civil War
By Chinweizu
December
6, 2013
-----------------------------------
2015: There’ll be bloodshed, if
Jonathan runs, warns Junaid Mohammed
Our
Reporter December 1, 2013
--------------------
‘Supporters of SNC asking for civil
war’—Junaid Mohammed
(Accessed
December 6th, 2013)
-------------------------------------------------
Here
is my three-point rejoinder to Junaid Mohammed and his threats:
1]
The issue isn’t whether or not President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ, runs in
2015 (that is his personal affair and his constitutional right) or whether or
not there will be bloodshed if he does; the issue is whether there should be
any further elections under the fraudulent 1999 constitution. That
“constitution” is a self-interested creation of Northern generals, for the parochial
interest of Shariyaland. Many genuine Nigerians hold that any future elections
mustbe
under a new constitution created by a transparent democratic process and
approved by the people through a referendum. That is what the two-decades-long
Sovereign National Conference, SNC, campaign has been about, and it is what
will be decided through the ongoing National Dialogue/Conference process. In
any case, there is already bloodshed--Boko Haram bloodshed, bloodshed by
rampaging Fulani cattle herdsmen--all sponsored by the Caliphate bigwigs
on whose behalf Junaid is speaking and making these threats.
Monday, December 9, 2013
The Obituary Walter Sisulu Wrote For Nelson Mandela
Towards the end of his own life, Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela's fellow freedom fighter and friend, wrote this very moving obituary for Mandela. Although, Sisulu died before it could be published, it is, no doubt, a great tribute to Mandela's life and struggles...
-------------------------------------------------
"Thank You For Your Life, My Friend"
By Walter Sisulu
Nelson Mandela And Walter Sisulu In 1990
As he
rests in his eternal sleep, I am certain of one thing: that Madiba's face is
enveloped in a gentle, enduring smile. No, not the broad, beaming smile we are
accustomed to. Not the one so full of warmth that one felt bathed in sunshine.
Rather, the quiet smile, reflective, born out of looking over his life and
times; a smile tinged with a hint of mischievousness for having beaten the
odds, cheated the hangman and knowing he had helped make South Africa and the
world a better place. Overarching his life of struggle, hardship, humiliation,
pain and suffering there must be the sense of fulfilment that he has left an
indelible footprint in the service of humankind.
His is a life that touched millions not
only in South Africa, not
only in our continent of Africa, but
throughout the world. For the greater part of his life he was a beacon of the
struggle.
In his later years he became the symbol of
hope. In death he stands confirmed as the embodiment of humanity's hope for the
future.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
Nelson Mandela Dies At 95
*Mandela: Time To Say Goodbye
One of the world’s most respected statesmen and former South African President, Nelson Mandela, is dead. He died on Wednesday, December 5, 2013, at about 20.50 pm, surrounded by his family. He was aged 95.
In a broadcast shortly
after his death, South African President, Jacob Zuma, announced to South
Africans: “Our nation has lost its greatest son; our
people have lost a father”
Below Is The Full Text Of Mr. Zuma’s Statement:
Below Is The Full Text Of Mr. Zuma’s Statement:
“Fellow South Africans. Our beloved
Nelson Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation has departed.
“He passed on peacefully. Our people
have lost a father. Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can
diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.
“His tireless struggle for freedom,
earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his
humanity earned him their love
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the
Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.
“They have sacrificed much and endured
much so that our people could be free.
“Our thoughts are with the SA people
who today mourn the loss of the one person who more than any other came to
embody their sense of a common nationhood.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Opening Frontiers To The Future
eLearning Africa 2014 Call For Proposals Now Open
Many African countries are undergoing an economic boom, with ICTs seen as a major tool supporting growth. While Internet penetration rates remain low, innovative technologies are helping to ensure connectivity for more Africans than ever before.
The buoyancy in the
African eLearning market is yet another sign that the potential of this diverse
Continent is already being realised. There are, however, major challenges
ahead. Inflated trade tariffs and restrictive border controls between many
African countries, for example, are stifling intra-African trade and
collaboration, frequently presenting an all-too-physical barrier to continued,
sustainable growth.
Out of this
environment of challenge and opportunity, eLearning Africa has announced a Call
for Proposals, inviting participants from across Africa
and the world to submit their ideas, innovations and research, under the main
theme of “Opening Frontiers to the Future”.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
UN Celebrates Chinua Achebe
A Celebration and Tribute On The Occasion Of The Birthday Of The Late
Chinua Achebe
Music, Film, Readings And Recollections By Family And Friends
Friday, November 15th 2013, 1:30-2:30pm
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
United Nations Headquarters
New York, NY
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
United Nations Headquarters
New York, NY
(Entrance on 47th Street and 1st Avenue)
Please RSVP here to reserve your seat or contact
darrel.holnes@rutgers.edu
This event is co-sponsored by
the United Nations SRC Society of Writers,
the United Nations SRC Film Society,
and the Rutgers University Writers House
darrel.holnes@rutgers.edu
This event is co-sponsored by
the United Nations SRC Society of Writers,
the United Nations SRC Film Society,
and the Rutgers University Writers House
Monday, November 4, 2013
Ghanaian President To Deliver The First Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture
President John Dramani Mahama Of Ghana To deliver The First Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture At Bard College, December 10, 2013
The Chinua Achebe Foundation is pleased to announce that on
December 10, 2013, at Bard College, New York, President John Dramani Mahama of the Republic of Ghana will deliver the first Chinua
Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture.
*Chinua Achebe |
The Chinua Achebe
Leadership Forum is being organized as a high profile international
platform to discuss Africa's challenges in
keeping with Professor Chinua Achebe’s life’s work. The theme for the gathering
this year is Africa's Future: Hopes And Impediments –
inspired by Professor Achebe's work. President John Dramani Mahama’s lecture is
entitled: "Women In Africa: How The Other Half Lives."
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
An Encounter With Port Harcourt's Gridlock
By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye
Since graduating from the University of Port Harcourt many years ago, I always look forward to any opportunity to reconnect with Port Harcourt, although it is always difficult to say what exactly fires the attachment. Maybe, the inexplicable joyful feeling that often wells up in one at the thought of visiting again a place one had spent some very useful years of one’s life. Whatever it is, that feeling betrayed itself again when I had a reason to visit Port Harcourt two weeks ago, specifically, Saturday and Sunday, October 5&6, 2013. Although an important assignment had taken me to a sub-urban community in Rivers State a couple of months ago, the last time I was in the Garden City was in 2009 to attend a literary conference we had put together to mark the 70th birthday of my former Creative Writing teacher, INC Aniebo, who was formally retiring from the University of Port Harcourt.
This time, I came in by road from Owerri, and I had nothing but anger for the Federal Government which owns that road. From the point a green signpost welcomes you to Rivers State (with this rather rude advice: “Do No Not Litter”), the wide, dualised road is so smooth that most drivers are virtually flying, which, ironically, sometimes makes one wonder if it was not even safer to leave Nigerian roads in very bad shape, if only to slow down some demon-pursued drivers. But there is a state agency called the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), whose job it is to control over-speeding on our highways; they need to wake up to do their job and save the many precious lives being wantonly wasted daily in this country.
The
part of the highway that falls into Imo
State can only be best described
as the road to hell. So, what is the meaning of that? That part of the road wears
an angry look always and viciously attacks cars in such a way as to suggest it
is punishing them for mustering the effrontery to ply on it. Now, was the
contract for the entire road awarded to the same contractor? Why is one part
made so good and welcoming and the other left to remain so dangerously bad?
President Goodluck Jonathan should order the immediate completion of work on
the Imo State section of that road or he would
be sending a very ugly signal whose interpretation would be very hurtful to his
image. That he does not need to pass
through that part of the road on his way from Port Harcourt Airport
to Otuoke does not mean it should be left in such a horrible state. Other human
beings with red blood equally running in their veins also use that road. Well,
enough said on this for now.
Port Harcourt town, in my opinion, now effectively starts from Rumuokoro, although one could notice its very rapid encroachment into hitherto rural communities like Igwurita, or even as far as Omagwa where the airport sits – that is, if for you, township means the disappearance of long stretch of bushes on both sides of the highway and proliferation of shops in small buildings on the hitherto quiet, uninhabited lands where those bushes once stood guard. Rumuokoro itself used to be a near-lonely bus-stop where we disembarked in those days as students to find buses or taxis to UNIPORT, further down the East-West Road. It is now a hub of human and vehicular activity, and equally, the starting point of Port Harcourt’s greatest and most enduring challenge, namely, terrible traffic congestion.
Port Harcourt town, in my opinion, now effectively starts from Rumuokoro, although one could notice its very rapid encroachment into hitherto rural communities like Igwurita, or even as far as Omagwa where the airport sits – that is, if for you, township means the disappearance of long stretch of bushes on both sides of the highway and proliferation of shops in small buildings on the hitherto quiet, uninhabited lands where those bushes once stood guard. Rumuokoro itself used to be a near-lonely bus-stop where we disembarked in those days as students to find buses or taxis to UNIPORT, further down the East-West Road. It is now a hub of human and vehicular activity, and equally, the starting point of Port Harcourt’s greatest and most enduring challenge, namely, terrible traffic congestion.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
President Obama's Address To The United Nations General Assembly
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 (New York)
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen: Each year we come together to reaffirm the founding vision of this institution. For most of recorded history, individual aspirations were subject to the whims of tyrants and empires. Divisions of race and religion and tribe were settled through the sword and the clash of armies. The idea that nations and peoples could come together in peace to solve their disputes and advance a common prosperity seemed unimaginable.
*President Obama
It took the awful carnage of two world wars to shift our thinking. The leaders who built the United Nations were not naïve; they did not think this body could eradicate all wars. But in the wake of millions dead and continents in rubble, and with the development of nuclear weapons that could annihilate a planet, they understood that humanity could not survive the course it was on. And so they gave us this institution, believing that it could allow us to resolve conflicts, enforce rules of behavior, and build habits of cooperation that would grow stronger over time.
For decades, the United Nations has in fact made a difference -- from helping to eradicate disease, to educating children, to brokering peace. But like every generation of leaders, we face new and profound challenges, and this body continues to be tested. The question is whether we possess the wisdom and the courage, as nation-states and members of an international community, to squarely meet those challenges; whether the United Nations can meet the tests of our time.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Obasanjo Lied Against Me, Says Farida Waziri
...Threatens To Expose Him
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Child Marriage: Ahmed Yerima And Stella Damasus Slug It Out
Senator Ahmed Yerima, Stella Damasus (Nollywood Actress), Professor Ishaq Akintola (Lagos State University) and Aminu Gamawa (Lawyer and Doctoral Candidate At Harvard University) Discuss Child Marriage On AlJazeera
Nigerian Senator
----------------------------
What A Passionate Debate... Capable Of Drawing Tears...
But Wait A Minute!
The
Child-Bride In The Centre Of This Storm Is Also A Human Being With Flesh
And Blood Whose Life Is Being Endangered By Callous Men In Search Of Odious Pleasure...
What Is Her Opinion On This?
What Is Her Opinion On This?
Professor Ishaq Akintola
Aminu Gamwa
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