http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/344257
Nigeria is welcoming a new democracy than what were experienced under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo government, and Nigerians of goodwill are happy with the development. While in the upper citadel of the government of Nigeria corruption is being fought to seeing that it standstill, some people at the grassroots are still bent to perpetrating mischief for their nefarious wants; they are challenging the collective will and intelligence of Nigerians, perhaps asking, what will happen to them. To such people, as observers of Rivers politics perceive in Rivers State, they are sitting on a keg of gunpowder of the law.

One man that is being honoured in Rivers State and its politics is Prince Tonye Princewill, the leader Rivers Action Congress (AC). The honour accorded Princewill is not because he is a Crown Prince of the Niger Delta, but because he is straightforward in his business of politics. He is transparent. To the tireless Princewill, his ambition is to seeing that he helped the present Rivers State Government under the able leadership of Mr. Chibuike Amaechi to achieve the dream Rivers State every of its citizens had longed to see. Though, not part of the government, but he took it as his duty traveling to all the European countries to scout for investors to come to Rivers State. Princewill is also fighting assiduously to seeing that Rivers AC won the sixteen local government councils it vowed to win come March 29 2008 Rivers poll. Princewill has been reconciling virtually all the aggrieved persons who may have suffered under the Ndoni-born governor, who ruled the State for a good number of unproductive years. Princewill has been so benevolent to the course of Rivers State, but the course of his party, the Rivers AC, is paramount to him.

Upon all these that the amiable Princewill is doing to better the lots of Rivers people and his party, it smacks ones mind and sends jitters to the marrow, that some people go about name calling Princewill. While Princewill is labouring to seeing that the Rivers AC won the sixteen L.G councils, these people who could be best describe as rebels went and own a faction of AC, headed by Mr. Mmuen Kpagane.

If what Mr. Kpagane, the leader of the factional group of Rivers AC means by calling Princewill “anti-play member” is Princewill’s stoical approach to seeing that River State is for all irrespective of status, then Mr. Kpagane should go back to the classroom.

It was in December 5,2007 that what observes of Rivers politics called “giving a dog a bad name “manifested from the hatred coffer of Mr. Kpagane against Princewill. Being the leader of Rivers AC Princewill is, Mr. Kpagane was said to be disrespectful to the rules and policies governing the party and when the party stakeholder rebuked him, he ran out from the party and began mudslinging Princewill from all ramifications. It was reported that what Mr. Kpagane keeps on doing is to be misleading party members who were not informed that he is a renegade who have caused incalculable problems to the party, and is still causing?

Mr. Kpagane continues boasting as the Rivers AC chairman whereas his name has been scrapped from the party list waiting when he will turn a new leaf. However, it’s noted that what keeps swelling the head of Mr. Kpagane to be talking is that he could still found his name in the national membership list of the National body of AC, which will probably come to be removed when the national body of the party will come to understand the heinous achievements of this fugitive. His achievement was said to be Tinkering and bickering and insulting the party members especially the elders of the party.

Bringing himself to the cleaner, Mr. Kpagane had no job in recent time other than paying Nigerian newspapers heavy sum of money to make himself relevant, as the Rivers AC leader, which he is not. While he continues to answer Rivers AC leader on the pages of the newspapers, yet he is not bent to promoting the course of Rivers State.

Without doubt, from all that had been heard about this party rebel, Mr. Kpagane is only interested in fomenting and promoting problems to affect the government of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, and the national peace of AC. Mr. Kpagane is not ready to partner with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) on the commission’s policies to hold a credible election in the State come March 29. He is interested to seeing that his rebellious members contested in the Rivers poll. Can some one call Mr. Kpagane to order?

Mr. Kpagane in his undemocratic way is lauding the credibility of his faction, which is only, but a sham. While the Rivers AC, which is recognized nationwide, headed by the orator, Princewill, is serious working for the emancipation of AC in the State politics which was nearly maimed by the PDP’s unkind politicking, all that Mr. Kpagane is running up and down Rivers State to Abuja is to make sure that RISIEC grant his equivocal factional group the N5m meant for political parties in the state as to enhance his faction’s illegal preparation towards the Rivers council election.

Odimegwu Onwumere, poet and author,
is of Nigeria4BetterRule, Rivers State.
Email: nzeprince@mail.com
]]> Sat, 15 Mar 2008 04:33:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/344257 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/343583
Recently, precisely on the 3rd March 2008, were when Rivers AC pertinently demonstrated its seriousness and determination to make an impact in the March, 2008 Rivers LG poll, and proved critics wrong. Prince Tonye Princewill flew in from Europe, where had had been for the past one month, not for a tea party, but scouting for investors, for Rivers State.

His flying in was not for a tea party also, but duty oriented. He was in the country to perform three crucial party functions. According to a source from AC, Princewill’s homecoming were to receive hundreds of politicians that decamped from other political parties in the State; to inaugurate four special Committees expected to work assiduously to achieve the sixteen Local Government Councils target expected to be won by AC in this year’s LG Poll in Rivers State and to receive six reports on the prospects, problems and strategies to move the party and Rivers State forward.

While observers of Rivers politics watched with great enthusiasm, history was made at Buguma City the Headquarters of Asari-Tolu Local Government on 8th March when it hosted the crowned Prince of the Kalabari ancient Kingdom, Prince Tonye Princewill and some prominent chieftains of AC from the area. They include Chief Diamond Tobi-West, Bar Osima Ginah AC’s Legal luminary and a Hon. Commissioner nominee in Rivers State, Mr. Amoniabia Akoko the LG Chairman and AC chairmanship aspirant of Asari-Tolu, Mr. Ted Princewill to flag-off the party’s State wide Campaign for March, 2008 Local Government in Rivers State.

Not only was Prince Tonye Princewill in the community with AC henchmen, he stormed the community with his delegates that comprised Chief Williams Igwe, Mr Okis Bob-Manuel, Dr Mrs. Welle Edith among others. Their arrival was by 9am, and his programs started first with visits to project sites (of the projects) being executed by the Amaechi’s administration. The programmes were aimed at alleviating the suffering of the community particularly those geared at reclaiming the lost land of the community to swampy nature of the area.

At the community’s town square, Princewill, after addressing a mammoth crowd made up of supporters across political party divides, formally presented Mr. Ted Princewill to the community as its next Chairman for the Local Government Council with the 13 wards Councillorship aspirants of the party. He listed out most of the immediate intervention the AC administration in the area will be embarked within the first one year of governance – collaborating with the relevant authorities to link up the Local Government Area to the National grid; arrest unemployment state of the area by attracting both local and foreign investors to the area to make the community one of the most developed in the State.

With all these, Princewill admonished the community to vote in only AC Candidates to be assured of the development of the area as any vote for PDP or any other political party in the area will be a waste as most of these parties candidates have no proper manifesto to develop the area like AC. Princewill concluded his address by urging Prof Nimi Briggs led RSIEC to strictly follow its guidelines and appeal against the court rule in favour of PDP that directs the Commission to screen PDP aspirants against the normal ethics and norms as contained in the 2007 Electoral laws of the Commission. According to Chief Eze C. Eze, AC Publicity Secretary, “With this privileged information it was celebration galore for all the AC’s aspirant as the campaign was turned into a carnival and celebration of freedom showing the general acceptance of the party candidates in the community.”

Chief Diamond Tobi-West who also addressed the crowd. He assured the Princewill the general support of the community towards all the AC’s aspirants at least to demonstrate that Asari-Tolu is the birthplace of AC in Rivers State considering that Princewill is a crowned Prince. Mr. Ted Princewill the AC chairmanship aspirant thanked the Prince Princewill and assured him that he has the wherewithal to deliver the LG to the party, with a minimum support and encouragement he surely will do his best to take the Local Government to the next level.

To show his seriousness in winning the LG, Prince Princewill, in cohort of most key officials and all the aspirants of the Local Government paid courtesy calls on the Amanyanabo of Kalabari kingdom, HRM Prof TJT Princewill; Chief Senator Dagoga Princewill and other stake-holders in the community to formally present the aspirants to them and solicited for their support and blessings for the aspirants which thy willingly give emphasizing that the community does not recognize any other political party in the area.

Odimegwu Onwumere, Rivers State
]]> Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:44:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/343583 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/81589 ==========================

This is the time of year when we think back to the very first
Christmas when the Three Wise Men: Gaspar, Balthazar and Herb
went to see the baby Jesus; and according to the Book of
Matthew, "presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and
myrrh."

These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we
discover an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact.
There is no mention of wrapping paper.

If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so:
"And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And
the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman.
And Joseph was going to throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto
him, she saideth, 'Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it
for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the
baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the
frankincense."

But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the
very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because
the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics:
1. They were wise. 2. They were men.

Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point
of putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it
off. This is not just my opinion; this is a scientific fact
based on a statistical survey of two guys I know.

One is Rob, who said the only time he ever wraps a gift is
"if it's such a poor gift that I don't want to be there when the
person opens it."

The other is Gene, who told me he does wrap gifts, but as a
matter of principle never takes more than 15 seconds per gift.
"No one ever had to wonder which presents daddy wrapped at
Christmas," Gene said. "They were the ones that looked like
enormous spitballs."

I also wrap gifts, but because of some defect in my motor
skills, I can never completely wrap them. I can take a gift the
size of a deck of cards and put it the exact center of a piece
of wrapping paper the size of a regulation volleyball court, but
when I am done folding and taping, you can still see a sector of
the gift peeking out. (Sometimes I camouflage this sector with
a marking pen.)

If I had been an ancient Egyptian in the field of mummies, the
lower half of the Pharaoh's body would be covered only by Scotch
tape.

On the other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of
wrapping paper, she can wrap a C-130 cargo plane. My wife, like
many women, actually likes wrapping things. If she gives you a
gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries
separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of
mental illness. If it were possible, my wife would wrap each
individual volt.

My point is that gift-wrapping is one of those skills like
having babies that come more naturally to women than to men.
That is why today I am presenting:

GIFT-WRAPPING TIPS FOR MEN:
* Whenever possible, buy gifts that are already wrapped.
If, when the recipient opens the gift, neither one of you
recognizes it, you can claim that it's myrrh.

* The editors of Woman's Day magazine recently ran an item on
how to make your own wrapping paper by printing a design on it
with an apple sliced in half horizontally and dipped in a
mixture of food coloring and liquid starch.
They must be smoking crack.

* If you're giving a hard-to-wrap gift, skip the wrapping paper!
Just put it inside a bag and stick one of those little adhesive
bows on it. This creates a festive visual effect that is sure to
delight the lucky recipient on Christmas morning:

YOUR WIFE: Why is there a Hefty trash bag under the tree?
YOU: It's a gift! See? It has a bow!
YOUR WIFE (peering into the trash bag): It's a leaf blower.
YOU: Gas-powered! Five horsepower!
YOUR WIFE: I want a divorce.
YOU: I also got you some myrrh.

In conclusion, remember that the important thing is not what you
give or how you wrap it. The important thing, during this very
special time of year, is that you save the receipt.


~(c) by Dave Barry~

Don't forget to laugh during this Christmas season,
and to my knowledge one of the wise men was not named Herb.

]]> Tue, 19 Dec 2006 10:30:00 EST http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/81589 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/81587 Marijuana top US cash crop, analyst says
By David Alexander 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. growers produce nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined, an advocate of medical marijuana use said in a study released on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT


The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also concluded that five U.S. states produce more than $1 billion worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington.

California's production alone was about $13.8 billion, according to Gettman, who waged an unsuccessful six-year legal battle to force the government to remove marijuana from a list of drugs deemed to have no medical value.

Tom Riley, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said he could not confirm the report's conclusions on the size of the country's marijuana crop. But he said the government estimated overall U.S. illegal drug use at $200 billion annually.

Gettman's figures were based on several government reports between 2002 and 2005 estimating the United States produced more than 10,000 metric tons of marijuana annually.

He calculated the producer price per pound of marijuana at $1,606 based on national survey data showing retail prices of between $2,400 and $3,000 between 2001 and 2005.

The total value of 10,000 metric tons of marijuana at $1,606 per pound would be $35.8 billion.

By comparison, the United States produced an average of nearly $23.3 billion worth of corn annually from 2003 to 2005, $17.6 billion worth of soybeans, $12.2 billion worth of hay, nearly $11.1 billion worth of vegetables and $7.4 billion worth of wheat, the report said.

Gettman said the 10-fold increase in U.S. marijuana production, from 1,000 metric tons in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons in 2006, showed the country was failing to control marijuana by making its cultivation and use illegal.

"Marijuana has become a pervasive and ineradicable part of the economy of the United States," he said. "The contribution of this market to the nation's gross domestic product is overlooked in the debate over effective control."

"Like all profitable agricultural crops marijuana adds resources and value to the economy," he added. "The focus of public policy should be how to effectively control this market through regulation and taxation in order to achieve immediate and realistic goals, such as reducing teenage access."

Riley said illegal drug use was a "serious part of the economy," but he rejected the notion of an economic argument for legalizing marijuana.

He said marijuana use was an "inherently harmful activity" with serious physical and mental health consequences. He said more American teens were in treatment centers for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined.

__._,_.___ ]]> Tue, 19 Dec 2006 10:11:00 EST http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/81587 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/55673 BY SADE OGUNTOLA

Apart from using insecticide treated nets,
herbal insecticides are also effective.
The rainy season is gradually coming to an end and with this comes increase in mosquito problems. Mosquitoes are responsible for deaths and illness of millions of people and animals through the transmission of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue and West Nile virus.

This explains why different communities try different herbs both for preventing the illness and repelling off the insect. For instance, Rev. Tunde Koyejo, an environmental health expert at the University of Ibadan,Ibadan, said in local communities, people cut Ocinum plant (Efinrin) and put this in the corners of the rooms to drive away mosquitoes. This, they keep changing regularly. Other options they try includes smoldering leaves of plants such as pawpaw and lemon grass as well as orange and lemon peels.

Though many may not be aware of nature’s solution to mosquito, Prof. Janet Makinde, an expert on herbs for malaria from the department of Pharmacology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, said some plants including the anti-mosquito plant that specially grows in the muddy area due to there special smell helps to repel mosquitoes. All that is done is to cut the plant and place it in the room, to repel off mosquitoes.

So many other plants act as repellants against different mosquito species. In Kenya for instance, most commonly known repellant plants include sweet basil (Ocinum americannum) , wild marigold (Tagetes munta), neem (Azaduachta indica), lantana camara and (Heyptis suaveolens).

Some researchers even evaluated their efficacy in the journal, Trans R. Soc Trop. Med. Hygiene. They had the leaves burnt in one case and just placed the branches or the whole plant inside the houses in the other.

Seyoum A., Palsson K. and other members of the group found when thermally expelled, the leaves of Corymbia citriodora leaves and seeds of sweet basil were the most effective. Leaves of corymbia citriodora also exhibited the highest repellency by direct burning.

Also in Guinea Bissau by Palsso K. and Juesson G. from the department of zoology, Uppsala University, Sweden, found smoulder the leaves of Eucalyptus gave 72.2per cent protection; smoke of the leaves of neem gave 76.0 per cent protection; smoke of the infructescence of oil palm gave 69.0 per cent protection and basil gave 63.6 protection.

A similar assessment of local plants in Mpumalanga province, South Africa which was documented in the Central Africa journal of Medicine by Govere J., Durrheim D. N. and others found that the alcohol extract of fever tea (Lippia javanica), lemon grass and rose geranium (Pelargonium reniforme) provided protection from Anopheles mosquitoes for 76.7per cent, 66.7 per cent and 63.3per cent for no less than three hours respectively. The repellent effect of fever tea lasted for five hours.

Several oils extracted from these plants were also helpful in preventing mosquito bites. In a study, 2 per cent neem oil mixed in coconut oil, when applied to exposed body parts of human volunteers, provided complete protection for 12 hours from bites of all anopheles.

Kerosine lamps containing 0.01 to 1 per cent (one measure of neem oil to 100 of kerosine) neem oil, lighted in rooms containing human volunteers, reduced mosquito biting activity as well as the mosquitoes resting on walls in the rooms. Protection with this was even greater against anopheles than against culex mosquito.

Effectiveness of mats with neem oil against mosquitoes has also been demonstrated. As it is being vapourised from the mat, it repels mosquitoes, keeping them off for between five and seven hours.

Another promising repellent is the oil of lemon eucalyptus that in a study by Consumer Reports of August 2005, was said to prevent bites from aggressive mosquitoes for four to eight hours, and more than 12 hours for less aggressive mosquito species.

Researchers including Trongtokit Y in the journal, Phytotherapy Research, found as well that undiluted oils of citronella, clove and cider provide at least two hours of complete repellency from culex and anophelese mosquitoes. Clove oil gave the longest duration of repellency (two to four hours) against the commonest species of mosquito.

There is no need fearing to use these oils as experts even said in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology after evaluating their side effects on the skin that they present low toxicity, pose no cancer risk and does not to irritate the skin.

Some of these plants can also be used to kill larvae of mosquito, hence preventing their bite. Neem oil and other preparation of neem have also been found as potential mosquito larvicide’s. The oil kills the larva and also inhibit growth of larva. A 20 percent concentration of neem oil will both prevent mosquitoes laying eggs and arrest pupal formation and eventually the transformation of pupal to adult mosquito for about 45 days.

http://www.tribune. com.ng/23102006/ hlt1.html]]> Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:40:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/55673 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/55463 By YEKINI JIMOH

Mrs Alice Adam, second left and
three of her sex workers
A 14-year-old girl, Faith Ufada, has been sold
for the sum of N30,000.00 after being kidnapped from her town, Fugar in Edo State by unknown persons. Little Ufada, who was allegedly kidnapped from Fugar, and sold to one Alice Adam, revealed that she was deflowered in an hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State with an empty Seven -Up bottle.

Narrating her ordeal in the hands of one Ajara, a notorious woman, who recruited teenagers for commercial sex business, Faith told newsmen how she escaped from the hotel after working as a prostitute for one and half years. “ I have been with her for one and half years. Men are brought to have sex with me. When I came, I was a virgin.
They then used a bottle to disvirgin me. Ajara (my Madam) used to flog me with a big stick. She bought an exercise book, where I recorded all the money I make on daily basis. If she travels, she would instruct somebody to monitor the money I realised for that period. She would always tell me to swear that I will never hide any money or tell the police what I do. “At a point, I was tired of that kind of life. But there was no where to go. At a time, I got an opportunity to escape when Ajara travelled to Ilorin, the police saw me and I told them how I was kidnapped from my town and made to prostitute at an hotel in Ile- Ife.

However, the following morning, the anti-traffic unit from Kwara State Police Command, led by ASP Oluwaseyi Segun, stormed the Cool Corner Hotel, Ile-Ife during which Alice Adam, who kept her there was arrested. There were other teenage girls in the hotel, one of them, Elizabeth (20), was nursing a baby and suffers elephantiasis, they were all brought to Ilorin. “One of the victims, Alice Michael, who hails from Igalaland, Kogi State, said her parents are farmers and that she was the last-born in a family of five. She said her sister was the one who took her from the village to Ile-Ife. “My parents know I am in Ile-Ife but they do not know what I was doing there” she said.

Alice, a hairdresser, said it was when she completed her apprentice and could not afford the money to buy the equipment to start that she started prostitution under Ajara. “She (Ajara) collected all the money I made. While she fed me. I made between N1,000.00 to N2,000.00 daily. Ajara on her part admitted that she paid N30, 000.00 to a woman who brought Faith to her. She said Faith had been with her for only five months, not two and half years. She also said that their sisters brought the trio of Alice, Ene and Regina to her and she gave them N30, 000.00, N110, 000.00 and N80, 000.00 respectively.

For Elizabeth, she said her sister, who brought her did not give her any money. “Eneh was brought to me by her sister who collected N60, 000.00. She came back and said she needed another N50,000.00 for the funeral ceremony of their relation and that Eneh would work for the whole money she collected from me. "When Alice's sister brought her, I paid her N20, 000.00. She later came back to tell me that she needed N10, 000.00. which I gave her with food stuff. Regina was also brought by her sister, who took N30, 000.00 from me. Later she came back and said she needed N50, 000.00 to treat Regina for a sickness . I gave the money to her. She took Regina away and treated her. When Regina came back, I make sure that she worked for the money”, she said.

"As for Faith, the woman that brought her collected N30,000.00 from me before she gave her to me. She has been with me for five months. According to her, “One day, she got missing I reported to the police station in Ile-Ife, I was in the process of looking for her when policemen came to pick me, I was subsequently brought to Ilorin". In the case of Elizabeth, she said, her sister brought her but she had problem on the leg. She insisted that the girls were not kidnapped .

Ajara said she started hotel business two years ago, adding that, she rented the apartment she was using at N3, 000.00 per room, which amounted to N28, 000.00 annually. Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gideon Markus (DSP), Kwara Police Command said police picked up Ufada in an hotel room in Unity Area of Ilorin around 11p.m when they were on patrol. Markus said on interrogation, Faith provided the information that led to the arrest of Adam a native of Kogi State popularly called Ajara.

The police spokesman said the young girls whom Ajara engaged in prostitution were Ene h Joseph (14) an Idoma by tribe from Benue State, Michael Alice(16) also an Idoma from Benue State, Regina and Elizabeth (20). Markus also disclosed that police have discovered that some men who sold the girls them to Ajara kidnapped them under spell. He assured that further investigation is on to trap down the kidnappers.

ttp://www.tribune. com.ng/21102006/ crime1.html]]> Sat, 21 Oct 2006 13:32:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/55463 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/45213 By Uduma Kalu
The Guardian
October 1, 2006

THIS year, two of Nigeria's oldest writers and founders of its modern
literature, Cyprian Ekwensi and Gabriel Okara turned 85. While Okara
who was 85 last April was last month celebrated by his state
government, Bayelsa, Ekwensi is yet to be honoured, either by his home
state of Anambra, or Lagos state where he lives and writes about.

Most Nigerian writers believe that baring ethnicity or state of
origin, Ekwensi deserves all the honour Lagos State bestows on its
best citizens. They say that this is a man who records the city,
focusing mainly on Ojuelegba, and has written the city into
immortality even before many others. His works on Lagos is a guide for
generations yet unborn, argued Odia Ofeimun at a literary gathering.

Sadly, these aged authors are also missing in Nigeria's newest 263
national awards list announced last Saturday. Characteristically, most
of those listed for honour are either acolytes of the present
government or friends of those in power. The real people, the writers
say, are conspicuously missing. Even the lowest rung of the honour
usually reserved for writers does not have any of them, they
complained.

However, honours' list has people such as the ruling People's
Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Ahmadu Ali, who is usually remembered
for in the 'Ali Must Go' saga and the party's scribe, Ojo Maduekwe,
noted for his Abacha must stay and Third Term activities got Commander
of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). Ali who was honoured with
a 1979 Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) was upgraded to a Grand
Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). Senate President, Ken
Nnamani, is also a GCON.

It is doubtful whether any Nigerian writer, including Chinua Achebe,
Wole Soyinka, and John Pepper Clark-Bekeredemo, has a GCON conferred
on them. Achebe, last year, rejected his second highest award for what
he described as the deteriorating situation in Nigeria under President
Olusegun Obasanjo's watch, with particular reference to his home
state, Anambra, on which, as he put it, hooligans have unleashed
unprecedented destruction. Today in 2006, with the strong stench of
corruption allegedly emanating from the presidency, it is not a
surprise that the federal government, under Obasanjo, perhaps, has
carefully omitted honouring even one writer, to avoid another
rejection and embarrassment which Achebe's rejection last year
indicated.

Secretary to the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Mr. Denga
Abdullahi, in a telephone reaction yesterday evening, said that he was
not aware whether any writer was even nominated for the award adding,
"they nominated themselves."
Corroborating Abdullahi, another writer, yesterday said, government's
behaviour, as the list shows, points out that one must be in the good
books of the government; or have someone fronting for one to get into
the honours' list. Or what could mean the absence of even one single
writer; or upgrading of those already honoured such as Soyinka,
Ekwensi or Clark and Ike, if people like Ali should be upgraded. The
only artists honoured in the list are Demas Nwoko, Paul Dike and Taiwo
Ajai-Lycett. People like James Iroha, alias Gregory, Okara, among
others, are missing in the list which parades some past or present
special assistants to the president. Still, the world only remembers
Nigeria more for its literature than its politics, the writer said,
making a poet in a reading yesterday query the criteria used to dish
out the awards.

According to him, the refusal to honour writers this year finally
shows how disdainfully, Nigeria reckons its writers and people of
merit. "Why are people like Gabriel Oyibo, Philip Emeagwali, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala missing in this list?" he queried. There are Nigerians
all over the world who should be there. There are many in the list who
should not be there, another writer said.

It was in the midst of this government omission that the Department of
English, University of Lagos in collaboration with Teamwork
Communications, Lagos, last Tuesday, September 26, 2006 honoured
Ekwensi with a symposium as part of activities marking his 85th
birthday anniversary.

Speakers were Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, Dr. Hope Eghagha and Dr. Patrick
Oloko. Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, novelist, short-story
writer is an author whose strength lies in his realistic depiction of
the forces that have shaped the Nigerian fiction. Looking quite weak
and fragile, today, Ekwensi was born in Minna, Niger State in Northern
Nigeria on September 26, 1921. He later lived in Onitsha in the
Eastern area. Educated at Achimota College, the Gold Coast (Ghana);
Government College, lbadan; and at the Chelsea School of Pharmacy of
London University, Ekwensi lectured in pharmacy at Lagos and worked
for Radio Nigeria. He was employed as a pharmacist by the Nigerian
Medical Corporation. Ekwensi also studied Forestry and worked for two
years as a forestry officer. He later married Eunice Anyiwo, and they
had five children. He has written hundreds of short stories, radio and
television scripts, several dozen novels, including children's books.

Ekwensi began his writing career as a pamphleteer, and this perhaps
explains the episodic nature of his novels. This tendency is well
illustrated by People of the City (1954), in which Ekwensi gives a
vibrant portrait of life in a West African city. It was the first
major novel to be published by a Nigerian. Two novellas for children
appeared in 1960 The Drummer Boy and The Passport of Mallam Ilia blend
traditional themes with undisguised romanticism.

After favourable reception of his early writing, he joined the
Nigerian Ministry of Information and rose to the director of that
agency by the time of the first military coup in 1966. After the
continuing disturbances in the Western and Northern regions in 1966,
Ekwensi gave up his position and relocated his family to Enugu and
became chair of the Bureau for External Publicity in Biafra and an
adviser to the head of state, Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Ekwensi's most widely read novel, Jagua Nana, appeared in 1961. It was
a return to the locale of People of the City but boasted a much more
cohesive plot centred on the character of Jagua, a courtesan who had a
love for the expensive. Even her name was a corruption of the
expensive English car. Her life personalised the conflict between the
old traditional and modern urban Africa. Ekwensi published a sequel in
1987 entitled Jagua Nana's Daughter.

Burning Grass (1961) is basically a collection of vignettes concerning
a Fulani family. Its major contribution is the insight it presents
into the life of this pastoral people. Ekwensi based the novel and the
characters on a real family with whom he had previously lived. Between
1961 and 1966 Ekwensi published at least one major work every year.
The most important of these were the novels, Beautiful Feathers (1963)
and Iska (1966), and two collections of short stories, Rainmaker
(1965) and Lokotown (1966). Ekwensi continued to publish beyond the
1960s, and among his later works are the novel Divided We Stand
(1980), the novella Motherless Baby (1980), and The Restless City and
Christmas Gold (1975), Behind the Convent Wall (1987), and Gone to
Mecca (1991).

Ekwensi also published a number works for children. Under the name C.
O. D. Ekwensi, he released Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales
(1947) and The Leopard's Claw (1950). In the 1960s, he wrote An
African Night's Entertainment (1962), The Great Elephant-Bird (1965),
and Trouble in Form Six (1966). Ekwensi's later works for children
include Coal Camp Boy (1971), Samankwe in the Strange Forest (1973),
Samankwe and the Highway Robbers (1975), Masquerade Time! (1992), and
King Forever! (1992). In recognition of his skills as a writer,
Ekwensi was awarded the Dag Hammarskjold International Prize for
Literary Merit in 1969.
Ekwensi stresses the description of the locale. His episodic style is
particularly well suited to the short story. In his works such as
People of the City, Jagua Nana, Burning Grass, Survive the Peace,
Divided We Stand, Jagua Nana's Daughter, Gone to Mecca, African Nights
Entertainment, The Drummer Bo, Ekewsni portrays the moral and material
problems of the Nigerian society.

Professor Charles Larson of the Department of Literature, The American
University, Massachusetts, Washington, DC in a tribute to Ekwensi
writes that " 25 years ago, Ernest Emenyonu, the Nigerian writer and
critic, stated passionately of Cyprian Ekwensi: "He has been praised
and blamed but never correctly assessed as a writer. Critics who seem
unable to cope with his versatility, not to mention his vast volumes
have abandoned him, and in effect his growth as a writer, which can be
clearly discerned in a chronological study of his works, has been
missed by many".

For Larson in The Ordeal of the African Writer, published by Zed Books
2001, "Ekwensi is not only one of the most prolific African writers of
the twentieth century but also a man who has had several different
professional careers besides that of a writer. An Ibo, he was born in
1921 in Northern Nigeria, but attended secondary school in Ibadan, in
an area of the country that is predominantly Yoruba. His familiarity
and apparent ease with several of his country's major ethnic groups
have been reflected in his fiction."

Emenyonu in his essay remarks that When Love Whispers was one of the
earliest works of fiction in English in Nigeria and may have helped to
inspire the popular Onitsha pamphlet literature." But Larson says that
unlike other Nigerian writers, Ekwensi made the transition from
writing for readers of Onitsha Market literature to a mainstream
audience.

Stated in another way, Ekwensi discovered quite early in his career
that there were Nigerians who could be lured into reading if there was
suitable material to attract their attention. When Love Whispers,
Jagua Nana and several of the writer's subsequent works mine the field
of western popular fiction: sex, violence (though never as extreme as
in the West), intrigue and mystery in a recognisable contemporary
setting, more frequently than not in the fast-paced melting pot of the
big city. To all this, Ekwensi has further added a relentless
fascination with African women - in short, his works contain all the
elements of western bestsellerdom, except that in recent years the
concept of the bestseller in the Nigerian book market has been
eclipsed by the country's depressed economy," writes Larson.
However, there was a setback. Jagua Nana was so popular in the 1960s
that a film version was planned by an Italian movie company. The mere
idea that a film of this sensational novel might provide the world
with an unflattering glimpse of life in Nigeria led to discussions in
the Nigerian parliament that resulted in an abrupt cancellation of the
project. Emenyonu notes the irony of this incident because it happened
almost at the same time as Ekwensi was awarded the Dag Hammarskjsld
International Prize in Literature (1968).

Of his early books, The Drummer Boy (1960), Passport of Mallam Ilia
(1960), Burning Grass (1962) and Iska (1966) are all 'serious' novels,
some produced by academic publishers (such as Cambridge University
Press) for the African market, and becoming set texts for the West
African School Certificate examinations. There has always been this
pull in Ekwensi's writing between the sensational and the serious, the
playful and the concerned.

In spite of his books, Ekwensi, in the 1970s, said that his writing
had brought him both fame and poverty: "Five decades or more of
writing novels, novellas, short stories, children's books, have
brought me world fame but not fortune. If I were an American living in
America or Europe, I would be floating in a foam bath in my own
private yacht off the coast of Florida," Ekwensi wrote in a letter to
Larson on March 8, 1999.

In another place, Ekwensi said, "I have yet to know of an African
author living in Africa who died a wealthy man from his writing. The
rich ones all live abroad."
In the same interview, Ekwensi said, "Writing is still regarded not as
a career but as a charitable pursuit - designed to educate and
entertain readers with nothing coming to the writer. The mention of
money appears obscene, but the glamour is there and thousands do take
the plunge, but support it with moonlighting or chasing jobs in
construction companies or ministries. As for writing being a career,
the writer will have to try the Media - especially radio, television
and the regular press. Journalists thrive there, but creative writers
get diverted and the creativity gets washed out of them if they must
take the bread and butter home. Ending up in the gulag of some
dictatorial government is just one of the hazards of the trade. "

Except for those years when he studied Pharmacy in England, Ekwensi
has remained a Nigerian writer living in Nigeria, supporting himself
by his profession as a pharmacist. Even at 85, he keeps writing,
moving with the times. Like his compatriot and age mate, Okara, he
also presented two books to mark his birthday. In response to Larson's
questions, he identified himself as '"One of the pioneers of modern
African writing", and Larson declares, "No one in the field of African
literature would question that."

In another tribute, What Cyprian Ekwensi meant to me, the novelist now
living in South Africa, as professor of Drama at University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa, writes that "Cyprian Ekwensi is important
in Nigerian writing for many reasons, but especially because he
believed in himself and made us believe in ourselves. Not just as
writers. The writing is justly pan-Nigerian. This is as it should be.
What is also important is that Cyprian Ekwensi published in Nigeria.
He was one of the initial writers who published their works at home
along with T.M. Aluko of One Man One Wife fame. These important
writers initiated the story of Nigerian publishing.

"The first major city that began what was to be my wandering around
the world was Onitsha, the market emporium on the Eastern shore of the
Niger. That visit gave me a novelette about the story of a young
school girl who, after visiting her boyfriend during the holidays,
left his house 'with a weight inside her', or words to that effect. I
could relate to that story. I was a school-boy. We were already
learning to write love letters from pamphlets sold in the Onitsha
market that taught us How to Write Love Letters! "On a visit to Lagos
I found The Yaba Roundabout Murders. Today, of course, there is no
longer a Yaba Roundabout. That Ekwensi novelette taught me the
importance of space in fiction writing. Ekwensi was putting on paper
my environment and it was so delightful! During one long vacation, the
Federal Ministry of Information where Ekwensi was an information
officer, advertised holiday jobs for students. I was into my Higher
School Certificate programme at Kings' College, Lagos.

"It is no wonder then that Cyprian Ekwensi was such a strong supporter
of the process that brought about the creation of the Association of
Nigerian Authors, the now ubiquitous ANA. Sometimes, some commentators
have given the impression that it was the work of one man. This is
short of the truth."

The piece, which was written five years ago, ended by saying, "On the
occasion of the 80th birthday of Cyprian Ekwensi, I wish to say Long
Live Ekwensi, to continue to charm us with our stories!"

That wish sounds true even today, except, perhaps, that it should end
with that line from the national anthem, which says, "The labours of
our heroes past shall never be in vain". And that the heroes should
also be honoured while they are alive.


]]> Wed, 04 Oct 2006 05:29:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/45213 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111 http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/45017
I, Odimegwu Onwumere, a Nigerian poet and creative writer, neither a group who would understand this memorable call “STAND UP Against Poverty” do I have, nor could I organize an event, but I send this poem to STAND UP for me on October 15-6 2006 and beyond.

But What Is Poverty?

“STAND UP Against Poverty”
The clarion call rang ding dong
From my mail email box
And I couldn’t be pacific to say:
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

Who and who are going to STAND UP?
Who and who are standing for Poverty?
Who and who are standing against Poverty?
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

Poverty, do you know, is beyond
Lack of material acquisitions,
And a lot of people STAND UP for poverty?
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

We’ve spiritually poor people,
We’ve morally poor leaders,
We’ve poorly educated people,
We’ve poor healthy people,
We’ve poor governmental policies,
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

The friars in the church?
Yes, has followed politicians:
The way of the world, many of them,
And the gospel has been adulterated,
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

The students graduate, many of them,
With thousands of money given the don,
(Any trust for such certificate?)
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

Many leaders and many people
In our milieus today are kleptomanias:
Their wishes are obsessive to steal
And insatiate of what they steal,
Houses they build, wives they marry,
Concubines they keep, children they have,
Cars they buy, hospitals they attend,
And urge of how many times they rule
The masses that’ve been abandoned
In cellars and squalors
Because of these dastardly perpetrations,
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

Yes, we may STAND UP Against Poverty,
But might not win the war against Poverty,
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

When we cut our misbehaviours,
By encouraging the underprivileged,
When we curtail our excesses,
Of expending gigantic wealth on irrelevant,
By being morally sound, spiritually sound,
Physically sound even leadership sound,
Then a STAN UP Against Poverty,
Would be a war that is won,
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

“STAND UP Against Poverty”
The clarion call rang ding dong
From my mail box
And I couldn’t be pacific to say:
Yes, we’ve to STAND UP Against Poverty,
But what is Poverty?

Email the Author:
globalactingpoets@yahoo.com ]]> Mon, 02 Oct 2006 07:56:00 EDT http://Afvyottl.tigblog.org/post/45017 4.7891667 6.99861114.78916676.9986111