Word Monger

If Nigeria were to be a man, he would live in a one room wooden ramshackle in Gbondu waterfront in Port Harcourt, with no toilet, no ventilation, in a mud-filled and garbage littered pedestals that can not take even bicycle. Yet he would have a satellite dish hanging over his roof of rusty metal sheets and a hummer jeep parked out on the streets. A weird mixture of poverty and affluence is what you see all around you, under the bridge at Ojuelegba, you see families so poor even beggars call them poor. They can neither feed nor afford the rent of a single room even in the slums of Ajegunle. Their children, some of school age, roam the streets begging for alms in the heavy traffic, running after flashy luxury cars, often wound-up and driven by people living in high-brew areas such as Ikoyi and Lekki. This unhealthy cacophony of extreme poverty and flamboyance in our towns and cities all around the country is infuriating at the least, and can be attribut...

"If you like ' Quote Me ', please show support by clicking 'Like'. "Success is a journey, you can reach your destination only when you know..." "Life is like a book and we are only but readers. We cannot change its content, but to live by it". "Life is an ongoing project, it is either you complete it or abandone it". "Success is like fruits hanging in the air, for some, they just wait for it to drop, and for others, they reach out and get it". "It is important to make new friends, but it is much more important to keep old ones". "Wherever you are now is a climp up or down the stairs of life. It is your will or lack of it that determines your direction". "Countries are not adjudged great by their resources, but by social stability and good governance". "The irony of life is that bad news makes the loudest noise thereby over-shadowing the good things that are happening". ...

The emergence of new media in modern communications has lead to the development of wide ranging applications and opportunities in the ICT environment globally. In Nigeria however, the impact of new media in our local media is greatly masked by the ineptitude of employers to provide adequate incentives to practitioners, who are poorly remunerated and often owed back log of salaries. The implication of this is the lack of interest by new media practitioners to seek gainful employment in media houses and therefore unable to contribute to the expected growth and development of the practice in the sector and the country at large. Until employers and other stake holders in the media industry pay adequate attention to these concerns, the expected positive impact and economic growth the country stand to benefit will continue to be elusive. Though this is arguable, the truth however is that a lot of media houses worldwide are already paying the price for not embracing new...

Nigerians from all parts of the country, across sectoral, cultural, religious and political divides are strongly against any form of separation or division of the federation. The scares of the Odumegwu Ojukwu led Biafra civil war is still very fresh in our memory. Insinuations recently by Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi calling for a split of Nigerian into Christian south and Muslim north was largely seen as repulsive and condemnable. Federal government’s spontaneous reaction and recall of the Ambassador to Libya Alhaji Aliu Mohammed, was supported by both Christian and Muslim leaders. Obviously, Nigerians want to remain as one indivisible entity. However, there are calls for a sovereign national conference to bring about a truly federal constitution. Nigeria is regarded by a school of thought as a mere ‘geographical expression” of the British Colonial masters, brought about by the amalgamation of the north and south when leadership was conceded to the Muslim north under ...

It is a pity and indeed shameful that Bayelsans are busy fighting themselves while other States are pursing development with all vigour. The same thing happened during the Awolowo - cocoa era. While Awo was busy developing the West, other regions were busy engaging in political wrangling. Let us be wise and stop fighting. We should concentrate and seek ways of developing Bayelsa State. Presently, States like Lagos, Aqua Ibom, Cross Rivers, Enugu and some others are focused and are busy developing their towns and cities, and here we are busy fighting. The time will come again in future as it is now, when we have to give account of what we did with the resources available to us now. As usual with Nigerians, then, shall we again start putting the blame on the federal government? We have every opportunity now to move our people forward in the political, economical and fiscal arenas. I really pity us, because, I hear all kinds of degradating comments about how "we like en...

Malaria is transmitted by mosquito, a tiny blood sucking, desperate and noisy insect. Malaria is the number one killer of children in Nigeria and a major cause of weakness and fewer in adults. Malaria is traced to poor performance in the work force and low productivity in the economy. Efforts by researchers in Nigerian universities and drug manufacturers have not yielded appreciable result in the prevention and treatment of malaria. The national rate of malaria infection is still very high. Malaria control still remains a challenge in Africa where 45 countries, including Nigeria, are endemic for malaria, and about 588 million people are at risk   -- WHO, World Malaria Report 2008. Nigeria is visibly at the forefront of global efforts aimed at eradicating this deadly disease. The recent disbandment by the federal government of chloroquine for the treatment of malaria and introducing in it’s place, artesunate, artemisinin, artemether and lumefantrin as sub...

Sadly, only a couple of weeks ago, I lost a close family friend in a ghastly car crash along the Lekki - Epe expressway, involving a commercial vehicle,  whose driver, probable drunk and driving without head lamps, ran across the road to the other side of the road, causing a head-on collision with her official vehicle. Every day, we see many commercial vehicles and tipper trucks, driving along the Lekki Expressway without head lamps at night.  I have seen a big truck drive on this road with two of its rear tires completely absent, and was rolling on bear reams. Believe it or not, the road safety officials are all over the place. Whether they themselves see these things or not is not left for me to say. Another very dangerous practice by commercial bus drivers along the Lekki - Ajah axis, is that they disconnect the fuel tank of their vehicle and use a plastic container which they keep at the booth of the vehicle with a hose connected directly to the engine.  This sam...

The success of the amnesty programme of President Musa Yar Adua is not in question any more. What is in question however, is the fear of skeptics of the sincerity of the federal government in delivering its post amnesty pledges. It is also true that government largesses are not keeping quiet about government good intentions for the people of the Niger Delta. The recent federal government pronouncement that ten percent of oil derivation will be given to oil producing communities was received with a lot of excitement by people from the South South region and by followers of the Niger Delta crisis. Causing even more excitement is the federal government intent to include this ten percent derivation policy to oil producing communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill currently in the National Assembly. All hail President Yar Adua. “PDP – progress for the people.’ For once in more than twelve years since the party came into existence, have they been seen to be doing the right thing. Go...

Happy Independence Day! I celebrate with you as Nigeria clocks 49 years. We have a few things to be happy about and celebrate. Surely, we can celebrate one Nigeria. At least we can still say we are one 'indivisible' entity. I am not celebrating accomplishment, but us, because you and I are still one family. We have passed through thick and thin, and have had our differences and engaged in several battles. But today, 49 years after, we stand strong as one 'happy' family. Kudos! You deserve more and I believe in the coming years you will earn your deserved rewards. There is a bright future ahead of us and there is great hope that together we can make it. Let us remain one family and relinquish religious bigotry, sectarianism and tribal divisions. It is only by so doing that we can take head-on the very many opulent challenges before us. The need to redress our developmental concerns should be the focus as we strive to strengthen this luscious family of ours and tackl...

Beddes and Grosset Webster define brand as trademark; a particular make or kind of goods. Therefore, branding is essentially about products; and a communications function of design, packaging and publicity. The Nigeria rebranding project therefore is out of focus and faulty and requires urgent redefinition of the entire process. Rebranding in the context of the Nigeria experience should focus on our national identity, which in this instance are our products. Our national identity includes and not limited to our national anthem, flag, name of country, currency, crest and emblems, uniforms of our police and armed forces, our national colours etc. It is after the completion of the rebranding process that publicity and public relations commences. It is during this process that image laundering, and to put more aptly, 'social re-engineering' can be introduced. As it is practiced now, we are simply putting the cart before the horse. We need to re-align the process with internatio...

I first saw this Sony Ad on Twitter days ago and have since followed the comments .  Well let's see, apology? Yes! Maybe for irresponsible communications on the part of Sony. But does Nigeria deserve it? Hmm! Again, may be for our re-branding efforts. However, some think otherwise because of the 419 scam escapades. On the contrary though, I think that if Black Africa can live without apology from our slave masters decades after the end of slave trade and giving the efforts the government of Nigeria is making to fight the 419 scourge, EFCC in particular. I think our white brothers should be more understanding and not spite all Nigerians with such scorn as expressed in some of the comments. 

Lekki has turned out to be a high cost neighbourhood. Housing is very expensive, just as it is with food items. Transportation cost is high so are all other aspects of life in that axis. Lekki has not yet developed fully. Most parts of Lekki deos not have tared roads, clearly marked out drive paths nor are there government hospital, fire service station, post office, pipe-borne water and other public utilities. Despite the absence of these infrastructure, cost of living is on the rise. One begins to wonder what will happen when these facilities are provided and the area becomes dense. Many Lekki residents provide their own water, generate power, construct roads, engage security operatives etc. With such lack of infrastructure, you can not lay your fingers on any particular reason why cost of living is higher than most other parts of the city. There are also security concerns. The Lekki high way has turned out to be a slaughter slab for motorist and pedestrians. Live...

Intellectual property owners in Nigeria gathered at the National Theatre during a protest rally displaying placards. The practitioners made up of musicians, actors, writers etc. are embarking on what they described as hunger strike which they claim will continue until they get the attention of government. The protesters are calling for the short-down of Alaba International market in Western Nigeria, which it is believed remains the single largest international piracy cartel in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of their protest, high powered delegation will be sent to the National Assembly in Abuja. They also announced a plan to ask all radio and television stations nation-wide to stand-down all music programs for twelve hours starting from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This action is too driving in the importance of music in our lives. This is the first time ever that such a large gathering of intellectual property owners have come together to protest against copyright abuse. These Nigerians ...

It is said that all fingers are not equal? That is very true when we talk about marriages and children. Many couples are blessed with children, while some others are not. Making babies impses great challenges. There are many reasons why some couples are unable to make babies. Some are of natural causes, others maybe self-inflicted or by accident. Whatever the case, understanding your situation is key, to enable you either live with or look for a solution. Whatever your situation, information remains vital to creating knowledge and understanding. There are some basic facts which for an ignorant person, may led to childlessness. Let us consider a few of such facts: Knowing when to have Sex for the purpose of making babies When is the right time to have intercourse if you want to make babies? Having sex for fun is not the same as sex for procreation. While you can have sex for fun whenever you want it, it is not the same thing when you want to make babies. Not knowing when to ...

Most Nigeria media report that the Federal Government has continued to seek ways to quell the Niger Delta conflict. And the latest effort is to provide job opportunities for repentant militants in oil and gas, information and communication technology and agriculture sectors, Besides, Honorary Special Adviser to President Umaru Musa Yar?Adua on Niger Delta, Mr. Timi Alaibe, yesterday met with traditional rulers of Gbaramatu kingdom and Government Ekpumopolo aka Tompolo, who he said had finally agreed to surrender his arms. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaette, disclosed the employment initiative yesterday in Abuja while delivering a speech at the opening of a 3-day National Programme on Human Resource Development for Enhanced National Security organised by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in collaboration with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and Hilton Communications Limited. Information made available by the minister indicates that relevant private service provid...

I live in a society heavily burdened with notoriety -- advance fee fraud (419 – referring to a section of the criminal code relating to advance fee fraud), corruption, bad governance, human right abuse, child trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, cannibalism, female genital mutilation, armed robbery, ritual killings, religious riots, the list is endless. These negativities coupled with poor infrastructure, has deprived us of trust and respect from the international community. The eradication of the enigma known as 419, which has eaten so deeply into the marrows of our society, and has caused us so much damage it requires more than just the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to win this battle. The entire society, the lawmakers, the judiciary, the higher institutions, and the church, everyone needs to be involved in this war against advance fee fraud. We are paying too much a price from their criminal activities. It’s time we turn that resources aro...

Retiring soldiers of the Nigerian Army will no longer face grueling hardship and long wait at the pension office after retirement. A $3.5 million U.S. grant is making it possible for retirees of the armed forces to receive adequate training in management, computer skills, fish farming, soap making, welding, carpentry and a variety of other small scale trades that will empower them to earn a decent living as responsible members of society. Read full story: HTTP / PDF File By March Oyinki , CROSSROADS July 2004

Stakeholders in the Lagos programs of the U.S. Literacy Enhancement Assistance Program (LEAP) met last month in Ikeja and recorded major successes. First, the State Primary Education Board made a strong commitment to expand LEAP’s activities within the State and to supplement U.S. government funding with Lagos state funds. Read full story: http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/wwwhxmar04r.html By March Oyinki, CROSSROADS, March 2004

Nigeria’s rising Internet profile and the country’s increasing patronage of this rich resource carry a heavy price: cyber crime. But Nigerian and American law enforcement authorities are greatly concerned at the rising level of Internet- and information-related crimes and are determined to fight them. Read full story : http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/wwwhxdec03l.html By March Oyinki, CROSSROADS, December 2003

Shine! Oh morning star shine Morning star bright and sparkling Brief your appearance be But everlasting your impression live Sparkle! Oh spring water Spring water clear and clean High or low your tide may be You quench all thirst that be Everlasting! Oh devine love Love kind and gentle, Rare, but forever pure You filleth all heart thath seek Clean! Oh breath of life Breath fresh and deep Bountiful and free abound Life's most precious gift By March Oyinki