The Man Allen Onyema

Allen Onyema. Image via Google

BY LUKE ONYEKAKEYAH

If I have gold medal, I will, unreservedly, award it to Allen Onyema, Nigeria’s burgeoning world-class business tycoon, bestriding Africa’s aviation industry through his airline Air Peace, for his unprecedented patriotism in boosting Nigeria’s image to the world, by single-handedly evacuating over 300 traumatised Nigerian victims from South Africa. This could be among the largest peace time repatriation of Nigerians from anywhere in the world.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, extended the commendation of the House of Representatives to the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, for offering free air services to the Federal Government in the evacuation of Nigerians under xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The House recommended Allen Onyema to the Federal Government for higher honours in Nigeria. When called upon to address them, the lawmakers gave Onyema a standing ovation. “You have brought tears to my eyes again. I have never been so honoured in my life,” Onyema said in the opening of his speech.
Chief Allen Onyema deserves every honour and accolade. I am provoked by the selfless acts of this nationalist. Many Nigerians have equally been provoked. I have the privileged to honour him with this commendation in my column.

The decision by Allen Onyema, CEO and owner of Air Peace, to voluntarily evacuate victimised and troubled Nigerians from South Africa without charging a dime, is a feat that no one has ever accomplished in Nigeria. The act sets a historical landmark that cannot be erased. It takes extraordinary humans to accomplish extraordinary things. Mr. Onyema’s act has raised a new hope that all is not lost in Nigeria.

It is such extraordinary acts of love that provoke God to act in one’s favour. For instance, it was after the biblical Jewish King Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings at Gibeon that the LORD appeared to him in a dream by night and asked him to request whatever he wants. He asked for wisdom, which God granted him in addition to riches and honour beyond measure (1 Kings 3: 4-13).

The uncommon patriotic act by a truly patriotic Nigerian has inflamed passion for love of the fatherland. Nigerians are overwhelmed and could not believe that there are still good and patriotic citizens in a country that seems to have been written off because of selfish unpatriotic acts in high places; a country where the guiding principle is selfishness and primitive acquisition of wealth, to the detriment of the masses. As I said earlier, I am personally provoked, and this tribute is for Allen Onyema, an uncommon patriotic citizen.

Prior to 2013 when Air Peace was founded in Lagos, few Nigerians knew Allen Onyema. The steady rise of Air Peace brought Mr. Onyema to the limelight, as the new airline provides reliable passenger and charter services, serves the major cities of Nigeria and flies to several West African destinations and the Middle East.

There is no doubt that Nigerians are looking forward to the manifestation of goodness from whosoever could provide it. A good and reliable airline is needed to fill a gap in the wobbling aviation sector. Who is this Allen Onyema that has left indelible mark in the heart of Nigerians?
His full name is Allen Ifechukwu Onyema. A native of Mbosi town in Ihiala Local Government of Anambra State, Nigeria. He was born to fantastic parents who instilled discipline in him by their exemplary ways of life. He is the first of nine children, which in Igbo culture placed much responsibility on him, more especially, after he lost his mother at the age of 44 in 1991.

A lawyer by profession and a stylish businessman and conflict resolution expert, it was in recognition of his profound commitment to the common good that the 10 towns in Ihiala Local Government conferred on him with the prestigious traditional title of Ide (Pillar) of Ihiala.

The young Allen Onyema lived his early life in the old Bendel State, principally, in Benin and Warri, where he attended several primary schools. He also attended several secondary schools including St. Anthony’s Secondary School, Azia; Urhobo College, Effurun and Government College Ugheli.

He attended the University of Ibadan where he studied Law. Thereafter, he attended the Nigerian Law School between 1987/88 and was called to the bar in 1989. Allen resisted the pressure from his parents and uncle to work for Shell after Law School. Instead, he opted for a free life to be able to make decisions for himself, rather than remaining under parental care.

Consequently, in 1990, he left Warri for Lagos to seek “greener” pastures! According to him in one interview he granted a newspaper, while in Lagos, he had no money and could not afford accommodation. He squatted in Oshodi and could not even afford bus or taxi fare. He was going to Lagos by train and retuned by trekking to Iddo to join the overcrowded train back to Oshodi.

He wanted to practice his profession as a lawyer but couldn’t find a law firm to join. He was nearly frustrated before help came through the late Chief Vincent Amobi Nwizugbo, who allowed him to come to his chambers on Martins Street in Lagos to learn. Though, he was not on salary, he was very happy that he had a place he could go every morning.

By dint of hard work and brilliant performance, he was soon placed on a salary of N500 monthly after he surprised his principal by winning a high court case, which the law firm had regarded as a bad case. That case cut his teeth, being his first as a lawyer. He was then made head of the chambers after two years.

By that time, he had become big in real estate business, and so, he opted to resign to avoid conflict with the law firm. He left and floated his own law firm and other businesses. That was how it all started and he began to unfold to greater heights.

By 2008, Allen Onyema had garnered enough financial muscle from his businesses, which was yielding much interest on his deposits. The decision to float an airline, according to him, was “to create jobs for the people.” Earlier in 2007, he was informed that one commercial Boeing 737 could give jobs to over 150 persons. Trusting in God and his desire to touch people’s lives through massive job creation, he went on to found Air Peace. He said, Air Peace is for the welfare of mankind and not really for him.

Today, Air Peace has become the biggest airline in Nigeria and a household name. With 23 aircraft in its fleet including three Boeings 777, the airline offers very competitive fares and flies into the major airports in Nigeria, in addition to Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It was therefore not surprising that when the xenophobic attacks broke out in South Africa against Nigerians and other African countries, Chief Allen Onyema was ready to intervene. Thus, as soon as President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the evacuation of Nigerians, without providing aircraft, the man of the people, Chief Allen Onyema, immediately offered to use his Boeing 777 aircraft to evacuate the troubled citizens free of charge. He has accomplished this task to the chagrin of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. He said, when asked, that he put down over N280 million to do this job.

That there are still Allen Onyema’s out there, who are more interested in sacrificing their hard earned money to serve public interest, is most encouraging. All hope is not lost judging from Chief Allen Onyema’s act of patriotism.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Let’s Unite To Rebuild Imo, Ihedioha Woos Opponents

Emeka Ihedioha

BY THE SUN

OWERRI (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- Governor Emeka Ihedioha has asked those he defeated at the tribunal to join forces with him in restoring the glory of Imo.

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal two days ago in Abuja validated his victory saying the cases of the defeated candidates lacked merit.

Speaking in Owerri, Ihedioha said the support of all especially that of other constestants is needed to put Imo in proper shape.

“I call Imolites across party lines and opinion divides, my opponents in the last election especially those I defeated in tribunal to join hands with us and make Imo great again. For me, there is no victor, no vanquished,” Ihedioha said.

In a statement, the state secretary of PDP, Ray Emeana, while congratulating Ihedioha and the state chapter of the party, said the verdict of the tribunal was a reflection of the will of God and the people as evidenced by the spontaneous jubilation all over Imo and beyond.

“I commend the chairman and members of the tribunal for standing on the rule of law and defending the integrity of the judiciary and the ideals of democracy.

“Now that the legal battle has been won and lost at this stage, it’s time to focus unwaveringly on the task of rebuilding Imo.

“I implore all the gladiators to sheath their swords and call on Imolites, irrespective of political leaning, to join hands in the gargantuan but inexorable task of rebuilding our dear state after eight years of despoilment, ruination and official pillage”

Former governors, Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, joined Ihedioha at a brief party in the Governor’s Lodge, Owerri, immediately after the judgments.

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has urged his supporters to remain calm.

In a statement, yesterday, Uzodimma said his supporters should not despair but be confident that justice will be served at the end of the day.

Why Ndigbo May Embrace IPOB In 2023 — Ezeife

Chukwuemeka Ezeife

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, weekend, said that the elderly people in South East may embrace the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB if the other parts of Nigeria conspire and deny the zone Presidency in 2023.

The elder statesman also said that the agitation and crusade being carried out by Mazi Kanu and his group where they are demanding for a referendum was forced on Ndigbo by the country. 

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Speaking exclusively to Vanguard in Abuja, the former governor said that even if entire Nigeria rejects Ndigbo, the people would not reject themselves. Commending the non-violent approach by the IPOB leader and his group, Dr Ezeife said some of the elite in the South East had distanced themselves from the Mazi Kanu’s approach because they believed that there should be more mature ways of addressing the marginalization in the zone.

 He accused the Nigerian government of making deliberate efforts towards pushing the Igbos out of the country by denying them occupying sensitive positions including leading any of the security agencies.

 Asked whether agitation by the IPOB was genuine, he said, “Yes, you can’t beat a person and say don’t cry. What Nnamdi Kanu and co are doing is crying because they are beaten and they are doing it in a way that is non-violent. 

 “Therefore, Nigerians should appreciate their method. I am happy the rest of the world, Europe, European Union, they met with Nnamdi Kanu and they saw point with what he was saying. 

“The (United Nations) UN also met with Nnamdi Kanu in Switzerland, I don’t know whether they have changed their mind they invited him to the United Nations General Assembly, but now having met with him in Switzerland, they may not meet him again in New York. 

“So, I think Nnamdi Kanu is doing what is forced on us (Ndigbo) because some of us believe that we should find out more mature ways of going about it.

 “But the ideal is very lawful, they are crying for a referendum, that is a democracy. I think if Igbo people are denied the Presidency in 2023, then, no matter how unpopular IPOB may be among the older people everybody may rush it.”

 On the 2023 Presidency and the agitation by the South West and the North to go for the plum position, he said,” If you want to deny them (Ndigbo) 2023 Presidency, then deny them citizenship of Nigeria. 

“I am feeling that it is because of rejection that other Nigerians reject Igbo Presidency that (Mallam Nasir) el-Rufai wants to be President, that (Asiwaju Bola) Tinubu wants to be President and it will favour them. If that happens, the real meaning is that the Igbos should cease being citizens of Nigeria. 

“That there is no point belonging where you are rejected. One rejected does not reject himself. Among those who reject you, you don’t want to force yourself to belong. 

“So, there is this talk about Biafra. IPOB is promoting Biafra because of various problems and punishments against Ndigbo. Because of many problems cause the Igbos in Nigeria, they are trying to leave. But the Federal Government of Nigeria has been very busy pushing the Igbos out of Nigeria. 

“We are traders, we import like containers etc, but when our people import things, the things are seized and auctioned. Ibeto was one of the strongest people in cement, after some time, he was crippled. Instead of going up, he was going back to give advantage to Non-Igbo. 

“Look at this man who is building cars, (Innocent Chukwuma) Innoson… he was taken like a tout in the paint from his house to Abuja. Emzor Pharmaceutical was closed down for days because they say that boys and girls or youths were inhaling something that was produced and had been in the market for decades, some people discovered that they can inhale it.

“When the National Security Council of Nigeria is to meet, you don’t find one Igbo man there, what kind of National Council is it? You come to employment, if there is a new list of people employed by the Federal Government, you will see that Igbo is non-existent in the list.

 “27 Judges were appointed recently, mostly northerners. There were two from the West, two from the South-South, non from the Southeast. But if it were people disengaged like they are removing military (officers) from South mostly, if it were disengagement, you will see a dominance of Igbo names in the list of people being removed. 

“There is something Nigerians should learn if you want to be one country and grow, it is a quotation I will take from Russian women. They say, they too have mothers. There was a misunderstanding between Chechnya and Russia and the news is all over the place on how many Chechnyan men are being killed every day, slaughtered because of course, the Russians are bigger. 

“After some time, the Russian women said, please stop killing all those Chechnyan men, they too have mothers. That is the kind of feelings that make for rapport and cooperation and development. They too have mothers. You have put yourself in the place of the other person, that is how Progressives think.

 “So, only Edwin Clark and recently Adebanjo and Balarabe Musa have thought about they too have mothers. They too are Nigerians,

 Igbos too are Nigerians.” Reminded that zoning and rotational Presidency are not in Nigeria’s Constitution, he said, “We have been going about it as a matter of agreement. Not everything done is in the Constitution.

 “Do you know that one of the justifications for Buhari to come back was to complete Northern rotation. The point is that not everything done in government is in the Constitution. 

“One of the main problems of Nigeria is the constitution because it is never accepted as genuine, it is not accepted as the will of the people. So, even if it is not there, it doesn’t matter.”

Things Fall Together: Chinua Achebe Is Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart – Part 2

Chinua Achebe

BY JIMANZE EGO-ALOWES

The only difference is that while Achebe was Okonkwo-specific in his reportage, it is Achebe’s composite class of ex-colonials that were granted unimaginable wealth, position, and power. And this was typified by their moving into Government Reserved Areas, GRAs, after the white man left. The plain fact is that the Achebe composite class had no hand in building such a civilization or country. They merely inherited the rump of a British Empire and civilization. And as it turned out, they just could not run it. Achebe confesses to this even if obliquely. In his There was a Country, he writes: “Here is a piece of heresy: The British governed their colony of Nigeria with considerable care… British colonies, more or less, were expertly run.” (43). Of course, they ran it and handed it over to the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials.

Today alas, Nigeria is run like chaos. The Nigeria – the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials, inherited – that was once expertly run by the colonial power is today alas run as disorderly as the gates of hell. Perhaps it is that this Achebe composite class of ex-colonials, came suddenly into a fortune they could scarcely imagine, not to speak of manage or organize or run, and it all collapsed on their heads – and ours too.

One is forced to conjecture that it was the downside of a sudden meteoric rise in fortune that laid Okonkwo low and out. Okonkwo could not handle the new and unbelievable wealth and power he ran into by his industry. Both the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials and Okonkwo were like modern Mike Tyson. A famed American boxer, Tyson’s unimaginable good fortunes was beyond and blighted him, fatally, unto ruins. Perhaps, all too perhaps, these types make up one class.

And it is not out of place that the Achebe composite class, an heir of the rump of a perishing British civilization never came to knowledge that they were merely a band of adopted heirs. They were not truly of the bloodlines. Yet, alas, they deluded themselves that they were. The fact of this delusion is their mother sin. That explains in part, perhaps, why Achebe, one of the best of the rot that is their class, wrote his prose, even if apocryphal masterpiece, The Trouble with Nigeria. His tract above all was aimed at rationalizing the shameful failures of his class, the merely adopted, not true heirs of British or any civilization. In other words, the Achebe ex-colonial composite clan lacked a dialectical knowledge of even who they are. So, how could they generate the leaders to lead the unknowns, themselves?

And that was similar of course to Okonkwo, one can extrapolate. If Okonkwo were to author his own The Trouble with Umuofia, it would have been as un-dialectical as Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria. But the truth of the fall of Umuofia is closer to this dialectical short-circuit than to whatever Okonkwo, would as Achebe, have conjectured. For Okonkwo as much as for Achebe, they are never to be complicit of errors. Umuofia’s fall is in their cosmological not leadership failures. They did not fully comprehend what the world was made of. Thus, they could not defend themselves on the “ecologically” indicated, even if to them, mutant manifestations. Therefore, if one editorialized, substituting Umuofia for Aztec, etc., the truth of Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican Achebe if you liked, rings perfectly true:

But the Umuofians didn’t know the world existed outside the boundaries of the Igbo universe. When the white man arrived, they died of fright. There was another world they never thought of, and they were paralyzed to death. (Moyers 1989, 507).

And this concludes and summaries the counterfactual history of Umuofia and the current and resistant reality that is Nigeria. This is a Nigeria procured and bequeathed by the Achebe ex-colonial class to present and succeeding Nigerians. However, it is on record that Nobel Prize winner, Professor Wole Soyinka, member of the Achebe class of ex-colonials, was more forthright, more honest, in admitting to, not rationalising, his own and his group’s complicity in the shameful Nigerian tragedy:
BBC: “Has your generation of older Nigerians failed the people?”
WS: “Yes, I believe so.”

The following question may be indicated. How did Achebe write accurately of his future unto his death, when he was only 28? The answer is simple. It is in the nature of the artist to be both analytic and a seer. Most great artists– Achebe is indisputably one – have Delphic insights and hints of who they are and the likely unfolding of those seed personalities.

One of the most immediate in our national memories, must be of the poet Christopher Okigbo. His last book Labyrinths was declared as ‘’prophetic’’ by his publishers in their blurb. And the facts of Okigbo’s future actually matched his fears as he prerecorded them. So, the rite of the writer as prophetic is nothing strange or exotic. And this is also known in other climes. For instance, in his essay on Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, a German Achebe if you liked, writes:

It has seemed to people that Tolstoy, in his old age, fell into a kind of religious madness. They do not see that the Tolstoy of the last period lay implicit in characters like Pierre Besuchov in War and Peace and Levin in Anna Karenina. (Mann 1958, 200.)

So, an Achebe foreseeing his future is neither odd not outlandish. These things happen. And the Latin American author ties it all up in his half dream world of characters: ‘’Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave the room…” (Marquez 1971, 383). Look, we are all doomed. Our greatest men are those who foresee these ends and try to counsel us on ways about or out of our fated tragedies. Achebe and Okonkwo were two of such, each after his own way.

Perhaps, why the self-evidence of Okonkwo as Achebe’s autobiographical double has eluded us is because of the elephant in our brains. We just could not think of comparing Okonkwo, a common ‘’wrestler’’, with Achebe, one of the world’s greatest minds. The error comes as follows. We are wrongly seduced by forms and categories. We gave up too easily, too suddenly, on content, on development; and content and development ironically are the defining assets.

First, it serves well if we came to knowledge that being an artist is not due to form. The conventional category of denoting artists by form may only be self-serving at best. The point is that not all novelists [that is users of the novelistic forms] are artists. Some novelists are in it, legitimately, for the money. Writers – or if you liked fabricators – of Mills and Boon titles are such types. Sometimes, other users of the novelistic forms are no artists too. But that is because they have no talents whatsoever. They remain journeymen, not artists, not masters. The German example of the so-called, The Good and the Bad Mann brothers are telling.

The analogue to the above is this. The so-called non-traditional categories or forms that are considered non-art, like wrestling, business etc. abound with visionary artists. Perhaps, they are rare, but history records they have been there. Fact is, if any man or maker advances the form, whatever form, or uses the current forms, for the search for perfection in whatever area, such as one is an artist, is a poet. Thus, it is not the form that creates the artists, the poets, the geniuses. It is the content, the innovation, the genius a given practitioner brings to the form.

For example, Donald Trump who is America’s current president once gave an insight in his autobiographical work, The Art of the Deal. It is now said that it was ghosted. However, the point is that he said it right: ‘’Deals are my art form.’’

Even if it is not true for him, the fact of it has been and still remains. Long before Trump for instance, one of the greatest banker-businessmen of all time have had his biography written. And an excerpt goes:

When I remarked that on how unusual it was to find a banker who was also a genuine man of letters, [Raffaele] Mattioli’s…: ‘’I see no difference whatsoever between a poem and a balance sheet…. At best, each is a work of art…. When I look at either a poem or a balance sheet, I try to see the center of gravity, the focal point. (Wechsberg 1966).

And it is not a matter exclusive to professors as Mattioli was. A signalling report on boxing reads:
Once, in answer to the Irish fighter Roger Donoghue, who asked how [Archie] Moore could throw punches out of a position that kept his arms crossed in front of his face, Archie replied, ‘’You’re talking about technique, Roger, and what I do is philosophy.’’ Editorialising Miller writes: ‘’Moore was to boxing what Nimzovitch had been to chess. (Mailer 2000).

And we can recall that Plato, rated as one of the finest minds ever, started out as a boxer. In fact, his name, Plato, originally a nickname which he finally assumed, is said to be derived from the fact that he had a broad chest, was a boxer. That Plato was so proud of his boxing endowment that he signed it as his proper name, should make us circumspect in dissing physical or martial grace. Let us suppose that Plato deployed to boxing, his strength and genius. Imagine what innovations he would have purchased for the world by that form, the form of boxing. That he finally chose the philosophical form against the martial kind, does not make him thus a greater genius or innovator. It was his content that was at work and play, and that same content would have been played out in whatever fields he has a knack for – and boxing, a martial-arts, like wrestling, was one of those.

In other words, that Okonkwo was a wrestler and farmer should not automatically degrade our assessment of him in contrast to other parties, say novelists and mathematicians. Rather, what should count is what innovations he brought to his trade, and the data is in his favour. Okonkwo achieved a deed, an upset, an innovation, that ranks him with the founders of the clan. In summary, Okonkwo was a supreme martial artist; and, by this fact merits comparisons with even the gods, literary or otherwise. So, we have to quickly slaughter the elephant in our brains and make meat of it, rather than allow it to decimate our minds as a scarecrow.

In conclusion, it is apparent we can see that Achebe’s and Okonkwo’s lives run nearly as one in character and in fate, essentially. The only differences are in matters of Achebe’s management of his family for which we have no firm data. Anyway, that rather closet, even petty detail, does not detract from the dominant broad strokes in the essential lives of these two characters. And a novel need not conform to the least commas and periods to be autobiographical. Just the essential details, and “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.”

In all, it may now be safe to say and in justice that the author of Things Fall Apart is [Professor] Chinua ‘’Okonkwo’’ Achebe, not Chinua Achebe. Ahiazuwa.

Ego-Alowes is a notable critic and Nigerian publisher

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Ugwuanyi: Taking Democratic Dividends To Grassroots

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

BY LOUIS AMOKE

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s priority is rural development. In this piece, Louis Amoke examines the administration’s rural development strategy, which has impacted on the grassroots.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade Constituency of Osun State, has given a good account of the policy thrust of the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and its positive impact on the lives of the people of the state.

Oke, who led members of the Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation and Monitoring of Recruitment of Nigerians by MDAs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to pay a courtesy call on Gov. Ugwuanyi, when they visited the state on their oversight assignment, disclosed that the governor has concentrated massive development more in the rural areas “unlike what we have in other states where a governor will concentrate development in the state capital”.

The parliamentarian extolled the leadership qualities of Gov. Ugwuanyi as a peaceful, humble, focused, hard-working and grassroots politician, stressing that they were impressed with the level of progress going on in the rural communities of Enugu State.

Oke’s remark on Ugwuanyi was not only candid but also a true reflection of what his administration stands for. His assessment has reechoed the intrinsic aspect of the governor’s vision, strategy and untiring endeavor in reconnecting the people with reality and act of good governance, irrespective of class or socio-economic background.

Ugwuanyi, in spite of the nation’s daunting economic challenges, the state’s lean resources and recent security challenges, has remained undaunted and resolute in his sustained efforts to build Enugu State of the founding fathers’ dream, where peace, harmony, inclusive governance and rapid development hold sway.

His vision and passion for the well-being of the people of the state, irrespective of class or social status, as major stakeholders in the development project, gave birth to the massive infrastructural rebirth being witnessed in rural communities since the inception of his administration.

As Oke rightly stated, Ugwuanyi’s grassroots development initiatives have truly ensured more concentration of infrastructural developments in rural areas than in urban centres.

This reverse in the development strategy, which is novel in the annals of the state and seems to be alien to some urban residents, was in view of the fact that past administrations concentrated development largely in Enugu city, neglecting the majority of the state’s population who live in the rural areas. The governor’s rural development agenda have addressed to a reasonable extent, the unorthodox imbalance between urban and rural dwellers in terms distribution of infrastructure and other basic amenities.

The success of the strategy, especially its direct positive impact on the lives of the rural dwellers was no doubt responsible for the over 94.5 percent votes Gov. Ugwuanyi garnered to win his reelection in 2019, which was adjudged the most peaceful and transparent electoral exercise in the history of Enugu State.

In clear terms, the landslide victory which was unprecedented in spite of the fact that it was the first time the state went to the polls as an opposition political party to the ruling party at the national level was indeed a referendum on the governor’s outstanding performance.

The outcome of the 2019 governorship election went beyond parochial sentiments in proving that the overwhelming majority of the people of Enugu State appreciate the good works of Gov. Ugwuanyi and his uncommon panache of humility, peacefulness, godliness and inclusiveness, which he brought to bear in the governance of the state.

Standing on his vision to channel the bulk of development projects to the rural areas, Ugwuanyi in his inaugural address in 2015, promised to pay a special attention to rural development; open up the rural areas; create more urban centres; develop fresh economic opportunities and reduce pressure on Enugu metropolis for socio-economic expansion.

The governor’s policy direction, which became the fulcrum of his administration’s success story, made it possible that citizens/communities in Enugu State who have not felt the positive impact of governance for many decades did so in an ambiance of peace and harmony.

It was indeed a deliberate step anchored on the core values of justice, equity and fairness in an uncommon zeal to “take up the gauntlet of the struggle for the emancipation of the Wawa man from where our heroes past stopped”.

On Ugwuanyi’s modest achievements, in spite of the recurring decimal of paucity of funds, coupled with the inherited huge debt profile and other enormous wage bills to be serviced, considering the state’s status as a large and the oldest city in the South-East, Ugwuanyi’s administration has remained regular in payment of state workers’ salaries and retirees’ pensions, including the 13th month salary, even without receipt of federal allocations.

His administration has covered about 550 kilometers of roads scattered all over the nooks and crannies of the state with some ongoing projects such as the Enugu State Secretariat Annex building in Nsukka and the administrative building of the Enugu State University of Education in Ihe, Awgu L.G.A – first university in the South-East zone that would be a degree-awarding institution in the area of education and a centre for training of teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Other include, some internal roads in Enugu and the University town of Nsukka and the 200-bed Igbo Ano Specialist Hospital, Enugu North Senatorial District, which when completed with other proposed infrastructural development in the site, will serve as facilities for the ESUT College of Medicine that has been relocated to Nsukka, etc.

In keeping with its commitment to zero tolerance for potholes on roads built by past administrations and maintenance of existing infrastructure, the state government, acting on professional advice, has announced plans to commence fixing of potholes created recently by persistent rainfalls, once the rains subside.

Three months into his first term, Ugwuanyi spearheaded the massive development of urban and rural roads across the three senatorial districts of the state, in Emene, Abakpa-Nike, 9th Mile Corner and Nsukka.

Shortly after, his administration, in line with its rural development strategy, simultaneously executed 35 grassroots development projects across the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State, which ensured that every council benefited at least one project from the programme.

There was also the N10 million “One Community, One Project” scheme, which has made it possible for every community in the state to execute one or two priority projects of her choice.

All these were going on as completion of works on projects started by previous administrations were given adequate attention, such as the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre (completed), the International Conference Centre Enugu (ongoing), the Poly General Hospital Asata, Enugu and the Udi General Hospital now completed and scheduled for inauguration.

Besides the foregoing, the following were among the development projects successfully delivered to standard by Ugwuanyi’s administration in the last four years.

The Nike Lake road and Abakpa Nike road in Enugu East Local Government Area, which were hitherto in deplorable conditions; the two 9th Mile Bypasses in Udi L.G.A, which have relieved travelers the stress of traffic gridlock in the area, especially during festivities; the Opi-Nsukka Dual Carriageway in Nsukka Local Government Area with state-of-the-art underground drainage and other facilities befitting a University town and the second largest city in the state – the first of its kind to be delivered by a state government in the entire south east. The New Market-Milliken Hill-Ngwo-9th Mile road, an ancient, historic and undulating road, modernised with streetlights and other safety measures after decades of neglect to showcase its potentials as a tourist attraction and the state’s natural roller coaster, which now serves as an alternative gateway into the city of Enugu, from Onitsha-Enugu expressway.

The Agbani-Amurri road in Nkanu West LGA (Phase one), constructed for a community that has never experienced any form of development on its land in the past 100 years. The Ogonogoeji-Ndiagu-Akpugo road (from Atavu Bailey bridge to Afor Onovo), in the same council, which has a historic and symbolic attraction as the first state government road project in the entire Akpugo zone since the creation of Enugu State.

Development projects of significant importance to the lives of the lowly and neglected were also executed in high density suburbs such as Ngenevu, Iva Valley, Ugbodogwu, Ogwuagor, Abakpa Nike, Emene, among others.

The 49km Udenu Ring road (ongoing) linking over 10 adjoining communities with three bridges equally stands out as one of the legacy projects of Ugwuanyi’s administration in the rural areas.

Today, the people of Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area are in jubilant mood as they await the inauguration of the 8.8km road connecting their agrarian community with Nkalagu, Ebonyi State, which was reconstructed to high standard by the Ugwuanyi administration after it was abandoned for over 36 years.

Others include the Ogbaku road in Awgu Local Government Area, which was constructed on a difficult terrain that is both hilly and undulating; the Ebonyi River Bridge in Isi Uzo Local Government Area; the Nkwo Inyi-Akpugoeze-Mamu Forest road in Oji River Local Government Area, and the Nike Lake junction-Harmony Estate-Adoration Pilgrimage Centre road (Phase one), with five river crossings, which when completed will link Abakpa and Emene and decongest traffic in the areas. Numerous development projects have also been executed in the urban areas.

Apart from road projects, Ugwuanyi’s administration has also taken bold steps in other spheres of development which have endeared the governor to the people of the state.

The areas include, the Enugu Traders Empowerment Scheme which has so far assisted 3600 genuine traders with the sum of N50,000 each to grow their various businesses; construction and renovation of over 589 primary and secondary school blocks in the state, with more than 260 ongoing, as well as procurement of learning tools; employment of over 5000 teachers; empowerment of 750 youths under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme and engagement of 1000 youths, additional 1000 underway, under the Enugu Clean Team Project.

Others include award of scholarships to 680 indigent engineering students of Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, Ezeagu L.G.A and the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, for four years of academic studies as well as the recent scholarship offered to 22 post-secondary school indigent students to study at Mewar University, India.

Others still include, construction and renovation of district hospitals and health centres in the state, especially in the rural areas under the primary healthcare programme; construction of over 14 new court buildings and open registries in the judicial divisions and magisterial districts across the state, which the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Ngozi Emehelu, described as “unprecedented infrastructural development that has not been witnessed in the entire Southeast” and “the largest single intervention in infrastructural development in the Judiciary of Enugu State for over 20 years”.

Following the recent odd security challenges, which attempted to undermine the enviable status of Enugu as one of the most peaceful and secure states in the country, Ugwuanyi has grabbed the bull by the horn by initiating measures and strategies to decisively tackle the situation with the establishment of the Forest Guard operation (a first in the entire country); reorganisation of the Vigilante/Neighborhood Watch groups; creation of a new Ministry of Security Affairs; appointment of the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo as Security Consultant to the state government; purchase of 360 security vehicles for community policing as well as the Security Trust Fund, among others.

With the submission of the weighty reports of the 12 sectoral ad-hoc committees set up by his administration on assumption of its second term to review government’s programmes, policies and activities in the last four years and make recommendations that would assist it to reposition the state’s public service for optimized service delivery and advancement of good governance, Gov. Ugwuanyi is set to commence more aggressive polices and strategies. These are expected to usher in further rapid development and take Enugu State to the next level for Ndi Enugu to continue to enjoy democracy dividends. Enugu State is truly in the hand of God.

SOURCE: THE NATION

'The Lost Okoroshi': Film Review - TIFF 2019

Image: TIFF

BY JOHN DEFORE

A revered spirit possesses a frightened man in Abba Makama's semi-comic take on tradition versus contemporary mores.

A security guard who spends his days lamenting urban detachment has a startling encounter with the past in The Lost Okoroshi, Abba Makama's semicomic tale of spiritual possession. Set in Lagos, it imagines the man transforming into a spirit that, for generations, has been represented by masked dancers in Igbo ceremonies. The result is low-key mayhem whose impact on characters' lives has a fable-like quality, weighty only in its reflection of real-world cultural concerns. Certain aspects of the film sync up well with hipster American tastes — though the label "Afrofuturism" doesn't quite apply here, its use will draw appropriate attention — making this the rare Nigerian film with some potential in stateside art houses. (The kinship is especially strong in the film's synth-heavy soundtrack, which pairs new music by Shay Who with recent rediscoveries by the late Nigerian funkster William Onyeabor.)

Raymond (Seun Ajayi) is plagued by nightmares in which costumed men dance and chase him, catching up to him just as he jolts awake. When he shares these dreams over palm wine with Okonkwo (Chiwetalu Agu), a man he calls "chief," the older man chides the "city boy" for knowing so little about his heritage. These are the kind of masquerades that routinely visited communities in the past; though the city's evils now prevent spirits from manifesting fully, these dreams are ancestors sending Raymond a message.

Maybe Raymond, who lives in the country but works in a Lagos high-rise, is sensitive to such visions because of his skepticism about the lives of those he works for: He and a co-worker spend their days (when not ogling the women who pass by) mocking the smartphone-zombies who rush through their building's lobby without looking up. Whatever the reason, the spirits of the past soon do more than send messages: Raymond awakens from one dream wearing the costume of his main pursuer, a figure with an Okoroshi mask and a cloak of purple-dyed raffia. He can't take it off, and he can't speak, so it takes an uncomfortably long time for Raymond's wife Nneka (Judith Audu) to understand the creature in her bed is her husband. Before she can get him help, though, Raymond vanishes — teleporting against his will to some strange part of the city. (Nneka literally falls out of her seat when Raymond disappears, which gives you an idea how slapstick and magic collide here; playful jump-cuts extend the vibe of art-conscious farce.)

Voiceless but gifted with some supernatural powers, the Okoroshi seems at first like an accidental superhero; he saves a prostitute's life and, when that's not enough for her, he comes up with the money her homicidal trick refused to pay her. A young boy called Willy Willy (Ejetareme Ajotubu Micheal, giving the film's most entertaining performance) takes the mystery man under his wing, aiming to monetize his attention-getting appearances. He rambles energetically about "packaging" while the Okoroshi dances on street corners, being showered with bystanders' money as if he were a stripper.

Willy Willy isn't the only stranger with his own agenda for the costumed man. A local academic who learns of the phenomenon quickly weaves it into his understanding of the "conduits" through which traditional tribal energies emerge into "the chaos of urban Nigerian life." And a secret society of Igbo traditionalists actually kidnap the spirit, bringing him back to their headquarters to worship him and debate how he can aid their agenda.

In a very long scene, the squabbling among these activists seems to reflect Makama's own amused dismissal of those who would lay personal claim to vanishing cultures. But as the Okoroshi encounters more of Lagos' dark side, witnessing poverty, pollution and violent crime, it's clear the movie isn't just a joke. The scholar returns at the film's end, promising that in a world as imbalanced as this one, further eruptions of ancient spirit energy are inevitable. As the credits roll, we see images of a menagerie of wildly costumed performers. What the film doesn't acknowledge is that these photos are from ceremonies held not in Nigeria but all over Europe; they're from a dazzling photo book called Wilder Mann, whose author Charles Freger has shot similar subjects in Asia and the Americas. The tacit implication is that central Africa isn't the only place where ancient knowledge and technology-driven civilization are in disharmony, and that things are going to get weirder until cultures everywhere do a better job reconciling modern preoccupations with timeless concerns.

Production company: Osiris Film and Entertainment
Cast: Seun Ajayi, Judith Audu, Tope Tedela, Ifu Ennada, Chiwetalu Agu
Director-producer-editor: Abba Makama
Screenwriters: Abba Makama, Africa Ukoh
Executive producers: Rimini Makama
Director of photography: Mike Omonua
Composer: Shay Who
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery)
Sales: Osiris Film and Entertainment

In Igbo, Pidgin English and English
Rated PG, 94 minutes

SOURCE: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

In Nigeria, Dreadlocks Are Entangled With Beliefs About Danger

Flavour, a popular Nigerian musician, can wear his dreadlocks in peace because they are seen as a temporary fashion statement. Elizabeth Farida/Wikimedia Commons

BY AUGUSTINE AGWUELE

A grown man wearing his hair in dreadlocks is bound to attract attention in Nigeria. And it’s not always positive attention. Many Nigerians, regardless of their education and status, view dreadlocked men as dangerous. The hairstyle sometimes even gets a violent reaction.

This bias is deeply rooted in traditional religious beliefs and myths, especially those of the Yoruba and Igbo people.

My book on the symbolism of dreadlocks in Yorubaland tries to explain what knotted hair means to Yoruba people, and where these ideas come from. Numbering around 40 million, Yoruba people predominantly occupy southwestern Nigeria. In West Africa, they are found in Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In the diaspora, they are significantly present in the US, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and the Caribbean.

An affront to society’s orderliness

A popular phrase used by Yoruba people to describe dreadlocks is “a crazy person’s hair”. The language also has an idiom that shows how people feel about madness. A person will ask, “kini ogun were?” (what is the cure for madness?) and get the response, “egba ni ogun were” (whip is the cure for madness).

Mentally disturbed people often wear dreadlocks due to neglect. Because they are unpredictable, they are avoided as they roam the streets, and sometimes beaten. Their knotted hair show disharmony with the community; being unkempt and unruly, they are viewed as an affront to societal norm of orderliness.

Adult men with dreadlocks are viewed similarly. They are perceived as volatile and dangerous. Their untamed hair connotes wildness. Therefore, they are associated with the wilderness; uncultivated and unruly. In traditional Yoruba and Igbo worldview, unkempt hair is akin to the forest – mysterious, dark, and to be avoided.

There are exceptions: musicians and athletes who wear these hairstyles are “tolerated” as they are presumed to be assuming a persona that matches their brand. Essentially, theirs is a temporary fashion statement. And because they are famous and successful, they are protected from attacks on the streets.

Dark and frightening by tradition

The Yoruba thought system has it that some children are raised in the forest by gnomes and other mysterious beings. They come back into the community with supernatural powers, strange mannerisms, and sometimes knotted hair. Since they traverse the physical and spiritual worlds, it is believed that they can discern the destiny of others and can negatively influence them.

These knotted-haired people are avoided, more so when their dreadlocks are greying because “normal” adult Igbo and Yoruba males shave their heads completely, or they cut their hair very short. Deviating hairstyles are viewed suspiciously.

Unlike adult males, children born with knotted hair are revered and welcomed as a gift of the gods and not a product of the wild. Such children are called “dada” among the Yoruba in western Nigeria and the Hausa in the north. In south eastern Nigeria, the Igbo call them “ezenwa” or “elena”.

In Yoruba mythology, Dada is the son of Yemoja, the goddess of the sea, wealth, procreation, and increase. Dada is said to be one of the deified Yoruba kings. His younger brother is believed to be Shango, the god of thunder, who wears cornrows.

Children-dada are presumed to be spiritual beings and descendants of the gods by virtue of their dreadlocks. As such, their hair is not to be groomed and can only be touched by their mothers. They are the bringers of wealth, which is symbolised in both Yoruba and Igbo cultures by cowrie shells. They are celebrated. Feasts are held in their honour.

Their time on earth is special. It is marked by special rites that define different phases of life. In nearly all cases, their hair is shaved before puberty in order to integrate them into the community. The shaving ritual takes place at a river, where the shaved head is washed. The cut hair is then stored in a pot containing medicinal ingredients and water from the river. The concoction is believed to have healing properties and needed when they fall ill.

After the hair-shaving ceremony, the dada wears “tamed” hair in conformity with societal expectations. The child is still recognised as special and mysterious but is now integrated into society. The visible sign of their spirituality is no longer present. Any grownup, therefore, who still wears their dreadlocks is deemed to have been possessed by evil forces, or chose to do so malevolently; in either case, dangerous.

Challenges to the culture

Despite their negative associations, dreadlocks increased in Nigeria’s religious and popular cultures in the 1960s. Itinerant priests of the Celestial Church of Christ appear in white gowns and knotted hair. The famous musician and talented artist from Osogbo, Twin Seven Seven, performed on stage and television with his dreadlocks and white attire. He was the sole survivor of seven (considered a mysterious number in Yoruba tradition) sets of twins.

Yorubaland has the highest rate of twins in the world. Twins are considered spiritual beings, so they are also revered and celebrated. Being a twin, having knotted hair, and only wearing white clothes (like the gods or ghosts), further mystified Twin Seven-Seven in popular imagination and fanciful stories about him spread. For example, it was said that he was raised in the forest by spiritual beings, hence his creative imagination and hairstyle.

In the 1970s and 80s, other Nigerian musicians like Majek Fashek were inspired by the fame of Jamaican reggae artists to begin styling their hair the same way. From the 1990s, Nigerian footballers joined in by wearing cornrows and dreadlocks.

Barring these exceptions, adults with unkempt hair are judged deviant beings who have become conduits for evil. Since it is difficult to differentiate between adults wearing dreadlocks as fashion statement from those with “evil dreadlocks”, people either flee from them or attack them out of fear and self preservation.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

The Business Of Music With James Ndubuisi

James Ndubuisi. Image: Twitter

BY UGOCHUKWU IKEAKOR

With over ten years experience helping a core of artists from the South East break into the Nigerian music scene, James Ndubuisi has built for himself a reputation as one of the best A&R and music business strategists in Nigeria. His client list includes Flavour, Phyno, Runtown, Zoro, KCee, Bracket, Wizboy, RuffCoin and the late MC Loph. He started his career with Eastside Records, after understudying Biglo and currently works with STARZ as the Soundtrack and Music Acquisition Lead. Flavour name checked James Ndubuisi on Destiny, a song on his second studio album titled Blessed. I sat down with James and he shared his experience on the business side of music.

How did you get into the music management business?

My entry into the world of music started immediately after my secondary school (2004). I got admission to study law at Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, but the school was on strike. My elder brother “Jay Stuntz” was learning how to produce songs. We bought 2 Shotz first solo album after it came out and we loved the production of the album. There was a phone number on the album cover so we called to let the person know that we were interested in producing songs. Biglo picked up and we didn’t know it was him. My brother met him after that and he took him in to work with him at the studio. I was always hanging around the studio back then and that afforded me the opportunity to meet Durella, Ikechukwu, Ruggedman, Sasha and DBanj in the early days.

How did you get into music promotion?

After some months of meeting Big Lo, he wanted to release his own album. Jay Stuntz was working with him on the album and we were all involved in the process of songwriting and making of the album. A lot of people don’t know this but Big Lo started as a producer before he turned to a rapper. Big Lo produced most of the songs on 2 Shotz first album. From being in the studio with Big Lo and Jay Stuntz, I was able to understudy them to learn the basics about music production, songwriting and A&R. When the album was ready, a marketer (Uzi Music) dropped some money for the promotion of the album. Big Lo gave me some money and CDs to share his songs with top radio stations at that point. There was no mp3, so you had to submit physical CDs at different radio stations and give the presenters some money to play your song on the radio. Payola was normal then and it was the only way upcoming musicians could afford airplay on radio. It was at this point that I learnt that you can’t leave anything to the goodwill of people in the music industry. You had to pay to get presenters to play to your songs. The money served as an incentive for them to play your songs. From doing this for Big Lo, I started building my contacts and understanding how to promote and market artists, then A&R their projects to meet market demands.

How did you meet MC Loph?
After working on Big Lo’s album (Aristo) I had to go back to school. When I came back from holiday, my brother told me about MC Loph and played me some of the songs they made together. “Wrekognize” stood out from all the songs he played and I loved the song and I was eager to meet MC Loph. Jay Stuntz had perfected his production skills at that point but Big Lo didn’t allow him to mix and master songs. MC Loph believed in Jay Stunt ability to mix his songs which helped him perfect his mixing skills. Big Lo at that time was at the top of his career with the Delicious remix he made with 2shotz and was always on tour. For weeks we didn’t get to see Big Lo, that afforded Jay Stuntz and MC Loph the opportunity to work together in the studio and they were completing works on an album (Wrekognize) . I met MC Loph at this point, discussed some marketing strategies I used for Big Lo and what I could do for him when his own album would come out.

How did you meet Goldie and what did you learn from her?

Goldie was the person that changed our minds about the financial aspects of the music business. We didn’t know music pays good until Jay Stuntz and I wrote, composed and arranged an entire song for Goldie (Fashy). Goldie paid Jay Stuntz 100,000 naira in 2005. That was mind-blowing to us then. At that point we had been with Big Lo for years and we hadn’t made that kind of money from one song. Goldie paid me 20,000 naira separately for my A&R services and that was new to me.

Let’s talk about your experience with East Side Records and how it evolved.
One day we were all in the studio together and MC Loph got a call that he should come to Ojez Night Club in Surulere. Surulere was the hub of entertainment in Lagos at that point. A lot of Nollywood actors and actresses were living in Surulere and Ojez was the favourite spot for entertainers. He met with Ifeanyi Anagoh who was a movie producer, owner and financier of “Mega Movies”. His younger brother was a rapper (Sino) and he needed someone to feature on a song with him. Rappers like Ikechukwu and Ruggedman were difficult to get and someone recommended MC Loph. He recorded the song that day and shot the video of the song the following day. Ifeanyi Anagoh was impressed and signed him to EastSide records. I remember the night he got signed, it was wild. Loph came back with a “ghana must go”bag filled with cash. I will never forget that day. Loph couldn’t sleep that night and we were all squatting in the studio. Loph used the money to rent apartment. MC Loph told Ifeanyi Anagoh about me and he signed me to work with him at East Side records as their only Promoter and A&R exec. Jay Stuntz was signed as the in house producer. I was in my early 20’s, still pursuing my degree at OAU Ife. Ifeanyi Anagoh, on my recommendation also signed Nigga Raw “Mr Raw” to East Side records. At this point we were no longer available for Big Lo as easily as we used to be.

Jay Stuntz had a recording session with an artist at Big Lo’s studio, but because of his new engagement at East Side, he missed the session that night but came back the following morning. Biglo was pissed, but he wasn’t paying JayStunt salary for production. He wasn’t paying me for my promotion and A&R work- we had no contract with him. Jay could produce a song for an artist , Biglo would charge the artist 50,000 naira and only give Jay Stuntz 5000 naira. Sometimes, 3,000 naira.

At East Side Records, Jay Stuntz was paid 70,000 naira for a song and earning a monthly salary of 50,000. Big Lo gave us an ultimatum to choose between working for him and East Side Records after Jay Stuntz missed the night session, we chose East Side Records and that was the end of our working relationship with Big Lo. Working with Ifeanyi Anagoh “Mega Movies” we had the opportunity to meet nollywood stars who came to Mega Movies and interact with other producers who came to record at East Side Records. That experience made us understand better the music industry and opened us up to the movie side of the entertainment industry. And marketing films.

How did you meet Flavour?

If not for EastSide records and MC Loph, I probably wouldn’t have met Flavour. EastSide signed Nigga Raw, MC Loph and Sho’boi. 9ice came to Eastside record to ink a deal, but Ifeanyi Anagoh didn’t sign him because he wanted to work with Igbo artists only. 9ice already had some songs that was getting street buzz. I made recommendations and begged that we sign 9ice, but that didn’t happen. 9 months later Gongo Aso dropped, 9ice blew up and was the biggest artist in the country. I remember we even had to pay him to perform at one of the stops on Nigga Raw’s album tour. After we released Nigga Raw and MC Loph albums, Flavour asked for a deal, but that didn’t materialize for some reason. Flavour was featured twice on Dat Nigga Raw, Everything Remains Raw album.

After the album was released, I met Flavour. I came back from Ife ‘cos we were on another ASUU strike. Flavour was working with Jay Stuntz in the studio when I met him. He had released N’Abania and was gradually coming up on the music scene. Eastside tried to sign him at that point when he started buzzing. But he didn’t need them again. Flavour had a great studio chemistry with Jay Stuntz and it was easy for both of them to create songs together. We had a chat that day and I convinced him of some strategies I could use to market his projects and that was the beginning of our working relationship.

How were you able to combine all this with your educational exploits?

Upon graduation from OAU Ife, I was posted to Nigeria Law School, Enugu. I called Jay Stuntz to inform him and he said he had moved to Enugu in order to complete production of Flavour’s second studio album Uplifted. When I got to Enugu for law school, I joined them at Obiagu where Flavour was staying. At that point, Jay Stuntz didn’t have any contract with Flavour when they were producing the album. As the album was nearing completion, Duncan Mighty released his second album titled Legacy. That album was everything. This is a secret but Flavour had to postpone his album release after we listened to the songs on Duncan Mighty album. We went back to the drawing board. We worked on the album for another 2 months before we came to the conclusion that the album was good . We were heavily influenced by how good the Duncan Mighty album was and created our album to match the work he released. I didn’t have a contract with Flavour either, but we kept on working. I A&R’d several songs on Uplifted. Also, I set up his social media accounts and handled PR. I worked on three album projects for Flavour. Uplifted, Blessed and Thankful.

What did you understand about social media that made you set up social media accounts for Flavour?

I understood the power of social media to reach many people at a time. I came to this understanding because of an artist I worked with in university, his name is Cyko. I used to promote him before I met Flavour. He became popular because of Facebook. Reverbnation was the only music site that accommodated sharing on Facebook so I set up a fan page for Cyko and people were joining and sharing his music. I knew what Facebook did for Cyko and how it helped push his music further. We were even getting gigs within the university for him. I had to translate that knowledge on a bigger scale for Flavour.

What one moment would you say changed your life?

After we dropped the Uplifted album, we recorded a video for Ashawo remix featuring some Ghanaian artists (Asem & Bradez Stones). The song was hot and it blew up in Francophone Africa and France. I got an email from Trace France about the video. They said they loved the song but the video was not good enough to air on Trace. There was no Trace Nigeria at at that time. I showed the email to Flavour and the team. I advised Flavour that instead of shooting a new video, we should redo the song, remove the Ghanaian artists and shoot a better video in South Africa. P Square had the best videos in Africa then and the videos were shot in South Africa by Godfather. The bill they gave us to shoot the video was 2 million naira, compared to what we had shot for 400,000 naira. Psquare level was the standard we were looking to achieve. I was able to convince Big A (Anderson Obiagu of Big A Ent. who was then the GM of Bad Beat Records who partnered with us for a bit) to fund the video shoot and he did it. After the video was shot, I sent it to Trace in France through DHL. The Ashawo Remix got massive playtime on Trace Urban and this cemented my position as a top promoter and music strategist. I still wasn’t getting paid because it felt like family business working with Flavour.

So how did you start working with other artists?

As a result of the success we recorded with Uplifted, other artists started reaching out to Flavour to find out who helped with his music promotion, marketing and A&R. Flavour kept referring them to me. I later on worked with Bracket, Kcee, Phyno, Runtown, Wizboyy etc. Because of my relationship with Trace France, I was able to help push their videos and handle other things for them. My connections grew, and the relationships I have built since I started working with Big Lo became very useful. I had contacts in Alaba and I was the go to guy for anything music promotion for these artists. These other artists were the ones that paid. Before I started working with Flavour, there was probably no Igbo artist from the East who had recorded the kind of success Flavour had in Lagos and across the continent

What do you think is the reason behind your success with these Eastern Artists?

It wasn’t my deliberate choice to work with Eastern artists alone. Some call me tribalist because of this, but this is far from the truth. It was a coincidence. Remember I asked Ifeanyi Anagoh to sign 9ice but he failed to do that. I would have worked with 9ice, if Eastside had signed him. Flavour’s success was visible to these Eastern artists and they could relate to him, knowing he came from Enugu just like them.

The reason behind the success of the Eastern artist I worked with was my ability to understand both offline and online audience. I understood what Alaba wanted. I knew how to push the songs on radio stations, navigate through Alaba and run power street campaigns. I knew the right industry connects that could help these artists at each point of their careers and Alaba was key in blowing up their songs then. Of course, times are changing.

From all the things you mentioned you did for these artists, promotion stands out. Taking their Eastern sound and blowing it up in Lagos through Alaba. What did you understand about Alaba at this point?

Promoting and marketing artists is also one of the roles of an A&R exec. I am of the opinion that online sales of music and streaming is still in the minority in Nigeria. Look, compare the numbers, without sentiment, you’ll see I’m right.Some people make the mistake of thinking that everyone who lives in Abuja or Lagos are educated and internet savvy. But that’s not true. Take a look at Lekki axis, you’ll see a combination of beautiful estates alongside horrible slums. From Jakande to Sangotedo, slums are everywhere. Majority of the people that live around here don’t know anything about streaming even today. Uploading music into people’s phones at Computer Village is still a thriving business in Alaba and Computer Village. Nigeria is a poor country and we have a lot of people who are not educated and don’t understand anything about streaming or paying for music. When I started, internet penetration was very low and Nigerians didn’t have access to streaming platforms. With this understanding, I knew that Alaba and the radio stations were the best channel to promote these artists because they could reach a mass audience easily.

What was the influence of Alaba at this point on Nigeria music and how did you become the go to guy for Artists in Alaba?
I worked directly with Obaino music at Alaba after I left Eastside Records. He is arguably the biggest marketer in Africa. But when I was working with Ifeanyi Anagoh, Eastside Records had a store in Alaba. They had their own store. Ifeanyi was a movie producer and these movie producers back then all had shops in Alaba, Iweka road (Onitsha), Pound road (Aba) and outlets in Asaba. So it was easier for them to move their music through the same channel as their movies. I understood the channel and links for distribution of music. Then working with Obaino, I was able to get the numbers of CDs we sold at each particular point. The numbers were very important to me.

What was the number of CDs sold for Flavour Uplifted album?
The last time I checked Obaino Music had sold 17 million copies of the Uplifted album. Yes, 17 million physical CDS.

Obaino Music confirmed this to you?

I knew when we sold a million copies and when we sold 10 million copies. Some people will say it is not documented. But my question for them is have they met any Igbo man that doesn’t document his sales? Even to the guys who sell okrika in Yaba, they have a book where they document their sales. The numbers are there in Alaba. Duncan Mighty has sold more than 20 million copies as an artist. P Square’s Game Over is still selling till today and I think it is the highest selling album in Nigeria. I am aware that the album had sold more than 30 million physical copies.

Do you still believe in this age of streaming that CD sales is important?

Yes of course. More numbers means more money for the artists. Some artists are okay with having their fans streaming their music online. But Nigeria has a mass market that you can still reach with your CDs.

Do you believe Alaba is no longer relevant today? And should artists do away with them?
Alaba is still relevant. Without them you can’t serve the mass market completely. If you throw them away as an artist, you’re the one losing. Because someone out there in Alaba is making money off your sweat. As an artist if you fail to print physical copies of your CDs, you don’t negotiate with any of the marketers in Alaba. You’re busy focusing on online alone. You’re losing out on a major cash stream. Because someone will print the CDs in your name and sell them to your fans.

Does this still happen today?

Yes it is still happening. Tekno and Teni have albums at Alaba.

This is piracy. How do Alaba do this?

It is piracy, but it can be solved. It’s a demand and supply problem. Before an album comes out there is already a demand for it. The distributors fund the production and printing of the album, and they pay a marketer who buys the albums from the artist to sell. If an artist takes his/her album to Alaba, negotiates properly with the distributors, you can easily checkmate the piracy of your work and earn money from the marketers at Alaba who buy the album from the artists. But when an artist fails to sell to a marketer, the distributors will bypass the marketers and illegally fund the production of the album to sell to the mass market who are ready to pay for it.

What can young artists do to prevent fix this and have Alaba work for them?
They need knowledge. A lot of them don’t know that Alaba still sells. Asa had decent numbers from Alaba. Adekunle Gold and Simi had good numbers from Alaba. I understand that the problem some artists have with Alaba is that of trust because they feel that the numbers can’t be tracked with tech. So they are afraid that the numbers coming out from Alaba is rigged against them.

So the main issue artists have with Alaba is trust?

Yes. Lack of trust is a big problem. A lot of marketers are dishonest. Just a few of them I can recommend that can show an artist their numbers without falsifying it. Alaba is a key part of the music industry, but these new artists are neglecting. They need to go to Alaba, do their own research, find out what is working against them and find a way around it and create the trust they need to push their music further. There are new marketers who are in Alaba, ready to show the artists their books and get decent numbers for them.

But online we have seen artists buy Youtube views to rig their numbers?

The difference between Alaba and YouTube is that, buying YouTube views increases the number for an artists. The artists prefer their numbers to increase than to decrease. So some of them will invest their money in buying more YouTube views, than waiting for Alaba to tell them they sold 100,000 copies. TJoe told Psquare they sold only 500,000 copies, it took their late mother confronting him to admit the truth about the number of sales he had recorded.

After all the success you recorded in the music industry, why did you leave?

I moved to California in 2016, after more than 10 years playing an active role in the music industry. I was tired of everything and I was done with music. I had no plan when I was moving to LA. But a friend was gracious enough to host me in LA. When I got there, it felt out of place. But after my friend saw my CV, she told me how good it was, it dawned on me that I could use my portfolio to get a job at Hollywood. Within the passage of time, I was invited to a meet up organized by Showtime. It was at that event that my friend introduced me to someone, whom I later found out was working with Starz. I had a meeting with the person the following week, they offered me a consultancy role for the projects they were working on. Towards the end of 2016, I moved back to Lagos to work with STARZ on a docuseries they were shooting in Badagry. They shot the docu series for 13 months in Lagos. There were a lot of interviews, research and ground work done. It was wild. The docuseries was about slavery in Badagry, I can’t speak more about it because it was eventually shoved aside.

When did your job with STARZ become permanent?
My consultancy role with STARZ lasted for months then I reached out to Netflix and HBO. When my boss got wind of it, they offered me a permanent role- Soundtrack and Music Acquisition for STARZ.

What advice do you have for any upcoming A&R?

The ugly truth is that A&Rs, producers and songwriters are at the mercy of musicians in Nigeria. Especially the young A&R, producers and songwriters. We need a structure that covers A&Rs, producers and songwriters when an artist is signing any contract that licenses his music or whenever they are working on any project. The contract should be inclusive in such a way that everyone involved in the project will get a percentage from it. Everyone involved in this industry should standardize this in our contractual process, doing this will ensure that artists don’t take everything and leave those who contributed to the project dry. For the young ones coming into the music industry, they must know that you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you signed for.

So what are you doing at the moment to help make this possible?

Whenever I acquire sound for STARZ, in the contract I make sure that the song writer, producer, composer, A&R, samples to be cleared and everyone involved in creating the song has a percentage from the money we are paying to you. That is how I am trying to correct this norm that is prevalent in our music industry and make sure that upcoming A&Rs don’t make the mistakes I made when I was starting out. It is my job now to verify and make sure that everyone involved in the creative process of making a song benefits from it. It is in the best interest of the industry, for other key players involved in the music industry to adopt this model and make sure artists don’t cheat anyone. Artists are cheats. Quote me anywhere. I once worked with an Artist who when he signed an international deal, he put down his name as producer, mixing, mastering, song writing, back up. His name was everywhere. He cheated everyone involved in the creative process. And then I knew these guys can kill.

Since you left the music scene in 2016, artists from the East are no longer topping the charts as they used to. Do you plan on coming back to help some of them again?

I think any advice I give will help them. I don’t plan on helping them again. The work I did for the majority of them felt like charity. I didn’t have anything to show for my labour and I don’t plan on doing that again. They need to get over themselves because they have some success now. They should hire people that are capable. There is nothing wrong in paying songwriters, A&Rs and producers that work for them. I used to go out of my way to get investors that will invest in some of these artists. They don’t have the culture of everyone eating- they made it difficult for people that will help them to get involved at this point.

Afrobeats is trending globally, and you’re in the middle of it acquiring afrobeats sound for STARZ. How has the experience been?
Thus far, I have been able to acquire sounds that STARZ will use in their upcoming shows from Nigeria. We have paid almost $250,000 to different artists in Nigeria. STARZ gives me song briefs to work with. If I can’t find the sound, I go into the studio with Nigeria artists to sing according to the brief. Sometimes they give me specific songs to acquire. Because of my position with STARZ, I have been able to plug in some upcoming artists from Nigeria, because it is easier to work with them and have them create the sounds you need.

What is the future of Afrobeats?
Afrobeats will fade away in 2023. There is no music that doesn’t fade away. We are not cashing in from Afrobeats.

So how do we cash in?

We all need to storm Hollywood collectively. If not time will come when no one will care about afrobeats, the same way no one’s paying attention to reggae music at the moment. This is not the first time world is seeking for a bit of Nigeria music- it first happened under Majek Fashek and King Sunny Ade. If we are not careful we can lose this moment. That is why I am making sure that our songs are used as soundtracks, making it easy for a lot of people to benefit from Nigeria music. Also, we need to stop limiting ourselves, everyone that is involved in the creative process of making Nigeria music should be involved with what’s happening beyond the shores of Nigeria. Seek opportunities outside Nigeria, protect the culture in order to prevent vultures from ripping and owning our sound.

SOURCE: CULTURE CUSTODIAN

Revolution Imminent In Nigeria – Archbishop Chukwuma

Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma

BY SUNDAY ANI

The Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma has condemned the arrest and detention of Omoyele Sowore, by the Federal Government over his recent call for a national protest tagged #RevolutionNow. Chukwuma, who also accused President Buhari of having increased hardship since he commenced his second tenure, however, declared that spiritual revolution was imminent in the country.

What is your rating of President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance in the first 100 days of his second tenure?
As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to celebrate and nothing to cheer about his 100 days in office. Okay, we are celebrating squandermania and more corruption. All we have had are more insecurity, increased killings, more hunger, more bad roads, more failed infrastructure and more insincerity; buying more time over new minimum wage, and closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport with no sign of commencing the proposed repair works, among others. What is there to celebrate when majority of Nigerians are visibly disappointed with the latest verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal? What are we celebrating when the marginalisation of Ndigbo is on the increase? We are celebrating selective negligence and total squandermania of our commonwealth. When you keep hearing about huge sums of money being doled out for security, and insecurity keeps worsening by the day, what do you call that? We are celebrating because the Service Chiefs apparently have nothing more to offer, yet, they are still allowed to continue. So, we have nothing to celebrate because things have continued to get worse and foreign countries are making mockery of us, ridiculing us and treating us like lesser beings.

Look at how Nigerians are being killed in South Africa and other countries, even in Congo, Ghana and everywhere. Before now, we used to say Ghana-must-go and a brand of bag was tagged Ghana-must-go bag. But, Ghanaians took their bags, returned home and fixed their country. Today, it has turned to Nigeria-must-go; soon we will have Nigeria-must-go bag. It is unfortunate. We need good leadership for Nigeria to become a country of pride because it is a nation that is so blessed by God.

Are you satisfied with the recent move by the South East governors to tackle insecurity and herdsmen’s attacks in the zone?
South East governors are doing their best. The truth is that because governors in Nigeria answer chief security officers but are not in control of heads of security agencies in their respective states, they are handicapped. Thank God that when the former Commissioner of Police (CP) in Enugu failed to perform, we cried out and he was removed. When you keep sending Northerners all the time as CPs to the South East, what do you want the governors to do? Most of these officers are Fulani and Muslims, so, they are bound to compromise. We need Igbo officers as CPs and security heads in the South East. Let us experiment that and see if insecurity would not cease in the zone. We will continue to support our governors in prayer. When you have an army GOC that is a Fulani Muslim, and does not have any passion for Christianity, what do you expect? But, whether anybody likes it or not, South East is a Christian zone and we want GOCs and CPs that have passion for our religion. Those with negative passion will always offer insecurity. That is why the establishment of forest guards and neighbourhood watch groups are very commendable initiatives by the governors.

The outcome of 2019 Presidential election and the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal have been described in some quarters as untidy and unfortunate developments; what are your thoughts?

Our Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has not given us honour or cause to be proud wherever we go, just like the outcome of the Presidential election. We have a government that lacks integrity and so, the entire system is without integrity. When a President cannot produce his certificate, and the institution that is supposedly the last hope of the common man tells you that you do not need a certificate, but just an affidavit as pre-qualification to run for office of President, what integrity is left in the system? We have a President that has no WAEC certificate in a country that parades tonnes of academic professors, and highly educated individuals locally and internationally. Yet, a critical institution has the boldness to declare that it is not a big issue to be unable to show clear evidence of possessing a credible basic certificate. But, I declare that it is a big issue. In the 1960s and 70’s, there was no WAEC certificate that bore candidate’s photograph. How come Mr President’s certificate bears his photograph? I have said it before, and I am saying it again – Buhari is only pretending to be fighting corruption. Time has come, and I give this advice as Archbishop Chukwuma, that he should declare himself inefficient and unqualified to rule Nigeria and consequently resign. People are talking and calling for revolution. There will be revolution indeed! The country is being put into total chaos because this is the worst government ever in Nigeria; the bloodiest government we have ever had. This is a government that has subjected citizens to so much hunger, unemployment and insecurity. This is a government where selfish and evil cabals reign supreme and Mr. President is not allowed to be in charge of anything? I don’t think Buhari is in charge of the government of Nigeria. That was why he openly directed that the Chief of Staff should oversee all affairs of Nigeria. I wonder why he should issue that kind of directive. We cannot be ruled by proxy. It was Charley Boy that floated #Ourmumudondo campaign, and I agree with his idea.

When you mentioned revolution a while ago, were you referring to Sowore’s recent controversial revolution campaign?

Look, this is not a matter of muzzling and arresting a man because he said that he was going to organise a revolution rally because revolution is imminent in Nigeria. It is looming and it could come in various forms. God is going to visit Nigeria with revolution because there is total wickedness in the land. You can scuttle physical or human revolution but nobody can stop spiritual revolution. Spiritual revolution is akin to hurricane or wild fire; it is more devastating. There could be spiritual revolution in Nigeria because we can pray government to power and pray any government out of power, as well. A plan to redeem Nigeria has come, and I will stand by that plan because standing on the power of the almighty God, who created all of us, we can move mountains. So, let Buhari know that all the evil things happening in Nigeria and all the evil things happening to Nigerians in South Africa and other foreign nations are signs that his government is not acceptable by God, and that God is not happy with the government. Our country is richly blessed by God but bad governance and evil people have destroyed it, and citizens are suffering in the midst of plenty. We must return the country to what God had originally designed it to be and I trust that God will deliver us.

Is it true that you no longer eat beef out of protest over killer-herdsmen menace?
I do not eat cow meat anymore and I will never eat it again. I said that nobody should eat beef anymore because if we cease to eat it in the South East, there would be no need for the Federal Government to think about having RUGA or a camp for cows and herders in the zone anymore.

So, I have banned cow for all occasions and ceremonies in my diocese and I urge that the ban be replicated in the entire South East so that the Ogbuefi (cow killer) becomes Ogbuewu (goat killer) or Ogbuefi Igbo (Igbo local cow specie killer). Let us begin to rear Igbo cows, which we were once known for in the South East. Once we take such collective decision and begin to implement it, they will cease to bring in cows here because the market or demand for cow will cease. Then nobody would think of where to settle or how to kill us or rape our women under the cloak of cattle herding.

Do you doubt the FG’s capacity or will to contain killer herdsmen and bandits?

I am saying that if President Buhari continues to fail to call Fulani herdsmen and bandits to order, then we are going to bring out Ogbunigwe to face insecurity within the South East, and that is why I have told the governor of Enugu State not to bother himself again. It is approaching a time when we shall return fire for fire, and it is a pity that we have not done what we ought to do to save ourselves from the ongoing mess.

You are among the leaders that spoke out when Nnamdi Kanu was arrested; are you happy with what the IPOB is doing now?

I am not happy with them because they are biting the fingers that fed them. How I wish that Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB would understand that they were delivered by the people they are now insulting and harassing. They should realise that the case is still in court and that it is not yet over. They should repent, apologise and be more sensible in fighting their cause. You cannot be somewhere outside the country enjoying peace while the people that you said you are fighting for are here suffering, losing their lives and closing their shops and offices. IPOB should respect Igbo elders and governors and team up for us to fight the common cause in a more sensible and responsible manner than what they are doing today. I feel so bad because even though Nnamdi Kanu is fighting a just cause, he thinks that he can achieve his aim without carrying us along. No tree has ever made a forest anywhere. He is fighting the cause with a lot of selfishness, arrogance and pomposity, and that is not good. IPOB should desist from creating house enemy but join hands with their elders to fight our outside enemies rather than fighting ourselves within. That is the way to go.

Then to the Igbo nation, Igbo youths have ridiculed the elders, so the elders are losing the seal to defend their cause outside. How I wish the IPOB will go and fight in South Africa, rather than fighting Igbo elders. The IPOB is fighting absolutely a useless battle for the Igbo, and I challenge them to go to South Africa and fight the South Africans rather than insulting their elders. The manner, in which IPOB insults leaders, leaves one with the impression that they have gone out of their senses. If they keep insulting and ridiculing elders, which elder would rise to defend the cause of their children, when they have not been respected? It’s a pity. So, Ndigbo must unite and speak with one voice. Do you find any Hausa or Yoruba crying that their people have been killed? Igbo are very hard working. They are very enterprising and very reformed in business and that is why they are more in South Africa. Talk about electronics, motor spare parts and several other businesses; they make great impact in South Africa, thereby creating so much jealousy among South Africans, and that is probably the main cause of the xenophobic attacks. Most South Africans are naturally lazy and that is the issue. And unfortunately, the Igbo who are there live extravagant lifestyles which attract so much jealousy on them. I urge Nigerians to always humble themselves wherever they live, so they can enjoy their wealth peacefully. We hear that many of them engage in drugs and crimes, so, we have a lot to do to recover our lost integrity to end being ridiculed by outsiders.

How do you feel about the killing of blacks in South Africa?I feel very sad. It is unfortunate and so dishonourable for blacks to be killed in black continent by fellow blacks, and one wonders what the so-called African Union, AU, is doing about it. Again, it is unfortunate that most of the people affected are Igbo and that is why it is of much concern to us. We, therefore, commend Air Peace and the FG for their efforts to bring those affected back to Nigeria safely. But, notwithstanding, I think time has come when the Nigerian leader must ask himself why the exodus of Nigerians to other countries where they end up being treated badly. If Nigeria is comfortable, if there was favourable business atmosphere and availability of employment, would citizens move out of the country in such embarrassing numbers? How many South Africans are in Nigeria? When it is not safe enough for people to live and earn their living in their country, they are forced to look for alternative places.

What should be done to stem the tide?

We need to look inwards first because Nigerians are not safe even in Nigeria here. If we are so concerned about ongoing attacks and killing of Nigerians in South African, what about Fulani herdsmen killing Nigerians in Nigeria? What about Nigerians killing, maiming, raping and kidnapping fellow Nigerians in Nigeria, with reckless abandon, under the guise of Fulani herdsmen, bandits, Boko Haram and what have you? So many lives are being wasted under the current government, while government stands and looks helpless.

How does the scenario that you just painted relate to the xenophobic attacks in South Africa?

It has everything to do with it! The present administration in Nigeria does not respect life and because of that, foreign nations no longer have respect for the lives of our citizens outside. Many people have been killed, their hard-earned valuables get razed every day in this country and nobody cares, not even compensations are paid to victims. Now, you are pressing for compensation in South Africa. Although that is not a bad idea but I am saying that charity should begin at home. It is unfortunate that we have exposed ourselves to more dangers outside by not respecting lives in Nigeria. This is a country where cows have become more important than human lives. When animals become more valuable than human beings, what do you expect? That is why RUGA is still in contention in Nigeria. If the money they have earmarked for the controversial RUGA project is used to establish businesses to engage those Nigerians in South Africa, that would have been more reasonable. And if that is done, virtually all of them will come back home. So, we should stop disgracing ourselves. We should stop belittling ourselves and making fun of ourselves. We should look inwards and start doing things right.

Because citizens are not safe in Nigeria and their rights are not respected, we are seen as useless outside the country. If lives are secured in Nigeria and the Federal Government values lives more than animals, the South Africans would not have had the guts to be killing Nigerians in their country. Have we not been complaining that we are being killed in Nigeria? Have we not been complaining that bandits and killers are all over the place? People are kidnapping fellow citizens; Fulani herdsmen are raping and killing our people across the country, but what has been done about that?

So, it is a case of double jeopardy for Nigerians, especially the Igbo. Nigerians are not safe in Nigeria and they are not safe outside. Buhari has never made any strong statement against Fulani herdsmen. He has made no move to declare them terrorists or to ensure that they are arrested and made to face the law. In some places where most of them were arrested, they were not even tried in the court; that is the issue. Most of these things are repercussion. What you sow, you will reap. We are reaping what we have sown and we need to go on our knees and ask God to forgive us. I have said it during the burial of former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, that a time shall come when even those who think they are big men or who are in high political offices, blowing sirens when they move around, would be challenged by the young people out of frustration due to high unemployment rate. Nigeria is still sitting on a keg of gunpowder, in that regard.

What is the way out?

The way out is that President Buhari should realise that the best way to go is to create businesses that would engage the returnee-Nigerians from South Africa, and other teeming unemployed citizens. That is a much better move than pursuing the RUGA programme in whatever guise.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE