DEAD ON ARRIVAL?

Anytime I watch the Nigerian television and I hear government officials talk about vision 2020, how Nigeria will be among the first 20 economies come year 2020, the President Yar’Adua 7-point agenda, the glory and the seeming utopia we will attain come 2020, I can’t help but wonder-are we not deceiving ourselves? Are we not building our castle in the air? If not, then we are best described as a nation of dreamers. Do not get me wrong, there is nothing bad in dreaming. Afterall, it is often said the future is what we create in our mind all by ourselves. It is all good to set goals with deadlines but when I remembered that our leaders in the near past have set same vision but I guess not goals, because GOALS as I understand, are vision with feet, they are a set of specific measurable steps to achieve a particular vision. do not forget Housing for all by year 2000, Vision 2010 by the immediate past administration, and so many promises of Obasanjo’s administration. I often tell friends and colleagues that if we are to go anywhere in this country we must start with telling ourselves some home truths, sometimes very bitter and frank. I always say the time we need promises and plenty of talk is the period of campaign, when you are in power as a government we need performance and service and not promises aplenty.

During Obasanjo to Yar’Adua transition, we witnessed a different kind of campaign. The ex-president went about telling us what he has done, what he has achieved, how he brought GSM to Nigeria- as if he bought one for everybody and buy recharge cards for us weekly, and he was busy introducing Yar’Adua as the presidential candidate-I almost thought the poor man was deaf and dumb or something because he would giggle and smile almost all through the campaign period when Obasanjo in his usual manner would start reeling out stories after stories punctuating his talks with old school jokes- the aides had no choice but to laugh anyway. I don’t have anything against Obasanjo and Yar’Adua persons but I have a big problem with their kind of leadership. Before we delve into so many things, let’s examine what Yar’Adua government has been able to achieve and if I don’t remember any you can please remind me in your comment.

When Yar’Adua assumed office, he promised that state of emergency will be declared in the power sector, almost 2 years down the lane we are worse for it, I don’t know about your area or state of residence but where I live, its been from frying pan to fire when it come to PHCN. I was watching the Lagos Light Rail Mass Transit and Investors Forum that was held in Lagos, London and Dubai on television and one of the investors/partners, to our collective shame, A white man, who I couldn’t get his name on TV in response to a question of how they are g

oing to deal with the issue of electricity was saying they can not embark on such project costing about $600 million and rely on our present PHCN, which means they will be running on alternative power supply- I don’t know which one. Unemployment has been on the increase, we still have electoral violence- especially the recent one in Jos that claimed the lives of three youth corpers- may their soul rest in peace. And a whole lots of sector going from bad to worse, since his inauguration, the executive and legislature have increased their salary with about 300% - correct me if I am wrong pls. we are constantly having square pegs in round holes in federal appointments, Obanikoro was compensated at the start of this administration with the juicy position of an ambassador because he lost Lagos gubernatorial election. I don’t understand what Abba Sayyadi Ruma, a PhD holder in International Relations is doing as the helmsman in the Ministry of Agriculture while another PhD holder in Agriculture, Mustapha Shettima is heading the Ministry of Defence. Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, a qualified pharmacist, is to fashion a means of actualizing Yar’Adua’s “mass transportation” agenda. If this is the way America and other world powers who are getting it right are making their appointments, I bet our leaders will not be traveling there for their bogus medicals and the rest. The one I cannot understand and I need someone to please explain to me is the appointment of Dr. Dora Akunyili who we all know has performed in a sensitive agency as NAFDAC. I can’t remember anybody who has done more than this courageous woman in that agency. She is now the new Minister of Information, what a right person for a wrong job and sadly, she was quoted by the press as saying, her appointment is a divine calling. I don’t have any problem with people being religious but what has God got to do with her appointment as a Minister of information in a country where it has taken the national assembly forever to pass the Freedom of Information bill and this means Akunyili with all her zeal, energy and sense of patriotism has now become just a trumpet for Yar’Adua government, blowing whatever the government puts into her. WHAT A MISAPPOINTMENT- if there is any word like that. It is not about getting few round pegs in few round holes but a situation where we will be ready as a nation to do it right most of the time, and in this country of ours where we have talents and competent hands abound in every sector, we do not have any excuse for making wrong choices repeatedly and no one should tell me otherwise because running a country as big as Nigeria is not for people who do guess work, it is for people who know how to take deliberate steps to achieve deliberate goals. This present government has failed us and personally, I have given up on them, I have promised myself not to talk about them anymore except if the need arises and because I have not and will never give up on Nigeria, my only country, I don’t have dual citizenship like so many young people now have, maybe my kids will do, I do not know. Infact, I feel we should all just sleep and wake up in May 2011 but we can not afford to do that, we are the future of this country and we will make it happen come next election period, it is our time for CHANGE and we must be bold enough to stand up for it. But, with this government, I can aptly say whatever vision it had and is having is DEAD ON ARRIVAL. Anyone with me?

HOW TO STAY STRONG IN MOMENTS OF WEAKNESS

We all have these moments! Don’t feel like you are alone in the world for feeling tired, frustrated or fed up, there are those moments! But those moments don’t just come, they come for a reason. Everything that happens is either cause or effect, and believe me getting tired and fed up is not a cause, it’s an effect.

In case you are wondering, “what did I do, to cause this?” or “Why me?” don’t worry for long, there is a way in, and there is a way out. Weak moments will happen, but you can stay strong in the midst of them. Here are a few tips on how not to get there, and how to get out.

Why do weak moments come?

Weak moments come essentially because we take our eyes off the big picture and assess our current positions. Weak moments come because we momentarily compare ourselves with our surroundings, contemporaries, friends or society. Weak moments are characterised by doubting, a feeling of tiredness, incompetence and mental laziness. These moments come because we shift our eyes from our focus for a brief moment. If weak moments are not well managed, they become sinking moments. One wrong action in this moment, and all we’ve spent years to build come crashing down.

One sure fire way of not getting into these weak moments is to stay focused. Keep your eyes on the big picture, keep the big picture around you. The journey is not going to be easy, the journey is not a given, but the destination is. Keep the picture of the future consistently in front of you. Put it in your office, put it on your desktop, lace your conversations with it, talk about it, imagine it! Doubt happens when belief is overwhelmed by present realities.

How do I get myself out?

1. What are you looking at?

The first way to get out of those weak moments is to change what you were looking at. It’s not only looking in the sense of percieving with the eyes, but also hearing, feeling e.t.c. Who have you been talking with, what is the picture in your mind? What perpetuates the weak moment is a wrong picture or message. Who you spend your time with and the pictures they project before you are critical to your success.

2. Fear Not!

Have you allowed doubt and fear to knock you out of your enthusiasm? The certain way out is the same way you came in. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real, fear is caused by your perception of what you saw. To get out of fear, you must be willing to see things with fresh eyes, to look at the things you see and be accurate about the possible consequences of your action. Don’t let fear cheat you out of your possibilities. Talk to yourself, be afraid but take the actions that lack fear. Advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.

3. Cry out!

Men get lost on the road because they never ask for directions. The average man feels it’s a sign of weakness to subject his direction to another man’s fingers - go left, go right then take a turn there :), people feel it’s not macho to ask for help. Well, I hope it’s macho to get lost, because if you cannot ask, you are in for a hell of a task. The person that asks for direction never misses his destination. Don’t try and exhaust all the options on your own, cry out for help. More often than not, help is not far away.

Remember, starts are not celebrated, endings are. Rehearsals are not applauded, performances are. If you rehearse for 20yrs and the programme gets called off before you perform, no one will hear about your rehearsals. Don’t quit while in the game, don’t die sitting down. Get up on your feet and get dirtied in action. Die fighting, or live fighting! The reason any artist is a hit today, is because they continued in obscurity for over 5yrs. Don’t let doubt sway you, keep your eyes on the finish line!

FLYING SUCESSFULLY

This is a story i read from my friend's website, the story really made a big impression on me and i hope it does same on you too. Read it and tell me what you think.

Once upon a time, there were two geese and a frog that got stranded in the same pond. The pond was big and vast, but was the only pond around for many miles. They had no choice, than to enjoy each others company. They were friends by circumstances, they had to make the most of the hand that life had dealt them.

It so happened that sometime during the year, the pond dried up and their supplies finished. Famine had hit the land, and like Abraham and Isaac, it was time to seek for new terrains. The geese would have it easier certainly, they could take off and fly for miles, but the frog has to hop, and hop and hop. They shared memories, had a chat together, and were going to bid each other farewell, when the frog came up with a dazzling idea.

Don’t leave me behind pls, the frog said. Why don’t we try something. Why don’t the two of you claw a piece of stick with your legs, while I wrap my mouth around the stick, and together we can fly far and long to new terrains together. That way, we retain our found friendship and you preserve my life. The geese found it inspiring, wow, that would be a site to behold, two geese and a frog, in harmony, stresslessly gliding across the skies in search of better economy. Sure why not, they decided to go for it.

True to design, the plan worked, and it was quite easy. The geese engaged their legs and freed their wings, the frog clamped the stick with it’s big mouth, and to the sky and onward they went. They flew quite stresslessly and easily and peeped down once in a while to catch a glimpse of the territory.

As they journeyed along, they travelled over the farm of an old farmer. The farmer lifted up his eyes, and say this dazzling sight! Unbelievable, a frog in the company of geese? Spectacular! A stick clawed in between their legs and a frog in flight? Awesome! Out of awe and excitement, he dared to ask, “who on earth thought through this phenomenon?” The winds carried the question to the ears of the frog, and in a hurry not to let the glory drift to another, he opens his mouth and answered…”I…......... and crashed into sudden death.

Lessons

1. When you are soaring in the skies and doing the unbelievable, shut up. In the heat of the ascent is not the best opportunity for public speaking. There is a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking - wisdom is the ability to know the difference.

2. Glory does not fit a flying frog. Humans were not made to have any use for glory. Glory belongs to God, the day we want to reach out and take some for ourselves is the day we die. It might not happen literally, but the minute the plug of an iron leaves the power is not the minute it gets cold.

3. Frogs can fly, if they rely on their relationships. You can achieve any and everything you set your mind on, you just need the right desire and a meeting with the right people or person.

4. Some of our best relationships had rough starts. Don’t dump your friends because you had a quarrel, when you identify the no go areas, or bruise the delicate spots, what you have is clearer and stronger.

5. Pride comes before a fall. That’s true everyday and twice on sunday’s. You did it, so what?

6. …. Provide it…let’s learn.

Pride comes before a fall, and glory belongs to God. There are times when to stand tall, we must lay low. Half a word is sufficient for the well behaved, when it gets into his heart it becomes full. Think before you talk. Bone glory! We’ll get a lot more done, if we don’t care who takes the glory!

TUFACE IDIBIA EXPECTS BABY NO 5

This guy is not innocent at all, his name is Innocent though, Naija popular musician Innocent Idibia popularly known as Tuface is expecting his 5th child, (he is not married oh) his heavily pregnant baby mama, Annie Macualey will soon put to bed. she jetted out of the country few weeks back to visit a relation in Los Angeles but some people said she will not come back until she gives birth to another tuface. You will recall that Annie lost the first pregnancy early this year, i was with her few days before that incident but thank God they both fired another free kick and it was a goal . So this, will technically be Annie's first baby for Tuface. Sumbo and Pero Adeniyi already have 2 each for our African Queen Crooner. the guy is damn lucky or what do you think , another may still be on the way oh, I am hearing some rumour about Tuface and Vien Tetsola, remember her ? an ex beauty queen who wanted to marry one funky musician turned pastor and politician but failed, anyway, that is a gist for another day.

INI EDO GOT MARRIED AT LAST

After several postponements and speculations in the media, Nigeria born star actress, Iniobong Edo finally married her controversial lover, Phillip Ehigwina in oil rich town of Eket, Akwa Ibom State; Nigeria.The event took place on 29th November 2008.
Accompanied by friends and relatives, Phillip stormed the home town of the actress in style and formally showed off that he is indeed man enough to take their daughter as his darling wife. On her path, Ini Edo was also extremely happy about her choice of man.
Expectedly, it was a roll call of her colleagues in Nollywood that graced the occasion. The list includes the Desmond Elliot, Oge Okoye, Rita Dominic, Mama Gee and the duo of Aki and Paw Paw. The traditional wedding was a knock out for critics of the star actress who thought that her relationship with Phillip, the United States based dude would not lead to wedding. Ini further fuelled this some months back when she denied any plan for marriage.
So we say a big HAPPY MARRIED LIFE TO INI EDO

MTV AFRICAN MUSIC AWARDS (MAMA)-MY TAKE

When MTV decided to host its maiden African music awards in Nigeria, not few people thought they were choosing the wrong venue for the first of its kind in Africa. We all felt Naija is the right place giving the rise and rise of our artist locally and internationally, the other day i was chatting with a white American and she was giving all Tuface's lyrics, I was amazed she told me she had all the albums and enjoyed his song and a host of other artists in that category. But the award that took place at the Velodrome in Abuja, the Nation's capital was mostly all hisses and sighs. Don't get me wrong I have never been to Abuja before, so it means I did not attend the award in person( definitely i am not big enough to get a media pass and I will definitely not travel 12 hours by road to watch a show for 5000 Naira). So since the awards night, i have read everything I could lay my hands on about it, I have even watched it on television on Monday Night and I arrived at my conclusion that whoever planned the award did a very shoddy job and should be probed if there is anything like that.
First of the award organisers many sins, There was no parking space for the guests inside the Velodrome and most of the guests had to trek a distance of more than 1 kilometer to access the venue. The award itself did not start until 10pm in the evening( it was scheduled to start for 8pm) so, most of the blue chip company CEO had to stand outside on the order of the stern looking security men at the gate as they could not enter the venue even the Vice President of MTV our own Alex Okosi was initially bounced at the gate of his own award- now that's bad!! The doyens of entertainment In Nigeria were not even recognized at all, now, who wouldn't recognize our Almighty Ben Bruce, the Silverbird Boss and Skid Ikemefuna? these two stood throughout the event until they left. ouuuch!!!!!! Then the sound output!!!!!!! was wack according to reports -even the one on Tv was not any better, when i listened to Ikechuckwu singing Wind am well- it sounded like one is shouting in an empty hall, seriously- that was the sound and it was alleged that the organizers did not care about the output because they were concentrating on getting good sound effect for the television recordings.
Secondly, the award lacked the ambience and glamour usually associated with awards ceremony, it looked more like a concert as you can see people standing behind barricade, you can see bodyguards moving on stage carrying people off the stage especially when Game came on stage which i personally think was bad enough but that is the kind of thing you can see only concerts and not awards at least I have watched Grammy on Tv. but there were some great moments at the awards though, Dbanj rocked the awards with his 5-star performance with Kelly Rowland, Asa also set the whole place on fire alongside HHP from Ghana, they both performed Asa's Jailer.
On a final note, this is just a side kick, ok? I heard that the award which was sponsored by ZAIN actually gulped N700 million- my first reaction was wow!!!!! that's a lot of dough, and the money would have gone round every Nigerian with individuals getting 5million each. IMAGINE THAT!!!!!!

WORLD AIDS DAY IN FOCUS

AIDS was first discovered in Nigeria around 1986 and according to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

Well for me, part of what to be done are definitely not bombarding us with statistics some of which could not be substantiated. In developing countries especially, HIV/AIDS campaign has become just another channel to sipphone money and give the people some phantom statistics and give HIV a very scary face, methink what we need is not just statistics but ways of combating the scourge and let people have enough awareness and when i say awareness, I dont really mean just telling people that HIV is real, it has been established and proven overtime that it is real, but stigmatization is what is eating deep into the people now.

I was discussing with a friend few days back, a university graduate and she was telling me that she has never seen an HIV infected person before so i told her she could as well be talking to one- don't get me wrong i was not telling her i was infected the truth is i am not but i made her understand that they are everywhere living with us, boarding same vehicles with us, using same cutleries at eateries, using same equipment for manicure and pedicure- in essence, " E NO DEY SHOW FOR FACE" meaning one can not determine anyone status by looking at his or her face, on telling the girl this, she started praying that God will not allow her to sit with an HIV infected person, enter same bus with them, use same cutleries with them or come in contact with them. then, it dawned on me that so many youth in my country do not even have any idea about HIV apart from the fact that it has no cure and you can contact it through blood mainly. they see it HIV as end of life fr anybody who hs gotten infected and coupled with the stigmatization, no one wants to get tested even the ones who know they are positive will rather go around infecting other knowingly telling themselves they should not die alone- to me its a sad thing.

HIV has been viewed overtime as a killer disease which has defied every form of medicine but so is cancer so is Tuberculosis and some other disease not known to us here in Africa, not many people know that you can effectively manage HIV, that you can be positive and still live a normal healthy life. so many people in Nigeria especially will never surrender for voluntary test because of the stigma i think that is what we should work towards and not bogus statistics. what do you think peeps???