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OCTOBER 1-15 2012

VOL 001 Nº20

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Nollywood Ireland Film Festival Celebrate

‘Last Flight To Abuja’.

By Ukachukwu Okorie he second edition of Nollywood Ireland Film Festival has come and gone but the memories will linger among film lovers until the next edition comes to town in 2013. The colourful event which hosted the Irish premiere of Obi Emelonye’s ‘Last Flight to Abuja’ was a massive success. AfricWorld, which partner the film festival since inception as at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resorts, Northwoods Park, Santry, Dublin 9 venue to see an excited crowd of movie lovers and cast of the top selling movie. The climax of the festival on 29 September had dignitaries from all over Ireland, including Ireland Joe Costello TD, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Georges Omokhagbor O. Alabi, Minister/Political/Economics Affairs at the Nigeria Embassy in Dublin and a host of others. Talking to AfricaWorld, the Director of the Nollywood Ireland Film Festival, Reginald Okoflex Inya said, “The essence of the annual festival is to target audiences of the diverse cultures living in Dublin, Irish audience and Irish based African communities. The festival will create a unique forum of exchange between the wider Irish society and the Nollywood filmmaking community through hosting series of events that allow the public to interact with producers and the cast in the form of public interviews, panel discussion and interactive sessions before and after screenings.” Living up to the hype, the movie premiered in this year’s festival ‘Last Flight to Abuja’

Producer/Director of Last Flight to Abuya, Obi Emelonye and his beautiful wife.

Continued on Page 3

Hairdresser To Database Administrator - How to start a career in IT Greg M Lucas

By Tony Ekpechue Dear readers, I certainly hope this story of Greg M Lucas’s career change would inspire you to take that bold step into a career in IT. AfricitWorld can help you achieve your IT career goals through our running Advanced Practical Classes in Database Administration. For further enquiries contact africitworld@yahoo.co.uk or Africaworldnews@gmail.com

I left school more years ago than I care to count with minimal qualifications and more or less fell into a career in hairdressing I loved what I did for most of my time in that career but by 1999 had achieved everything I wanted to within

CHRIS HANi “We do not fear open contest and free debate with other organisations. ...

that industry. I decided it was time for a change of direction. That new direction was IT, not the most obvious choice you might think and certainly not an easy change to make. This post is about that change and tries to offer tips for others

FIVE MINUTES WITH REGINALD OKO-FLEX INYA Reginald OkoFlex Inya is the Director of the Nollywood Ireland Film Festival which is ...

More on page 10

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AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

opinion

The return of the native

Editorial LET US SUPPORT NOLLYWOOD

By Ukachukwu Okorie

Since the turn of the 21th century, Nigeria inspired Nollywood has gradually become the second largest film industry in the world in terms of number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind the Indian film industry. The body of songs, festival, oral literature, traditional and foreign religion, performing arts, dance, music and more are represented in Nollywood. It is authoritatively the window to see through reality and illusion in contemporary Africa.

CHRIS HANI

apartheid regime introduced Bantu Education which was designed to indoctrinate Black pupils to accept and recognise the supremacy of the white man over the blacks in all spheres. This angered and outraged us and paved the way for my involvement in the struggle. The arraignment for Treason of the ANC leaders in 1956 convinced me to join the ANC and

Although critics argue that Nollywood is filled with religious overtones, however, it is worthy to note that faith is an important aspect of Africa’s cultural heritage. Far from that, Nollywood is now a household name to Africans and African in Diaspora. Especially for African immigrants and descendants, Nollywood offers them a glimpse of life at home. It showcases the clash between traditionalism and modernity, and a new world of entertainment, relayed with an African taste.

participate in the struggle for freedom. In 1957 I made up my mind and joined the ANC Youth League.” In 1962, he joined the fledgling MK which began an armed struggle to fight apartheid. His involvement and inspirational leadership made him a target for assassination. In 1967 Chris Hani fought with Zipra forces in Zimbabwe after receiving military training in the Soviet Union. Gaining the reputation of a brave soldier, he went back to South Africa to build an underground ANC. His courage endeared him more followership especially when Mandela was hounded into prison after the Rivonia trials

However, there are constraints and challenges such as financing, marketing, poor quality, piracy, labour disputes among producers and actors, advertising and distribution and lack of professionalism among the producers and marketers. Notwithstanding, the growth is rapid and calls for our support. Nollywood needs massive investment and involvement of all who love entertainment and Africa’s involvement in global economic and socio - cultural progress. The involvement of corporate financing and strategic partnership with critical Government and NGOs is inalienable to its development. We need to go beyond watching Nollywood movies and seek how all hands must be on deck for its rapid growth. The 2nd Nollywood Ireland Festival has come and gone but AfricaWorld has kept the most important part of it for our readers. We do have stories and pictures of all that happened, along with important issues from the best columnists. Come inside. Uka

Chris Hani was assassinated on 10 April 1993 outside his home in Dawn Park, Boksburg by a Polish far-right immigrant named Janusz Waluś, who shot him in the head as he stepped out of his car. As ordinary South Africans continue to battle for economic rights which was at the top of anti apartheid struggle, we remember the vacuum created by the death of indefatigable Hani. Unless the rainbow country can again be guided by the ideals of Chris Hani to serve the people instead of individuals and their clique, South Africa shall forever postpone the real liberation of its people. CHRIS HANI The assassination of Chris Hani in 1993 sent shock-waves through South Africa and the world. It engineered mass mobilisation and anger. However, observers at the time noted its significance. Precisely, in the days following his death, the impact of power shift, finally and definitively dawned on the apartheid National Party government. Chris Hani was born on 28 June 1942 in Cofimvaba, in a rural village called kuSabalele Transkei. The fifth among six children, he attended Lovedale school and studied modern and classical literature at the University of Fort Hare. He also studied in Rhodes University. Two actions of the apartheid regime facilitated the desire of Chris Hani to join the struggle for the liberation of his people. According to him, “In 1954, while I was doing my secondary education, the

AfricaWorld & Millenium Development Goals Editor Ukachukwu Okorie Chief Reporter Paul Kelly

“We do not fear open contest and free debate with other organisations. Open debate can only serve to uncover the bankruptcy of our political opponents”

Graphic Design Celine Fang Mirco Mascarin Photography Stephen Boyle

The Editorial team at AfricaWorld would like to point out that it is aware of the Millennium Development Goals

and seeks to synergise its work in accordance with those aims wherever possible. Those goals are to improve

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issues of Education, Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender Equality, Environmental Sustainability and Global Partnerships.

www.africaworldnewspaper.com

October 1-15 2012

AFRICAWORLD

NEWs Flight to Abuja’ is worthy to be seen in every home. Like in the beautiful city of Dublin, the movie keeps journeying around the globe through premieres and viewing in cinemas.

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)

kept guests on the edge of their seat like any top Hollywood thriller would. The movie was so good that Yemi Adenuga, who partnered with actor, Basorge Tariah Jnr, as the master of ceremony on the night, likened it to any top flick from Hollywood. According to the producer, Obi Emelonye, the movie is inspired by true events. “Last Flight to Abuja is a high octane disaster thriller movie and the first Nigerian movie to be set on aeroplane that suffers major midair problems leading to a fatal crash”, the top producer and director informed AfricaWorld. The cast of the award winning movie include top actress Omotola JaladeEkeinde, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Jim Iyke, Ali Nuhu, Jide Kosoko, Uche Odoputa, Anthony Monjaro, SamuelDemola Ajibola, Jennifer Oguzie, Uru Eke, Celine Loader, Oma Iyasara, Charles Granville and Julie Adams. The plot of the movie is set on the last Flamingo Airways flightscheduled to fly from Lagos to Abuja on a fateful friday night in 2006. Cruising at 30,000 feet, tranquil and on schedule but like a bolt out of the blue, through a mixture of human error, technical failure and sheer bad luck, the plane develops major difficulties that sends it teetering to the brink of disaster. As the pilots fight with the control of the aeroplane, series of flashbacks unravel the twists, turns and leaps of fate put each passenger on the fateful flight to the risk of death. Young lovers, an elderly couple, a corporate party, a sportsman on the threshold of greatness were all in the cursed aeroplane. An entertaining and thrilling flick, ‘Last

Thanks for your support: Reginald Oko Flex Inya hugs Joe Costello TD, Ireland Minister for trade at the event.

Catch them young: Anthony Munjaro Cuddles little Joelle at the Crowne Plaza Hotel event.

Rosie Morgan shows off the hamper she won at the Nollywood Ireland Ceremony.

(L - R) Anthony Munjaro, Obi Emelonye, Uru Eke and Basorge Tariah Jnr facing their fans.

AfricaWorld Editor - Ukachukwu Okorie (left), Chief Reporter - Paul Kelly (right) with Mr. & Mrs. Obi Emelonye (Movie Producer / Director) at the event.

Charge d’Affaires at the Nigeria Embassy, Mr. G.O Brenda and Ciana Mc Laughlin performing the Alabi at the function Irish dance at the Festival.

ELILAMA NEWS The Elilama Praise

Mother Grace

Master of Ceremony: Yemi Adenuya doing what she knows best.

Let us Take A Moment To Thank The Living God Elilama. For Giving Us This Moment, Thank You Father God Elilama. For Giving Me Myself, Karen, Nina, Maina, Nikki Thank You Elilama. For Giving us your son Jesus Christ And the Holy Spirit Thank you Elilama. Father God I thank you That through your son Jesus Christ Elilama. We came to know your name Elilama. Elilama, Holy Father, God, Elilama. Thank you living God I praise your holy ame Elilama. Thank you father God Elilama.

Your name is holy You are holy Elilama. Father, you are the most majestic Greatest, faithful, loving Honest, Wonderful, handsome Father God I worship you I love you Elilama. I love You Living God My Great Man Majesty! God I glorify you. I lift your name up Above all names Elilama. Elilama! Elilama! Elilama! Almighty father God I am deeply in love with you I Love And Adore The Way You Think You are loving God I love the way you smile I love..love..love you I see you dance to me Elilama I want the world to know The stories of your love for me

The Nollywood Ireland Film Festival which is in its second year running will continue to make it possible for top quality and critically acclaimed movies to reach numerous followers of the industry based in this part of the world. “It will create an opportunity for audiences and industry members to meet with artistes and forge new alliances and collaborations, including the promotion of tourism and exchanges for Nigeria and the rest of African countries”, Reginald Okoflex informed AfricaWorld. AfricaWorld also learnt from the organisers that the yearly event is a feature film festival and documentaries that also aim to promote diversity and accommodation of the intercultural commonalities between the communities that make up the current Irish society. “It is important to organise a unique event such as the Nollywood Film Festival to address the communication gap occasioned by a lack of understanding of cultural difference between Africans, particularly Nigerians and the wider population in Ireland”, Reginald concluded. The event also featured a thrilling violin perfomance, Irish dance stars - Brenda Mc Loughlin, Ciana Mc Loughlin, and Danny Hogan, arranged by Dance Starz troupe. The organisers of the event chose Temple Street Children’s Hospital and Child Vision Special School for the Visually Impaired as the groups to benefit from proceeds.

You wipe away tears of the oppressed And glorify the poor Elilama You are creator of beauty Holy is your name Before you created beauty You were beautiful Handsome you are Elilama I Love You Thank you, thank You Elilama! Father protect Me And my loved ones against all evil And keep us happy Because you created happiness Father God thank you Thank you for all that you have given us Your strength and victory Father God (revelation 2:17) A hidden manna, Amen. Jesus Christ at the cross (Matthew 27:46) He called His God Elilama Revelation (3:11-12, 13)

AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

NEWS (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)

so after much research and careful thought, I decided to make the move into the IT sector. Having decided on such a major career change, in 1999 I started studying for an MCSE juggling a long work week with evenings and weekends studying, using up all my annual leave attending courses. I knew that I would need to be able to show potential employers that I was serious about such a dramatic change so passed my first two MCP exams before starting to look for my first IT job. My first job in IT was on the help desk for a small software house, a job where people skills were deemed more important than technical skills. This worked well for me as they expected to have to train staff up on their own software anyway, and the help desk was very customer-facing. This meant I could make the most of everything I’d learnt about dealing with people in my previous career as a hairdresser. The help desk wasn’t what I wanted to do long term, but I recognized that with such a drastic change of career, I would need to prove myself first and this type of role had more in common with my transferrable skills. Within 3 months of starting my first job on the help desk, I’d moved up to help desk management and systems administration. I later “discovered” TSQL and the rest, as they say, is history. After spells as a production DBA and SQL developer I have now been working as a freelance Development DBA for over six years. Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

Or, start small, think big! If you are planning a big career change, you have to be prepared to start on a lower rung of the ladder, possibly much lower, in order to gain experience that will lead to the role you do want. The cold, harsh reality is that just because you want to be a Network Administrator, have read the books and passed a couple of exams, an employer is not going to let you loose on their network without you having proven experience. There is no substitute for knowledge gained “in the trenches”. When it all goes horribly wrong because some new virus is infecting networks all over the world, you won’t have time to get your books out trying to remember how to configure something you remember reading about whilst you were still a chef, hairdresser or milkman. The higher up the technical ladder you aspire to, the more that real-world experience will count. It is my experience that, the lower down that ladder you go, the less that technical experience matters. Conversely, the more the right attitude and good soft skills can be enough to set you apart from the crowd. So if you are serious about changing career, you have to be prepared to make a few short-term sacrifices for the long term goal. You need to develop a career plan, and even write it down if that works for you. Don’t plan further ahead than three years to begin with. You will find that your plans will change once you

are actually working in IT and get a better idea of what the different types of job entail. My original plan was to complete my MCSE and become a Systems Administrator, possible specializing in Exchange. Instead, I completed my MCSE, MCDBA and MCAD and held several roles as a Production DBA Here I am now doing freelance database design, development and tuning. I also do some coaching and .Net development so my weeks are really varied. When you start applying for jobs in IT, look for roles where the skills the employer is looking for align with what you can already do. Typically the help desk, 1st line support, or even junior developments are the kind of roles where the soft skills you can pick up in other careers are more important than having a wealth of technical skills. On the subject of development, if your chosen field is web development, have you created any web sites that you can include links to in your CV? These might be for local businesses or perhaps a charity that you’ve been involved with. Words of caution here. Make sure it’s a good web site. Four static pages written in FrontPage is not a good advert for your skills! What Have You Got to Offer? If you are at this point in your life, you need to try and think strategically. If the only experience you have of a particular technology is passing an exam or two, this is probably not enough to get you the job

you want. You have to be prepared to start with the job you can do (at least in an employer’s eyes) rather than the job you want. When considering a major career change, you have to think very carefully about the skills you have now and how they might relate to a potential employer in your new field. To coin a phrase, it’s not about what the employer can do for you; it’s what you can do for them. What aspects of the job you do now would be of interest or value in the IT field? What skills do you have that would be readily transferrable? This might be the ability to build diverse relationships working

in sales, people skills gained in a call center or the ability to quickly get to grips with new technologies in a technical (but non-IT) field. You might need to think outside the box to answer these questions (see below). In my case, I was short on IT experience but my years in front of the public meant that I was strong on soft skills. Whilst I couldn’t hide the fact that I was in hairdressing, my CV focused on transferrable skills like interpersonal sk ills, coaching, influencing and manmanagement. (To be continued in the next edition of AfricaWorld)

COSTELLO HITS OUT AT NGO’S PRESENTING AFRICA AS“VICTIM”. By Paul Kelly “Far too often, Africa is presented as a victim.” argued Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello on Monday. “Certain NGO’s have traded too long on the negative and suffering side of Africa without presenting the vibrant and the positive side.” The minister was speaking at the Africa Centre’s launch of the ‘Africa Also Smiles’ educational resource for secondary schools in Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Dublin. The resource is designed to give a more balanced and positive view of Africa to secondary school students. The minister described the resource as a step forward in presenting “Africa in a proper light”. The Africa Centre’s Programme Officer, Mbemba Jabbi, also stressed this point at the launch, saying that although there is broad support for aid programmes within the African community in Ireland, “the negative presentation of Africa is making it difficult for people to see that Africa is

viable”. He also insisted that the focus must be that “Africa is producing.” Speaking at the event, Mr Jabbi described how African countries are making great progress in NanoTechnology and telecommunications. “Africa will even have 4G mobile networks before some European countries,” he added. The Kenyan ambassador to Ireland, Ms Catherine Muigai Mwangi, also voiced her support for the ‘Africa Also Smiles’ resource, saying that although “we will be the first to say that there are many challenges… it is about closing the gap, because there is definitely an information gap.” The educational resource itself is currently in use in Mount Temple Comprehensive School, but is not linked directly to the curriculum. According to the school’s staff, however, it’s currently being used in CSPE and Home Economics and it can also be used as a Transition Year module. The principal also stressed

that the pack can used with every subject. “We would say that if it’s not being used in every subject then the opportunity is being missed.” he said, in response to questions from AfricaWorld. “It is possible to use this pack as a part of every subject of the curriculum. In particular, when the new junior cycle comes on board, it is designed so that it links in with some of the key skills of the new junior cycle.” The Africa Centre is also currently working with the National Council on Curriculum and Assessment in an effort to integrate the resource into the national curriculum. Until this is formalised, however, Mr Jabbi said that the resource can still be accessed online (www. africacentre.ie), allowing other schools to access it without worrying about printing costs. “We are also hoping to get the Department of Education involved as well, to help subsidise costs, but if we are going to produce bulky printouts we might also ask schools to pay something

towards the costs.” Mr Jabbi said. The launch of the report was funded by Irish Aid and forms a part of the Department of Trade and Development’s on-going Africa Strategy, which was launched in 2011. Speaking at the event, the Minister for Trade and Development stressed the increasing economic relevance of African business for Ireland, saying that “we have more exports in agricultural produce to Nigeria than we have to the whole of China.” He stressed the fact the pack would help Irish people “overcome historic prejudices and a lack of knowledge with relation to the African continent” and “understand that Ireland has a partnership with Africa, that it is not just about assistance, but it is also about trade and about broad economic and political development”. “It is impossible to work in partnership with Africa to our mutual benefit without understanding the potential contribution of both to that partnership.” He added.

October 1-15 2012

news

Al Shabaab flee kismayU The Somali government and African Union troops are not in a hurry to enter Kismayu, the southern stronghold abandoned by Islamist militants, a military spokesman said on Monday as anxiety over revenge attacks gripped many in the port city. Al Shabaab rebels fled Kismayu on Friday after a surprise assault by sea, air and ground forces. Mohamed Farah, a spokesman for Somali government forces in the southern Juba regions, said the rebels might have laid explosives in Kismayu and soldiers were being deployed to strategic locations step by step. “There is not much need to rush. We control the town. And every step in Kismayu is sandy. We anticipate mines have been planted,” he said. Al Shabaab has said that although it had retreated from Somalia’s second biggest

city, its fighters were poised to engage the allied troops once they entered the city centre, threatening to turn the streets into a “battlefield”. The rebel group, which counts foreign al Qaeda-trained fighters among its ranks, is seen as one of the biggest threats to stability in the Horn of Africa. It formally merged with al Qaeda in February. Somalia descended into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Al Shabaab, which for much of its fiveyear rebellion controlled swathes of the lawless Horn of Africa country, has turned to guerrilla tactics, disrupting the government of newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with suicide bombings and assassinations. Security forces in Kenya, are currently on high alert on Monday.

FIVE MINUTES WITH REGINALD OKO-FLEX INYA by PAUL KELLY

Reginald Oko-Flex Inya is the Director of the Nollywood Ireland Film Festival which is now in its second year. This is the second Nollywood film festival. Why have you made this an annual event? I want it not to be an annual event. What I was thinking is to grow this project gradually, that way we can learn and make mistakes and learn from these mistakes. We can learn what people really want and then we can develop it up to the next step. Our long term plan is to see if we can be in a position to hold a series of events of this nature. We are moving towards specialising as the optimal platform to premier new movies for ethnic minorities, especially Africans. So not just for Nigerians? No, for Africans across the globe. But we can set it up in Ireland, because I think a lot of the time people are underrating Ireland. I think a lot of the time when things are happening people talk about the UK, people don’t talk about Ireland. So I’m thinking, hang on, this is a beautiful place, I think there is so much fun here and the people are very sociable, so I think it’s very important that people see this and try to get these movies into the mainstream of Irish life so not just Africans and ethnic minorities will enjoy them. The Irish society themselves can try to learn to enjoy African movies. What made you choose Last Flight to Abuja to premier tonight? I chose Last Flight to Abuja because every time I choose a movie, it must have a message. Last year we played Mirror Boy and it had a message. What was its message? The message was about a boy who was born in Britain and whose parents were African. There was a culture shock, where he didn’t know if he was British or African. The message behind this movie (Last Flight to Abuja) is to highlight the terrible aviation standard in Africa. A lot of the time a lot of the dead flights from

Europe have been dumped in Africa. Even the system itself is so bad that the number of air traffic disasters in Africa is incomparable to that of Europe. Why is that? It’s because of a lack of checks, controls, training, quality controls and air safety. Most importantly, the people who are in charge of ensuring there are standards are probably involved in corruption and ineptitude. This is across Africa and it’s something that needs to be talked about. Was it hard to organise this event? It was tough, there’s a recession and the venue was very expensive. To get an event of this standard off the ground takes a lot of money. We’ve been planning it for over a year but I don’t think it’s about how long you plan it for as the recession has a very strong part to play. It cost €17,000 to put it all together. Are you going to earn the money back? We won’t, but we are looking at this as a long-term investment as we try to see how we can improve the standard. When you are investing in this area you have to be patient as you have to learn to run before you can fly. When do you think you’ll get events like this running more regularly? As soon as we can package this and it’s a success and people see it and they say, hang on a second: I think those guys are fantastic. If we can build a name where people start making reference to us we can get more people coming to us, asking us to put stuff together for a new movie. Why did you start the Nigerian Film Festival? I started because I love art form entertainment. I started because I think there are so many events happening which are not well organised and when I see things that are not done right, I don’t complain I try to do my own to show what it should look like.

AFRICAWORLD

MOTLANTHE BECKONS FOR UNITY ON SOUTH AFRICA HERITAGE DAY

The South African deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe has called on South Africans during this year’s Heritage day to unite in their diversity to build a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. Addressing hundreds of South Africans gathered at the main national Heritage Day celebrations at the Danie Kuys stadium in Upington last Monday, Motlanthe said that, during the years of apartheid, cultural influences still managed to find outlets to decant into different social domains. South African cultures influenced each other even at a time when racial domination was scarring the country’s landscape, Motlanthe said.”No culture in South Africa is pristine and no language is unaffected by the multi-lingual experience that has been the melting pot that is South Africa,” Motlanthe said. “Cu l t u re i s a h i s to r i c a l phenomenon whose development is determined by the succession of socio-economic formations.” South Africans proudly dressed in their

colourful traditional clothes to show off their cultural uniqueness on a day when South Africa is united by diversity. According to the Deputy President, Heritage Day seeks to acknowledge the injuries of the past and the history which diminished the use and status of indigenous languages and free cultural expression.”Celebrating heritage is part of our efforts of healing the divisions of the past and establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. “Heritage Day reflects the values of a constitutional democracy where all South Africans’ cultural and linguistic rights are recognised and protected by the Constitution.”Motlanthe said that if in the past the enemy was the oppressive system of apartheid, today the biggest enemy was the triple problem of poverty, inequality and unemployment. “While it is the primary duty of government to address the triple problems, it is also true that government needs social partnership to achieve the results.”All South Africans, black and white including business have to roll up their sleeves to uproot the conditions that engender and sustain poverty, inequality and unemployment.”

Mr. & Mrs. Reginald Oko-Flex Inya at the Nollywood Film Festival

AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

news

FIVE MINUTES WITH URU EKE By Paul Kelly Uru Eke is one of the lead actresses in the new high-octane thriller Last Flight to Abuja. She was also nominated for ‘Best New Comer’ for her role as Onyeoma in the film Widows Men and has also been involved in the soap opera Catwalq and the new psychological drama Amina. In five minutes, we asked her everything we could about her role in her most famous new film. What was your role in Last Flight to Abuja? I played the chief air hostess. I had to make the announcement that triggered all the chaos and I had to make sure the passengers were comfortable and tried not to alarm them. How did you get the part? I heard Obi (the writer and director of Last Flight to Abuja) was doing something and I phoned him and said: “Listen, I’ve heard you’re doing something, why haven’t you called me?” because we’ve been friends for quite a while. And he said, “well, actually I might have a part for you.” and I’m like “wow, really what is this?” And he said “Here’s the script, read it, I’ve two parts, choose which one you would like to play.” And I chose the one I wanted and that was it. What was filming like? It was very intense. It was really hot and the tarmac was boiling and that was really hard because we didn’t have any shade except for the wings of the airplane so that was really hot and sticky. It was fun though, kind of, but stressful too. Have you been to all the premieres of the movie? Yes. Every single one. I had to do a lot of travelling to Nigeria, to Dublin, to London and I don’t know if they’re doing anything else, but so far it’s been fun and I’m really enjoying it. Have you been involved in many films with Obi? This is actually my third film with Obi. I have a very good relationship with him, he’s a family friend. He doesn’t feature me in everything, but if he’s got something for me, he’ll just call me.

FIVE MINUTES WITH OBI EMELONYE By Paul Kelly Obi Emelonye is the writer, producer and director of Last Flight to Abuja as well as the critically acclaimed writer of Mirror Boy. He was at the Irish Premiere of Last Flight to Abuja and AfricaWorld took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his new thriller. What’s the movie about? It’s the first Nigerian film that deals with the aviation industry. It deals with a set of passengers that board a normal plane on a Friday evening and they encounter difficulties in mid-air and their lives flash in front of them. They then relive the twists and turns that put them on the plane in the first place. It’s a thriller. You’re the writer, director and producer of the film. Are you very busy? Well, I try. I worked with a bunch of people who understand how I work and who I’ve worked with for a while. The titles don’t really matter, what counts is that we get a job done and everybody pulls their own weight.

Have you made many films before? This is my fourth serious feature film. Last year, I shot a film called the Mirror Boy which also ran in the cinemas in the UK, Ghana, Nigeria and the Gambia. Last Flight to Abuja opened in Ghana yesterday and it’s running in the UK cinemas and in Nigerian cinemas. It’s opening in Kenya next month and it’s also running in South Africa in November and America in December, so it’s happy days. Was it difficult to secure funding for this kind of film? First of all there’s no government funding. The path I have taken in funding my films is that I’ve started small with small independent films that I could finance myself. These made a statement about what I’m up for and people have, over the years, gradually started to invest in what I’m doing. The investment for this film came principally from my family; Mirror Boy came from a TV station in the UK. Today, a lot of people are phoning me up and saying we want to be involved with what you do. It’s a great place to be. Do you have a general theme in your

writing? No. I’m not an issue based film-maker. I feel the films should entertain first and foremost but I feel also that I have a social responsibility as a film maker to run a commentary on society and that’s what I try to do- without burdening the film with too many issues. The Mirror Boy dealt with identity issues for children born in the diaspora, which a lot of people feel is a universal concept. This film (Last Flight to Abuja) deals with danger and the aviation industry, which is global, and deals with the problem of plane crashes. One even happened a few days ago, killing seven British people. So it’s an international concept and we just try to take an African and especially Nigerian angle to it. What inspired you to write this movie? It’s loosely based on true events in 2005 and 2006 when Nigerian planes were falling out of the sky. This was a retrospective and sensitive look back at that period which we thought was behind us. But then, unfortunately, on the third of June, five days before the London premier, a passenger plane crashed on the outside of

Lagos, killing over 200 people. So, whether I like it or not, this film has taken on added significance. It has become a mouth piece for the clarion call for aviation safety, not just in Nigeria, but for the whole of Africa. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously and I get all my partners to commit to supporting a charity to help the lives of the people whose loved ones so tragically died. Did you have to do much research before you made the film? Definitely. I wrote the script myself so I had to research a lot. I knew nothing about planes, although I had always been fascinated by them. I had to find out what actually happens behind the scenes of aviation, all the procedures and conventions, so I could produce an authentic picture of aviation, with a Nigerian take on it. We even had a pilot on set to comment on procedures and give us guidance. But I didn’t want to get too bogged down on the technical correctness of it. I felt that I was a creative person and I had to take a creative licence to comment on what’s happening in the aviation industry. I haven’t upset a lot of people and I thank God for that.

October 1-15 2012

news/column

AFRICAWORLD

Heart of the Matter: ‘Everybody’s Woman and Nobody’s Woman’ by Max Uspensky of ostracisation and stigmatisation, further compounding a disintegration of the innocent victims and the society they should remain a part of. HOTM, this issue, seeks to reveal some of the trauma and experience of just two such victims. The NGO charity, Warchild, states, “It’s a powerful and cheap weapon with which to control the local population. It intimidates them into compliance, punishes them for cooperating with rival groups, and keeps people scared and therefore enables the armed groups to maintain control of the mineral trade.”

Last issue’s HOTM issue ended with some appropriate soliloquising by Simone de Beauvoir (Le Deuxieme Sexe – The Second Sex – Paris 1949). Her comments though written some sixty – three years ago, resound with sonorous but somewhat ominous overtones when applied to the contemporary Congolese situation, “One wonders if women still exist, if they will always exist, whether or not it is desirable that they should, what place they occupy in this world, what their place should be.” In the world of eastern DRC, the statement should bear serious questioning of and resolution to address the Congolese context. Where 12% of all women are reported to

have been raped at least once in the DRC, the worst cases both in number, brutality and thus gravity of consequence occur in the eastern part of the Congolese Republic. This is an area where not only rebel militias, but the Congolese national army (FRDC) too, employs rape as a particularly callous weapon of war. The effects and consequences are specifically aimed, like landmines, to create maximum trauma, but leaving the victim alive, mutilated both physically and mentally, surviving as a wounded shell, breaking up and disintegrating the very core of society itself - a society which in turn compounds the horror by a process

Concern for Sahel by Max Uspensky

The NGO expands the point and reiterates the point made earlier, “Rape is an incredibly cheap and powerful weapon which usually leaves its victims both physically and psychologically traumatised. Its effects can be felt for a lifetime – either through fathering unwanted children or leaving women infertile, incontinent and often with diseases like syphilis, fistula and HIV.” It further confirms the cruel perspective of this heinous ‘weapon of war’, “It also does huge damage to families and communities. There’s a real stigma and sense of shame around the women who have been raped, and their husbands and families often find it very hard to accept the women back after what’s happened to them.” It summarises,

Congo’s Simian Population at Threat Solitary by Max Uspensky

Concern representative, Agnieszka Syrek, dons the NGO’s colours on Dublin’s Talbot Street for its latest fundraising drive - children across the Sahel remain under a continued threat of malnutrition and hunger as food supplies remain scarce across the region. With an engaging and motivated smile she explains Concern’s remit with this issue, “As part of our charity work, we supply malnourished children with special, highly-nutritious food in time to save their lives. This food is a bit like peanut butter but has added oil, dried skimmed milk and sugar with vitamins and minerals. It doesn’t need to be mixed with water so there is less risk of contamination and it doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge.” A contribution of just €55 or just €4.60 per month over twelve months keeps a child alive for that same period of time. Visit their website at www.concern.com to afford your help.

It’s not just humans affected by the conflict in eastern DRC – orphaned baby gorillas have also been targeted. The Senkwekwe Centre in Virunga National Park, sanctuary for these parentless simians has been targeted by both the rebel militias and the Congolese national army (FRDC). Staff at the centre have had to take cover in the cellar at the sanctuary. Allegedly, officers of the FRDC charge a fee to local poachers – in what amounts to yet another particularly cruel protection racket in the country.

“Eastern Congo is described as the most dangerous place to be a woman.” This - an area which has witnessed more casualties in one conflict since World War Two. One young girl, just sixteen, Tumaini, relates a horrendous experience, which is common among the 400,000 victims of this particular brand of rape, “They killed the women who resisted them, by cutting their throats and throwing them in a mass grave. Sometimes, they pushed those who were still alive into the grave and then threw boiling water over them, or burned them alive.” Tears roll down the teenager’s cheeks as she recalls her ordeal. Another victim’s recollection once again makes for gruesome reading. Fifty-five year old Honorate Kizende, a teacher and mother of five, was shopping in a Bukavu market in South Kivu province (which witnesses the worst atrocities), when she was abducted by rebel militias. “Sometimes when they said you were the most beautiful woman in the world, it was a disaster! They put you in the middle of everyone on a cross, with your head down and your legs spread and they raped you in that position, and the others had to cheer them on and dance around you.” She continues matter-of-factly, “I was everybody’s woman and nobody’s woman. Whoever wanted to satisfy his sexual needs came on us. Sometimes they would shout, “Food! Food!” We thought they were bringing us food. But unfortunately, it was not food. It was us, the women, who were their ‘food’.” More emotively she continues, “I saw them pick up a child to see if their knife was well sharpened, they cut the child in two. They left one half, we could see the other half. They told the mother, ‘You mustn’t cry. Our knife is sharp.’” Dr Denis Mukwege, Director of Panzi hospital (specialising in treating survivors of violence), which treats women of their psychological and equally incapacitating physical wounds, echoes an earlier point made here, “It’s a weapon which costs nothing but can cause as much damage as a bomb.” It would seem that agents and experts of conflict resolution have their work cut out here in order to create a sound environment for healing to take place. Not just conflict resolution - but also change management skills are needed, where people can work towards building new paradigms of living environment, integrating all members of society and not excluding those ostracised and stigmatised by this appalling weapon.

AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

entertainment

faces at the

2nd NOLLYWOOD

October 1-15 2012

PHOTOS

AFRICAWORLD

NOLLYWOOD Ireland Film Festival

10 AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

COLUMN

joe moore column Lisbrook House has been in the news recently. Lisbrook House is one of 35 accommodation centres for asylum seekers scattered throughout the country. Lisbrook House is situated on the Headford Road in Galway. Lisbrook House has 239 residents, 40 of whom are children of school going age, with a further 34 children under 4 years of age. The residents come from various countries, including Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Georgia and Sudan. Lisbrook House is a former hotel, as is Eglinton also located in Galway. Other types of accommodation centres include former convents; Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo and Millstreet, Co. Cork, a caravan park in Athlone, a former holiday centre in Mosney Co. Meath as well as special system build facilities in Knockalisheen, Co. Clare and Kinsale Road, Cork.

In total over 5.050 people live in these centres.Responsibility for the centres and their residents lays with the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) a unit within the Department of Justice. It is RIA officials who decide where each asylum seeker lives. Residents can be transferred from one centre to another with very little notice. These transfers can be very traumatic for those involved. Children are taken from their schools and their friends. Adults equally are separated from friends and supports available in the wider community. Although not allowed to work by the government, many asylum seekers are involved in voluntary work. This is of great benefit to those involved as it gives them a reason to get up in the morning and also helps them to integrate into Irish society. The direct provision system is a most inhumane system. Asylum seekers lives are almost totally controlled by RIA and the management agencies that operate each centre. One of many

rebellions against slavery occurred in 1739 in South Carolina. It is referred to as the Stono Rebellion, called after the local river where the slaves met to plan their escape. This rebellion was unfortunately not successful and those involved paid with their lives. As a result, in the following year South Carolina passed the Negro Act 1740. Three of the main provisions of that act were, enslaved persons could not grow their own food, enslaved persons could not learn to read and enslaved persons could not earn an independent living. So let’s compare South Carolina in 1740 to Ireland in 2012. Asylum seekers are not allowed to cook their own food or to decide when to eat their food. In fact anybody attempting to cook food will have their utensils seized by the hostel management. Asylum seekers are denied access to third level education. Regardless of how many points a student gets in the Leaving Cert, they are not allowed to take up any university or institute of technology course. And finally asylum seekers are not allowed work, as mentioned earlier. So the legal situation of asylum seekers in Ireland in 2012 is similar to that of slaves in 1740 South

BUILDING A SHARED MUSICAL CULTURE By Fergus Gleeson Miriam Makeba, the legendary South African musician and civil-rights activist, said: ‘It’s a really unfair world because life is, where I am; all day long we listen to American music. So I don’t see why the radios in the U.S. cannot even put aside one hour a day just to play music that is not American’. Makeba was a lady of transcendent talent, who in one deviation from her incredible and wide-ranging career played with Paul Simon on his Graceland tour. I mention Graceland because it was undoubtedly one of the first connections people here would have had with African music, and it was one of the most significant and influential albums ever-recorded. If you hear what sounds like African music on a national radio station, you had probably get ready to hear Paul Simon’s as well. On the more current side, there are prominent young American bands such as Vampire Weekend and Dirty Projectors who are heavily influenced by the soukous and Soweto township music, Congolese and Malian guitar patterns and tones. The difference between them and Graceland is that in the making of Graceland, it was the African players themselves who prepared the songs and came in and jammed them out. Paul Simon should be credited with bringing this music to the wider world, for introducing the raw format and vitality of the players and allowing himself only to contribute to their virtuosity. It can be too easy to claim plagiarism or cultural imperialism exists in such influences. Art, and music in particular, exists only because of the symbiosis between original styles and the apprehension of these styles by the next generation of artists. The blues music from the Deep South influenced the forerunners of jazz, as well as providing the basic rhythms and form for rock n’ roll. The blues, in their turn, were partly spawned as children of the work songs and call-andresponse styles of Africans who were brought to America. As the blues and rock developed- and were played, as Miriam Makeba said, across Africa, African musicians began to adapt in kind, and the Fender and Gibson electric guitars and basses began to filter in to the arrangements and live performances. Take ‘Staff Benda Bilili’ a group of (mostly paraplegic) Congolese street musicians with a fascinating backstory. Their album ‘Trés Trés Fort’ and a subsequent documentary, ‘Benda Bilili!’ showed that their music

-political and humane as well as infectiously gorgeous - could not have come from anywhere other than where it did- yet some of the structures and bass-lines exhibit characteristics of old Motown and soul records, and the high-school ballad chords of the 1950’s. I have been involved with the education system and have also worked as a musician. I have been to schools where the staff understood art as a tool for understanding and enlightenment. These were simply amazing places to be in. There is no room any longer for the dated vision of Ireland as a monoculture. It breeds misunderstanding and separatism. As we move gradually towards straightening out our bizarre denominational education system, it is important to realize that in a world where American music dominates the airwaves, our Irish and African musicians feel themselves drawn away from playing the music that is most traditional to them. We are in a unique position in the history of Ireland – in the last couple of decades, we have seen more diversification of our population than ever before. If the children in our schools begin to absorb and produce more art that draws on the rich and varied cultural backgrounds that we now have, there need be no dichotomy between the support and creation of music from other cultures and the continuity of African and Irish cultural traditions. In fact, each one should inform the other, and we can take our cue from the artists I have mentioned above – always eager to learn, to address new forms, to celebrate and interact what is not theirs but which moves them. At primary level, schools here are moving slowly, but hopefully, towards interculturalism. Secondary schools, much less so. A call to arms to make a concerted effort to generate intercultural music youth programmes is long overdue. In the same way that we support our theater companies and filmmakers in the pursuit of new ideas and forms, we should actively pursue the sharing of skills and styles among African and Irish musicians. Innovation and education should go hand in hand. Our strength as a community lies in our ability to celebrate our different cultural backgrounds by showing them to each other, and creating new forms with that. Who doesn’t love music? What is to be lost, when so much can be gained?

Carolina. All governments since 1999 have implemented this system. It is supported by Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Fianna Fail and the Green Party. Although the Labour and Green parties like to portray themselves as more liberal and enlightened than the more right wing parties, when it comes to asylum seekers they are as one. One example makes the case, in May 2010 Green Party TD Mary White was appointed junior minister with responsibility for integration. Her great initiative was the establishment of ministerial councils for integration. Applications were sent to all immigrant groups and support centres. There was however a sting in the tail. Deputy White explicitly stated that her councils were not open to asylum seekers or to those seeking leave to remain on humanitarian ground. So we had the spectacle of a minister with responsibility for integration deliberately excluding the most vulnerable group of immigrants from her definition of integration. In the second week of September, RIA without warning informed all the residents of Lisbrook that the hostel was to close immediately. People were to be dispersed throughout the

country. Children just back at school, with new uniforms and books, would be taken from their classes and their friends. Patients attending various clinics in the Galway University Hospital would have their treatment interrupted. People, who had made friends in Galway, would be taken from the place they now called home. In fact people were to be treated as if they were a herd of cattle, with no control over where they lived. The Lisbrook residents were not prepared to take this lying down. Together with friends and supporters in the wider Galway community, they opposed the move and organised a lively colourful protest through the main shopping area of the city centre on the afternoon of September 15th. It is not clear at the time of writing what the future holds for the Lisbrook residents. However the only decent humane solution to this suffering and state racism is the closure of the whole direct provision system. Those seeking asylum should be treated the same as everybody else, be allowed live where they choose, be given access to 3rd level education and be given the right to work.

dd’s cubicle

The Chinalization of Nigeria

By Dunstan Ukaga

It is an existential truth that Nigeria with about 160 million people has the largest African market. This population attracts China to sell their low-qualitylow-priced products, just as how they push their goods and services all over the world. The fact is Nigerian market has been Chinalized. This has a lot to do with the China’s fitting and taking advantage of the trend of globalization. As a matter of fact, the new coinage, Chinalization, means the globalization of China, especially its products. So by the Chinalization of the Nigerian economy, we mean the Chinese or China has taken over the Nigerian economy with her products and services. In Nigeria, from Lagos to the largest market in West Africa, located in Onitsha, Chinese goods are seem, from the bad, the worst to the ugly and some not too bad. In Nigeria, the Chinese could be seen doing it big in the constructions, telecom, engineering, fabrics, restaurant and to the lowest business in the streets. Writing on Nigeria newspaper.com on ‘Chinalization of African Economy: Challenges for Africa Vulnerability’ Mr Bakare A. Najimdeen opines “ The economic expansionist policy of China in the recent times is an apparent understanding that China wants a balance of power in the international business front yard.” China ever growing population and its undoubted territorial size is an indication for geopolitics. Technically, China still maintains and preserves its communist principles but pragmatically applied certain fundamentals of liberal capitalism, a necessity for balancing power among its neighbours and international contestants. Both the American and European markets nurture the fear of Chinese expansionist policy. A vivid indication of Chinese growing presence in the northern hemisphere. Of about thirty countries constituting South America, China has entrenched its economic presence in twentyone countries leading to the propaganda of neo-colonialism sponsored by both American and Europeans. American domestic industries are on the apex of hatred for Chinese marketers due to their cheap products exploring, infiltrating, and overwhelming the American market. China is of course taking chances of the free-market principle of the liberal capitalism which is an opportunity for economic expansion’’ In Nigeria, many are self-employed especially the Igbos and doing the business of buying and selling. They buy from China. As a matter of fact, buying from China has become a fashion in Nigeria because of the cheap goods they offer which are in turn sold to Nigerians on the cheap. I recently bought a China made LG charger, it was used only for a day, the next day, it was useless. BEFORE CHINA, THERE WAS TAIWAN Igbo men as from the middle 80s started importing big time from Taiwan. Till today Nigeria own businesses can still be found there, but ever since the terrorist attack happened in 2001 in New York and the worldwide economic downturn, which affected Taiwan as all the other developed countries, more and more Nigerians have optioned to go to China, instead of Taiwan. China, which has from the very beginning of its establishment as a modern country with its economy taking the liberal-free-trade policy, claimed Taiwan as part of its territory, so Taiwan has never been as all-embracing to foreigners as China does. Taiwan’s foreign policy, even if not very all-embracing on account of its ever-present selfprotection mind-set, was more daring and welcoming, as the influx of foreigners with business interest is an indication that Taiwan’s economy is rising to a certain international standard, and foreign investments means a bonus to its growing economy. But like what happened in all the developed countries, Taiwan’s economy, as it reached to its summit and its GDP reached to the international standard, the employers will seek to outsource their business or establish their factories in developing or underdeveloped countries to seek workers with lower salary in order to gain more benefit. And China, as it shares the same official language with Taiwan, attracts more and more Taiwanese employers and their capitals

October 1-15 2012

family CORNER

By Ukachukwu Okorie

- Winter Love It’s cozy in here though freaking freezing hands held tight like lips locked sweet but chilled yearning for warmth cuddled by two becomes one legally or otherwise a season born by nature its the story now but the touch lightens them while doing it assists

Poems

- A Nation’s Pride

- Metro Eireann You took off when it mattered a game you were to loose crawling like a milipede you journed despite vicissitude lone voice that sparked a deal a call to courage and humanity you touched her first causing goose pimples I saw your bare breast tapping the horn with love a sound that woke him from the slumber of ignorance a star that rose when there was thirst

Wisdom Bits

If vulture is a good meat, those who arrive early in the market square would be favoured more Meaning: Luck is necessary for progression in life The big tree that shelters the birds of the kingdom has fallen Meaning: When a leader that holds the ace passes on

Joy to the Irish As it was with the father that the nation may grow in health and fitness hurling up the name of Eireann kicking it into the goal from the Cats, lilies and kingdom from the kingdom to the Dubs its a generational challenge born for the stillborn you provide pride for your resilient children

- Sun Set At Noon While it falters before the call the road was straight and to a snake it became as it goes Flesh and blood like the abattoir gluttons prowling like the lion pride devouring the land and the soul without it’s consent. When will it be? a march for tomorrow a call for believers

The hawk and chicken do not operate in the same market Meaning: A criminal and good person can never make perfect partners Since the head has learnt to barb to the scalp, then the scalp must learn how to comport itself no matter the weather Meaning: When times gets tough, the tough gets going

Connect with

AfricaWorld on

Although the jungle belong to animals but the lion is king of it Meaning: Leadership must be left for the toughest in character

That people of all age are equal is just a verbal expression Meaning: In life, there will always be the rich and poor

FOLKTALE Tales from Umuguma

#africaworldnews

recipe column

OHA SOUP FROM EASTERN NIGERIA by Nkiru Edokobi

Why DO lizards nod their heads? Once upon a time, in the land of animals, there was Agama lizard. It had a special role during a period of famine. The scarcity was as a result of conspiracy between locusts, grasshoppers, insects and termites. They went around the farms eating all the vegetable and crops planted by other animals. Their reason was that they were being neglected by other bigger animals who always take them for a ride. As a matter of fact, they thought of how to send a message to the entire animals in the community, and a decision was taken to deal with the crops head on. They went ahead to carry out their plans, thus devastating the land. The famine caused panic among all animals and most were handicapped to sort it out. However, the lizard and his clan planned a rescue

AFRICAWORLD 11

COOKING Wash and boil your meat with some seasoning until the meat is tender. While the meat is boiling, wash your cocoyam, then cut into pieces and boil until it is soft. Pound it in a small mortar or use blender to blend it into paste and set aside. Pick the oha leaves and the uziza leaf out, wash very well and cut the leaves. Wash your dry fish and cook the stockfish if you did not soak it overnight. The stockfish need to be soft too.

Ingredient

mission for other animals as they seemed handicapped to sort it out. As part of their plan, the lizard clan sent in a mole among the locusts and got information that the rebels were planning to attack economic trees too. As such they took positions in trees to bite or possibly eat them up. And it did work as the plan was very positive. They attacked and warded off a devastating blow for the entire animals. Unfortunately, their efforts were not appreciated, let alone rewarded. Bigger animals were jealous that small creatures were solving community problems and turning heroes. The head of the lizard clan told others to appreciate themselves if others cannot do so. As a form of encouragement to themselves, all lizards were asked to nod their heads anytime they jump to the ground from trees or walls. This is why the lizards nod their heads when they jump to the ground from any height.

350 grams of meat (Assorted types if you like) Dry fish or stock fish, grounded crayfish Oha leaf (Depends on quantity) Uziza leaf 400 grams of cocoyam Red oil or (olive oil for healthy eaters) 2 cubes of maggi or knorr Locust beans eg (ogiri optional) Salt and dry pepper

When the meat is cooked, add red oil, crayfish, dry pepper, dry and the stock fish. Boil for 15 mins, then the uziza leaf. Cook for 2 minutes before adding oha leaf and the locust bean. Let it boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then add your maggi and salt for taste. You must stair properly before adding your cocoyam paste to thicken the soup. Cook for 5 minutes until soup is a bit thick. Then remove from the fire and serve with pounded yam or fufu.

12 AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

entertainment/ column

DERIVAN & C.O. Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors 34 north frederick street, dublin 1, ireland Tel: 353-1-8732845/8730669/8726871 Fax: 353-1-8726984/8456253 Email:cderivan@eircom.net

By Sara Sinclair

HOW TO KEEP JEALOUSY FROM DESTROYING a RELATIONSHIP

Folashade Santos Abifarin

Jealousy has existed since the origin of humanity and will still exist till the end of time. It’s a common subject when people discuss relationship either between friends, family, lovers etc. Jealousy is an emotional expression which drives towards greed, grudge, and bitterness and adopt us to reflect and believe in negativity for others. There are different types of jealousy; romantic, friendship, workplace, and siblings rivalry. Generally individual

get jealous when they sense that another is trying to destroy, steal, or take over their place. Many relationships have been destroyed over the issue of jealousy. Jealousy can also destroy good long-term friendships and is not always apparent as it can be conveyed in different ways especially when one friend is more successful or beautiful than other. In a modern sense jealousy is admiring what other have and wish to have something just like it. The Bible even stated clearly that God is a jealous God. Amusingly enough, there is no particular reference in Bible that claimed jealousy is wrong. It’s natural for people at one point to be jealous, however, how it’s express or when it turns deeper, it’s become dangerous. In the most collection of articles and books I’ve read, I don’t see Jealousy as a healthy trait because it frequently leads to Envy. It’s the cleaned up socially acceptable version of envy. For a relationship to be healthy there must be trust, and jealousy challenges

CHIT CHAT From the last story of Clonee Dad who was caught having sex with daughter’s friend, more awaits you. And now, the cat has been finally let out of the bag. The daughter finally informed the Mum on the Dad’s embarrassing affair with her friend. Our source, who is an insider in the crises, informed AfricaWorld Chit - Chat

that trust. Jealousy is activated by insecurity. It’s comes from a fear of losing love, being abandoned, fear that one is not attractive, fear that one is not as good as someone else . Ways to Overcome Jealousy in Relationship: • Observe your own feelings and the reasons for those feelings. • Identify what insecurity is triggered. • Recognising when your past experience is influencing your present. • Perform a reality check and stay reel in your imagination. • Stop viewing your partner or friends as your possession. • It’s good to think before voicing out, avoid wrong accusation. • Build your self-esteem and allow yourself to be happy. Ways to Overcome Jealousy in Friendship • Stop comparing your life with your friend life, you might have other advantages. • Remember we don’t all get lucky breaks same time in life; your own time will come too. • Keep the channels of communication open and respect each other feelings.

• Be sincerely happy for the things your friends have. • Be genuinely satisfied and happy with what you have in life. Jealousy is a painful feeling, which is rooted in insecurity. While insecurity is a usual emotion we’ve had since we’re children, and as we grew, so did our insecurities. As mentioned earlier there are different types of jealousy one of them is sibling’s rivalry. Sibling relationship is the lengthiest durable relationship between two or more people. However, sibling’s jealousy is virtually inevitable, even when the children share the both parent. Jealousy between siblings often leads to anger feelings, frustration and sadness. Although it hard for parents to accept that their kids have these feelings for their siblings. However, parent unconditional love and acceptance will help the child feel better and such confident will reduce their jealousness. Tips to Overcome Jealousy among Siblings: • Try to treat children individually rather than equally. • Avoid comparisons but describes qualities in your children, e.g. Lazy/ smartest child

• Encourage sharing by using timer to take turn rather than insisting on sharing • As often as you can spend time alone with each child, and make each child feel special. • Use rules that are simple and specific to guide behaviour. • Give them privacy to settle differences without parent interval. • Help children build their problem solving kills by allowing them solve problem themselves Just as termites enter into a house without notice, eat away at the supports and fall the house into pieces. Similarly without notice one begin to feel jealous or envious, it may lead to the destruction of an individual or relationship, because the feelings ate away at the person from the inside. However, jealousy and envy does to friendship or relationships what a termite does to house. The green-eyed monster, wants to destroy what it cannot have. It’s had to admit to jealousy hatred feelings. Whom do you envy, is it the rich and famous? Do you feel jealous of your spouse, friend’s job or marital relationship? Do you rejoice when bad things happen to others? Overcoming jealousy isn’t easy but some have fought and won, so you too can overcome jealousy.

Wife to divorce hubby over affair with Daughter’s friend that the no - nonsense mother of four is planning to quit the marriage. Chit - Chat reliably learnt that the embittered wife wants to seek a divorce as she has tolerated much. More stories have emerged on past escapades by the man as our source reliably gathered that

a related incident happened two years ago. The Clonee Dad is said to be losing sleep as his household has turned against him. Although the aggrieved daughter is said to be opposed to her Mum’s plan to divorce the Dad but she is still in pains over the double betrayal.

As at press time, the man has been kicked out of the house but emissaries are piling pressure on the heartbroken wife to sheath the sword. For sure, the last has not been heard from the players in this interesting but unfortunate sex palaver.

October 1-15 2012

AFRICAWORLD 13

health/news

africaworld health

In Association With Manorfield Foundation BY dr. Joseph Chukwu

Before you take-off: Health measures to take for your journey

In the introductory article I mentioned that this column was about to take off and I urged you to get ready for the journey. However, I just realised that we have to get certain things ready before we take off. Travelling is quite enjoyable. I am sure most of us like to travel to many exciting and exotic destinations. I do enjoy travelling, although the present economic circumstance has limited my ability to do this as often as I would have loved to. Your situation might be different from many of us who travel only once in a long while. Whether you travel once a year or every other day you need to take certain measures to protect yourself and your loved ones while you are away from your base. The advice in this write up mainly applies to international travel but some of it might apply to some journeys within the country. These measures are not exhaustive. They vary from situation to situation. I presume that before you travel outside your country you would have found out the visa requirements for the country you are visiting – not having sorted that out might result in undue stress which might in the long run affect your health and wellbeing. It might be necessary to take out a health insurance if you can afford one. It is usually quite expensive to access medical care abroad if you do not have one. The cost of evacuation in the case of medical emergencies requiring treatment outside your destination would be enormous. Check with your current health insurance company whether your cover extends outside your country of residence. Most health insurance companies do cover international travels as well. Alternatively, you could purchase a travel health insurance to cover you for the duration of your journey. Several insurance companies and airlines sell travel health insurance. Some countries require all foreign visitors to have health insurance as a pre-requisite for issuing them with entry visa. I think travel health insurance is a worthwhile investment. If you are resident in Europe and you are travelling within Europe, you have some level of health cover through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which could be obtained free of charge (the last time I checked) from your local health authority. It would also be nice to find out more about the vaccinations requirements for the region you are travelling to. Certain countries require that visitors be vaccinated against certain diseases depending on the diseases that are common in that environment. Do not think that those rules were made to make things difficult for you. The rules are there to protect you. If you

take the proper vaccinations at an appropriate length of time before you jet off, you would have acquired some level of protection against those diseases you were vaccinated against. It takes at least two weeks for your body to benefit from most vaccines. If you are travelling to countries in Africa and Asia where malaria is common, it might be necessary to take some malaria medications starting from at least two weeks before you embark on the journey. These medications are usually continued all through your stay in that region and up to two weeks after your return. This applies to everyone travelling to that zone. It does not matter whether you were born in that region as long as you have spent an appreciably long time outside the region. In addition to taking the preventive medications, you have to protect yourself from mosquito bites by using insecticideimpregnated mosquito bed nets, wearing protective clothing especially in the evenings. Other measures to protect your health while travelling especially to some less developed regions of the world include – ensuring that you have a good supply of clean drinking water. Bottled water would do. Otherwise make sure you boil and filter water from other sources before you drink or use the water for other domestic purposes. Food is another potential source of health problems while away. If necessary check the source of whatever you eat. Preferably eat the food while it is still warm. Rewarm cold food. Eating from roadside food vendors should be avoided. You might think that because every local does it, then it might be safe to do so. Do not forget that some of them have acquired immunity against some of these diseases. You might not be as ‘lucky’ as they are. So keep off those tempting roadside foods. It would be better for you to make that delicacy at home yourself. Wash all fruits and vegetables before consuming them and ensure the meat, fish or poultry are well cooked. Ensure you have information on emergency health services telephone numbers (if applicable). You should also have some contact information for your embassy in that country. If you have dual citizenship – have the telephone number of both embassies. If you are suffering from any chronic illness like diabetes or hypertension, make sure you have adequate supply that would last you through the period of your visit. Otherwise make sure you have a reputable supplier. Formulations of the different brands of the same medications differ so it is usually better stick with the one that your body is used to. Some brands are less effective than others. If you are taking a medication that requires laboratory monitoring for example the blood thinning medication – Warfarinensure you have access to a reliable laboratory that can monitor your treatment for you. It is better to seek advice from your doctor before you travel to regions where your drug treatment cannot be monitored effectively. Do not forget to use your seat belts while travelling in a cars or airplanes. Protect your children too by using age-appropriate

safety seats or boosters. Lastly I would mention security. It does not seem health related but it is actually very much related to health. Without going into too much detail about how it is related to health, I would say that if you are in a place where you feel safe you feel more relaxed and more stress free. Poor security could affect access to healthcare. For example a healthcare professional might not respond to health emergencies if he/she does not feel safe to travel the area you are staying in the middle of the night. It might be worthwhile checking out the security situation in the country/ region you are visiting before you take off in order to determine what measures to take to protect you and your loved ones. While you are away keep your eyes open and ears to the ground. To end this I would summarise the essential points. So before you take off do not forget to do the following: 1.Get the necessary travel documents and take out travel and health insurance; 2.Get information on the vaccine requirements for the region you are travelling to 3.Take the necessary preventive medications – you might need to make an appointment with you general practitioner or with a travel medicine specialist in order to get your medications. 4.Get the vaccinations at least two weeks before you travel. The same might apply to the preventive medications like anti-malarial medicines. At your travel destination; 1.Keep safe 2.Keep taking your preventive medications (if applicable) and other medications 3. Monitor your treatment if you suffer

from an ailment that requires frequent monitoring 4.Protect yourself against insect bites 5.Drink clean water 6.Take measures to eat foods that have been prepared and served in hygienic environment 7.Wash fruits and vegetables before eating 8.Use your seat belts and age appropriate seating device for your children. On return from your destination: 1.Keep taking the preventive anti-malarial medication for the next two weeks (if applicable) 2.Monitor you the effect of your drug if you were unable to do so while you are away 3.Do not forget to mention that you had just recently travelled to a certain destination when you visit your doctor. This applies when you fall ill within the first few weeks and sometimes months after your return. This information might be necessary for the healthcare provider to properly figure out what ailment you might be suffering from. Some ailments are more common in certain parts of the world. That is it from me this week! Enjoy your trip and see you again in two weeks. Meanwhile we would like to hear from your travel experiences – good or bad. Tell us about the health experiences you have had while away from your location and how you resolved them. Some of us can learn valuable lessons from your experience. Your health information will always remain confidential. Send your stories to africaworld@gmail.com for the attention of the Health Column.

JONATHAN OKAYS NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR NIGERIA UNITY The President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan given the green light onpreliminary plans for a national conference. A source said last Saturday that contrary to reports in a section of the media, the presidency was actually spearheading talks with some leaders of ethnic nationalities for the purpose of identifying the need for the much talked about national conference.According to findings, the conference is scheduled to start early next year, while the steering committee is now fine-tuning the modalities for the planned confab. Besides a number of consultations that took place in Abuja, it was gathered that a number of top presidency hands were deployed in several states to directly hold talks with leaders of many of theethnic nationalities. Through the series of consultations, it was learnt that the consensus of opinion is that the country should provide a platform for the hitherto silent majority to ventilate their views on

how to enhance Nigeria’s unity and also ensure peaceful co-existence. A source close to the arrangement said that the president had concluded on the need to ensure that Nigerians ventilate their views within the democratic space while the fears of various ethnic groups were also addressed.It was learnt that while the issues to be discussed at the confab would be moderated towards enhancing national unity, the government was willing to hear Nigerians out. “There came the feeling that some Nigerians think the National Assembly may not really ventilate their views on devolution of powers, federalism and derivation, and that such issues are better thrashed out at the level of a national confab where people can truly agree on what they see as fundamentals.” It is expected that the outcome of the planned confab would be handed over to the National Assembly, which would then prepare some bills in line with some agreed issues.

14 AFRICAWORLD October 1-15 2012

PRIDE OF AFRICA

Samkelo Magidimesi Samkelo hails from South Africa and currently works as a security guard in Dublin. “My greatest achievement is that i worked had to sort myself out through the university”, he told AfricaWorld. His hobbies include traveling and sport, particularly Rugby and Cricket. Samkelo’s main dream is to live in his native country someday.

Gwen Refiloe Maphoso Gwen, a South African, is currently a student and works part - time in a cinema. She was the 1st runner - up in the Face of Africa 2009 contest. “I love to be a Nurse and Midwife even though i wanted to be a singer as a kid”, She told AfricaWorld. However, Gwen would love to be singing too. She does modelling back home and in Ireland. Pretty Gwen is passionate about singing and loves to dance.

October 1-15 2012

news

News in Brief By Paul Kelly

-Algeria: Representatives of the country’s auxiliary policy force have called for protests after pay talks broke down with the Interior Minister on September 26th. Protests have already begun in some cities. -Angola: José Eduardo dos Santos has been elected as the country’s new President, following his victory in the August 31st elections. -Benin’s President has called on the United Nations to eliminate the threat posed by Islamic militants who have seized control of Northern Mali, arguing it is destabilising the entire region. -Burkina Faso: the West Africa Network for Peace Building has begun an outreach programme in Saaba to encourage more women to vote in local and national elections. -Burundi: 96% of children are now receiving primary school education, despite the country only just emerging from war, a new report has claimed. The report cites the fact primary education is free, compulsory and politically supported as the sources behind its success. -Cameroon: the ruling chief of Bakassi has said he will support his people through prayer if they choose to declare war on Nigeria. The threats follow Nigeria’s refusal to appeal the ICJ judgement which saw their land ceded to Cameroon. -Central African Republic: the trial of former DRC Vice President Bemba has been delayed due to difficulties with the next scheduled defence witness. Mr Bemba is charged with various atrocities allegedly committed by forces under his control in the Central African Republic. -Chad: refugee camps in the eastern part of the country are experiencing severe shortages in medical supplies, resulting in an upsurge of skin diseases, malaria and others. -Comoros’s President Ikililou Dhoinine has called on the UN to tackle climate change, arguing it has resulted in torrential rains which have wrought devestation across the small island state. -Democratic Republic of the Congo : violence in the country is worsening, according to a new report by the red cross. The report cites steadily declining security levels as the chief cause for the violence. -Cote d’Ivoire: new varieties of

cassava, a starchy vegetable, are being introduced across the country. The new varieties are producing harvests over 6 times greater than traditional breeds of the vegetable. -Djibouti’s President has pledged assistance to Somalia, saying that he will“extend the new president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, all the support he needs” in dealing with security issues in the country. -Egypt: the highest Muslim authority in the country, Ali Gomaa, has called on Egyptians to reject all forms of violence while protesting against the recent US-film which insulted the Prophet Muhammad. -Equatorial Guinea has filed a case against France in the ICC, claiming that an arrest warrant which was issued in France for the President’s son interferes with his diplomatic immunity and is interfering in the country’s internal affairs. -Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has been sworn in. Mr Desalegn was formerly the Deputy Prime Minister and rose to the position following the death of the previous Prime Minister, who died in office. -Gabon: opposition TV station TV+ have been attacked by six unknown assailants. One security guard was injured, but no others were hurt in the attack. -Gambia’s President has halted the execution of death row inmates following international appeals. 9 of the 46 death row inmates were killed before the President halted the executions. -Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson has produced her first film, Single and Married. The film follows her highly controversial acting career. -Guinea: a reporter for Lynx-Lance newspaper, Oumar Tely Diallo, has been violently beaten by progovernment militants while covering a political riot in the country’s capital. -Kenya: a child was killed and dozens injured after two grenade attacks by suspected Al Qaeda sympathisers hit a church in Nairobi. Churches are increasingly being targeted across the country by the terrorists. -Lesotho: the UN has appealed for $38.5 million to help 725,000 people in Lesotho who are currently experiencing a food crisis. -Liberia’s President Sirleaf has pledged to ensure that the rule of law and justice will be prioritised across the country as a method of ensuring peace. -Libya: 50 people have been

arrested in connection with the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi which saw the death of the US Ambassador to Libya. -Madagascar’s transitional president has appealed for UN support for the democratic process as elections in the country edge closer. The presidential elections are scheduled for the 8th of May, 2013. -Malawi’s President, in conjunction with two US firms, has opened a new oncology and infectious disease clinic at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, in a bid to increase cancer survival rates in the country. -Mali: the UN has begun to debate a plan to deploy West African Peacekeeping Troops to Mali to try and halt the Islamist insurgency there. -Mauritania: refugees from Mali are overwhelming refugee camps in Mauritania, with over 100,000 residents in some of the camps. -Mauritius: the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers has opened in Mauritius. The conference is aimed at improving education across the Commonwealth countries. -Morocco: the birthday of HRH Princess Lalla Asmae was celebrated on Saturday. -Mozambique’s economy has had “stable and robust growth”despite the rigours of the financial crisis, according to a government committee. The growth has resulted “in significant social and economic development”the committee announced. -Namibia: NGO NAMRIGHTS has petitioned the UN to have traditional marriages in the country made a crime against humanity. The marriages can result in girls as young as ten being forced to marry adult men. -Niger has nearly halved its child mortality rate since 1998, a new study has found. The drop is attributed to free universal health care for children and pregnant women. -Nigeria: annual Independence Day celebrations are to be cancelled in Eagle Square, Abuja, following a government decision to cut unnecessary spending. It is suspected that security concerns are also a factor. -Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, has called on the international community to“support, not supplant” the work of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region in trying to bring peace to the DRC. -Senegal has abolished its senate in a cost cutting measure. The senate is the country’s Upper House of parliament and is mostly made up of opposition politicians. -Seychelles: the owner of Moyenne Island in the Seychelles, Brendon Grimshaw, has died, aged 87. -Sierra Leon’s First Lady has called for unity among women as the country’s

elections inch closer. -Somalia: Al Shabaab militants have pulled out of their last stronghold following an offensive by African Union forces in the southern port city of Kismayo. -South Africa’s Constitutional Court have ruled part of its media law unconstitutional, due to the fact it required classification of media content of a sexual nature, before publication. -Sudan and South Sudan’s Presidents have successfully managed to strike a deal on border security issues. The pair failed to agree on contested border regions, however. -Swaziland: the traditional practice of men marrying young girls in Swaziland has been banned. Previously it was considered a legally ‘grey’ area. -Sao Tome and Principe’s Prime Minister, Patrice Trovoada, has visited US Africom headquarters. The command is responsible for US military relations with African countries. Trovoada is the first government minister to visit the base. -Tanzania: a government official has announced that there were 276 road accidents in Dar es Salaam alone last year, claiming 302 lives. The announcement comes as part of a new initiative aimed at improving road safety. -Togo: thousands have protested in Lome in a bid to delay the oncoming elections. The protestors are demanding corrections to the electoral system to ensure its fairness. -Tunisia: the US have ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency government personal from its embassy following an attack earlier this month. -Uganda’s tourist industry grew by 25% in 2011 according to new figures by the secretary of tourism in the Kenya ministry of tourism, Dr. Nelson Githinji. It is now the fastest growing in Africa. -Western Sahara: a group of young Saharawi have begun a hunger strike in protest of Morocco’s continued occupation of the country which has led to the marginalisation and exclusion of the Saharawi people. -Zambia: Chinese government owned China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Corporation has announced plans to invest $400 million more into its Zambian operations. The company has already invested $1 billion in the mining operations. -Zimbabwe: a Chinese company which won a contract to build Marovanyati Dam has pulled out of the project, claiming funding shortages. The Dam is already running three years late.

AFRICAWORLD 15

SEAN QUINN BATTLE THE COURTS Sean Quinn Jnr is in court challenging his prison sentence, after a judge ruled he, along with his father and cousin Peter Darragh Quinn, were in contempt for putting millions of pounds worth of international property beyond the former Anglo Irish Bank’s reach.The bank was bailed out by Irish taxpayers and is now controlled by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). The IBRC claims the Quinns owe it about £2bn and is trying to recover the money from their property assets on behalf of Irish taxpayers.The IBRC did not object to his release. Barrister Brian O’Moore, SC, counsel for Mr Quinn Jnr, has told the court that his client is challenging the finding of contempt and the punishment imposed by the court. Eversheds Solicitors have come off all proceedings involving the Quinn family but still represent Sean Quinn Jnr solely for the Supreme Court appeal IBRC did not seek to jail Sean Quinn Snr because it wanted him to be available to take steps to unwind the asset-stripping measures implemented by him and his family. Sean Quinn Snr used to be the richest man in Ireland.

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16 AFRICAWORLD OCTOBER 1-15 2012

opinion

BETWEEN RELEVANCE AND SYCOPHANCY The Latin adage holds thus, “Mens sana in corpore sano” which translates, “A healthy mind in a healthy body”. Right from ancient times, philosophers have always dwelt on the relationship between mind and body. Some said the mind is imprisoned in the body, others maintained that man is a composite of mind and body. In the theological parlance, there is also the belief in the close relationship between mind and body. While the ancient Jews talked about Psyche (Hebrew – nephesh) which they believed to be a higher soul that escapes the body at death, modern Christianity emphasizes the restoration of body after death effected by the Spirit (Pneuma). All these however, portray a close nexus between mind and body in the psycho somatic constitution of the human person. And because the human person thinks, chooses, wills and acts, his actions are confined within the spheres of his mind and body. Also because the mental state of the person goes a long way to define his action at a particular point in time, then it becomes very necessary to avoid treating him in isolation. “Mind and Body” thus is a column that looks at man in his entirety; his person, actions, environment, omissions and decisions that contribute towards the enhancement of the individual and the society. In this September, second edition of AfricaWorldnews, Mind-Body is taking a look at two categories of persons in today’s society- the sycophant and the relevant persons. The history of the world is replete with these two classes of people; those who are relevant and those who make themselves relevant. The first group puts talents convincingly to good use, is preoccupied by thoughts and ideas and is discovered by the society. The second group feels internal void and would want to make up for

its emptiness. Those in this group think about persons who will help them gain relevance. Rather than be discovered by the society, they pursue persons whom society has discovered to make their impact felt. While the first group of people concentrates on itself and their talents, the second group concentrates on others and what to say about them. Let us look at some characteristics of sycophancy. Sycophancy is all about singing praises for important or powerful people in an excessive and insincere manner especially with the hidden intention of getting something. The sycophant shouts the praises of those whom he thinks matters. He licks their boot and glories in flattery. He presents a picture that impresses such individuals even when it contradicts the reality.The sycophant sings praises unwarrantedly for the mere fact of what benefits he might gain. He is more like an incense bearer. A sycophant is a hypocrite. He says the opposite of what is and like a painted sepulcher, his outside is completely different from the internal. He paints pictures of events and persons in such a way that it only suits his selfish purposes. He is a pretender. Sycophancy is another name for falsehood. It goes with misrepresentation of facts and figures. The sycophant does not tell the truth. He merely paints pictures, cooks up stories and falsifies opinions. He echoes the opposite of people’s impressions about leaders in order to gain cheap favour and popularity. He dwells on creating false impressions about persons. The sycophant is an artificial person. Since he creates false impression of persons about themselves, he equally creates false impressions of himself before authorities. Often times, authorities are blind folded by the praises which sycophants sing of them and so fail to understand the real personality behind the sycophant. A sycophant is like a masquerade. He simply misleads others. The sycophant lacks consistency. He hibernates behind authorities. He operates in the dark and always prefers anonymity. He is like the butterfly that nests from one

By the Rev. Fr. Vincent Ezeoma Arisukwu

flower to another. He simply favours the reigning regime. He can’t keep permanent friendship and would even betray his friend in order to gain his desired favour. He could slip off at the last minute. The sycophant uses gifts to curry favours. He is eager to pay courtesy visits to authorities mainly to identify with the ruling group. His gifts are always sent nocturnally so as not to be identified by others. He does that simply to avoid being implicated and would always lobby every new authority. One remarkable characteristic of a sycophant is that he is always the first to identify with any new administration. The sycophant seeks recognition. He wishes to be used. He has a lot of time. He could do anything to be noticed. He does not mind stepping on people’s toes unnecessarily in as much as he achieves his desired goal. He castigates others and specializes in destructive criticisms. He has a very sweet tongue and usually develops the power of rhetorics and the thrill of oratory. The sycophant is a mercenary. He is always an agent, a spy for the master just to gain personal love and promotion. He is not committed to persons but to interests. His friendship lasts as long as the favours are guaranteed. Once the favours are no longer there, he pitches tent elsewhere. On the other hand, relevance is all about usefulness and value. The relevant person adds value to the lives and works of persons in a reasonable manner. He impacts greatly on the society and on individuals. He does not seek to be noticed but rather is sought after because of the qualities in him. He does not make noise and shuns undue flattery or praise singing. The relevant person is real and authentic. He is sincere and consistent in both speech and action. He does not derive joy in currying favour but maintains a balanced relationship with others including those in authority. The relevant person always has specialty, he is a professional who could be consulted in moments of decision making. He is wise and cautious, much more conscious of what to achieve with his talents

When Reason Fights Back: Self Appointed King Makers Nigerians want to be noticed where ever they go, it is called ‘notice-me’. Nigerians claim what they are not, parade chain of titles, claim to be Prince and Princess while some claim to be Nze and Ozo, Bashorun, Alafin, etc. Some claim to hold degrees from Toronto and as rich as Bill Gates. Others celebrate birthday party and christening as if there is no tomorrow. It is customary to see Nigerians shout at the top of their voices, whether at the train stations, car parks, wake-keepings, church services or talking on the phone. Some Nigerians over dress for occasions, be it naming ceremonies, funeral rites or church service. Sometimes Nigerians can be funny or difficult. Maybe, that is why she is the giant of Africa. Some Nigerians can do anything to acquire chieftaincy titles no matter who is offering it even if it’s being conferred in Hell; Nigerians are ready to go there to have it as long as it’s a chieftaincy title. Sometimes I wonder why they are deluded by titles. I know a man whose wife addresses as Chief even though he is not one. The wife parades herself as ‘Lolo’, which is the title for a Chief’s wife. Most Igbo men I know or come across claim to be Chiefs. I thought the crave to acquire titles are only applicable to men until I noticed that women are also mad about it too.That is why in Ireland, a group of friends gathered in a hotel balcony and distributed titles to themselves. Some took the title of Eze-Igbo, Igwekala, Gburugburu, etc. I dey laugh! That’s how crazy some Nigerians can be. Some sections of Ndi-Igbo in Ireland are fast destroying our cherished culture and traditions. This section of Ndi-Igbo has arrogated to themselves the custodian and promoter of Igbo culture. Let me remind Ohaneze Ireland that Ezeship in Igbo land is a cherished institution and any attempt to bastardise the institution is culturalabnormality. Most of them who claim to be Eze-Igbo either in Ireland or any other country should know that they also come from an autonomous community in Igboland. It is sacrilege and unheard of to have two sitting Eze or Igwe in the same community. The genesis of Eze-Igbo started as a mock rehearsal in Nigerian Universities to be precise in Nnamdi Azikiwe University. It took off in Unizik as a way of instilling into college students the traditional set-up of the institution of Ezeship or Igweship because of depreciation in Igbo cultural practices and language. It gained currency that many other Universities took turn to follow the foot-step of Unizik in installing Ezeship or Igweship in their

campuses. It was a thing to behold, especially during Ofala festivals. Soon it became a national nuisance when every Dick and Harry in Nigeria began installing EzeIgbo this or that. Before you know it, it spread to the Diasporas. As a result of bastardisation, infighting, mockery and bad name, the South-East Traditional Rulers, under the former Chairman, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, wrote to all state governors in 36 states and Abuja asking them to ban EzeIgboship in their jurisdiction. It has become necessary to help preserve the institution of Ezeship in Igboland. Consequently, the former governor of Lagos State, Chief Bola Tinubu reciprocated the clarion call and banned EzeIgboship in Lagos State, thereby derecognising Chief Nwabueze Ohazulike as EzeIgbo Lagos state. This is applicable to all self appointed EzeIgbo. Therefore, anybody parading or calling himself EzeIgbo do so in self-delusion and should be taken as a nick-name. The directive of South-East monarchs acted well and should be complimented rather than seen as unnecessary. It is our responsibilities to ensure that our traditional institutions are preserved and respected. Though there will always be deviants. It should not be seen as child’s play where every Dick and Harry can sit in Hotel bars, gather cronies and hanger-on and proclaim EzeIgbo. Ezeship is a serious matter, just like monarchs worldwide is a respectable institution. To be frank Emeka is free to call himself EzeIgbo, he and his friends have the fundamental rights to do so but to arrogate/parade himself as EzeIgbo Ireland is culturally flawed and misnorm. It is important to note that a fraction of Ndi-Igbo in Dublin cannotclaim to represent the generality of NdiIgbo living in Ireland. If truly Igbo Ireland needs EzeIgbo, it should be done through commonsense and consensus, but since the subject matter has been abolished the matter of EzeIgbo should be seen as sine die. But it beats my imaginations how sensible men and women should do this. To me and majority of NdiIgbo in Ireland, it amounts to madness and stupidity. If they have too much money to waste they should better channel it to good causes. For respectable former secretary-general of OhanezeNdi-Igbo, the apex body Colonel Achuzia, to install Barr. Emeka Ezeani as EzeIgbo in Ireland is the most childish thing to do. Colonel Achuzia lacks that authority and legitimacy to do so. Coronation of Eze in Igboland is a process and it passes through many rituals and stages. Achuzia do not possess those quality and pedigree in Igbo tradition. He is an elected official to serve Ndi-Igbo. During the reign of the erudite and legal luminary Professor Ben Nwabueze as Secretary General he stayed clear of murky water of Eze-Igboship rather concentrated and channelled

his energy in positioning of Ndi-Igbo in socio-economic and political standing in Nigeria. It smacks of Achuzia personality as war-hero and Igbo at heart. It is also high mark of illogicality and misdemeanour. It is disturbing when you notice that a group of guys are humiliating and rubbishing our cherished values and custom and in conjunction with some ignorant NdiIgbo who go about saying ‘Igbo enwe-eze’ - Igbo has no King. But these mortals cannot go to their autonomous communities and say so before the people or proclaim themselves EzeIgbo. This is anomaly and contradiction. NdiIgbo are the architect of their own problem. We think we are wiser than others. We assume to be better than others. Our behaviour has brought scorn, dereliction and hatred for no just cause.To be precise, there is nothing wrong in forming an organisation or operating as Ohaneze or Igbo Union. However, there is merit in being one and speaking with one voice. It is beneficial and helps cement our relationship and position us as one entity. The problem with Igbo Union or whatever names they are called is the problem of leadership and the body have over the years been denied the opportunity of sound and purposeful leadership. The leadership has been enmeshed by selfishness, nepotism, envy, backbiting and money making machine without any structure on the ground. It has become an annual Mecca of funseekers, jamborees, gossipers, and witch-hunting that has made decent men and women to stay clear from their poisonous chalice and meetings. Some of these organisations have turned against the people, by contributing to destroying that institution they should protect and guide jealously. As the saying goes, he who brought in ‘ants infested faggots should not complain when lizards pay him a visit’. No matter whose ox is gored, I must say the truth. Shame! The truth of the matter is OHANEZE Ireland is systematically destroying the values and institution of Ezeship that NdiIgbo hold in reverence. The institution which Ndi-Igbo, from all walks of life do not curse or spite at, but this gentlemen in Ireland instead of promoting this institution is busy casting aspersion and playing hocus-pocus ‘open sesame’. Why are we deluded with titles, mundane and ephemeral things? Why are we so stubborn to see reasons with ourselves whilst in private our conscience is beating us? Honestly we have let our people down? There is proper ways of doing things, if we are crazy about EzeIgboship, be it Onwa, Igwekala, Eze-Gburugburu, there is nothing wrong with that as long as it is honourably earned. The conferment of chieftaincy title is an exclusive preserve of traditional rulers in various communities in Igboland and elsewhere. Why should Ndi-Igbo own be

than of persons to impress. His satisfaction comes from within, from doing what he likes most and not from external praises and adulation poured on him by others. Meanwhile, it is ironical that sycophancy seems to flourish in the society more than relevance. Since the sycophant moves faster than the man of worth and relevance, he is often discovered faster. Again, many of the persons in authority shy away from the hard truth about their persons and performances.They hate to hear where they stray. Herod the tetrarch is a typical example here while John the Baptist represents men of relevance (Cf. Mk. 6: 17-29). Herod would have loved to hear John sing his praises and perhaps say he was doing well with the treacherous Herodias whom he reappropriated as wife. But he didn’t hear it. He wasn’t pleased at that and so John lost his head.The sycophant struggles to maintain relationships at all cost while the relevant person struggles to maintain his dignity and prestige. Often times, the man of relevance falls out of favour with the powers that be because his primary interest is in the truth rather than in pleasing them. This is the problem with modern society where sycophancy dominates the day. It has infested every sector of life that rarely does the relevant person succeed. Sycophancy thrives in politics, in academics and in churches. In Nigeria for instance, almost everything is judged by the game of opportunism- political opportunism, social opportunism, moral opportunism as well as spiritual opportunism. There is no longer a given standard of doing things. Selection and appointments are determined more by the greater praise singing than by merit.Those who depend on their talents suffer and gain less while those who lick the boots of those in authority thrive. This is unfortunate and could indeed be disheartening. But the advice of Fulton Sheen becomes very ad rem in this kind of situation thus, “It is better to lose one’s head in John’s way in the defense of truth, rather than Herod’s way, in wine and passion” (Characters of the Passion, p.49). Just know that sycophancy expires, relevance is permanent.

By Mazi Uche Azukaoma Osakwe different? Whosever, in whatever guise arrogate himself as EzeIgbo in Ireland is doing so without any authority. It is dishonourable, odd, inapt and fantasy. It is also not Igbo. Every patriotic son and daughter of NdiIgbo living in Ireland should see OHANEZE’s project in Ireland of conferring dick and harry title as childish, ridiculous and mockery. It is even vexatious seeing many of them calling themselves ‘Chief’. What a mockery? It’s like a scene in Ola Rotimi’s novel; The gods Are not to Blame, when the Chief Priest called the King “A butterfly that calls himself a bird.” Should these gentlemen in a passionate plea stop messing our traditional stool? I wouldn’t say I love Igbo culture more than they do, but as we proclaim our respect for this institution let us do it with dignity and respect this institution deserves. I met a South-African guy whom they conferred Agunaechemba he was so happy and in high spirit. He celebrated his title with pomp and pageantry even though he does not know what the title means. I pity him and look at his innocence not his ignorance. I wish he received the title in more traditional Igbo setting than mock rehearsal. He would have held his head high and walk in elegancy. But not in a manner he received his it. As long as his title is concern, it is a misplacement and absurdity. He should go home quietly and lie low, instead of bringing himself dereliction and mockery in the eyes of NdiIgbo and friends. At least, he saw during the Africa Award how he was dissected by an Igbo patriot George Enyoazu who spoke the minds of the majority of NdiIgbo living in Ireland and world over that EzeIgbo Ireland is fraud and scam. It does not exist. Honestly, the same apply to many of the so-called recipients both Igbo and non-Igbo, they should do the honourable thing by lying low. Some of them are hard-working and respectable figures in the society, they would not want to be insulted, and disrespected in public. There is nothing to be ashamed of if we can learn from other groups living in Ireland such as Yoruba, Hausa/ Fulani, and Benin etc. All this ethnic groups have cherished traditions and custom. We have not seen Yorubas or Benin in Ireland claiming to be Oba or acting in that capacity. They choose to respect the institutions, not that they are coward or they do not know what to do but they prefer to respect and accord this institutions the respect it deserves. This is noble, knowledgeable and wise, not unnecessary bravado and comedy Igbos are performing in Ireland. We can showcase our proud culture like Iri-ji festival, Igba Nmanwu etc,without unnecessarily insulting the celebration or bringing disrepute to the institution. People are laughing at us and the eyes are watching, ears are listening and our forefathers will be weeping in their graves if we refuse to retract our step. Tufia!