Sun News- October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

29 SATURDAY SUN October 20, 2012

Editor: SHOLA OSHUNKEYE

YOUR SATURDAY MAGAZINE

CHIOMA AJUNWA, MON Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medallist

My bitter-sweet story

• How mum aborted my dream to become a mechanic;and my 81/2 years’battle with childlessness –Pg 30

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October 20, 2012

The Big Interview

CHIOMA AJUNWA Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medallist

I am a child of destiny

By Shola Oshunkeye,Joe Apu,Tope David-Adegboye and Adaeze Atueyi-Ojukwu Go back in time.Turn your calendar back to Friday,August 2,1996.Does the date ring a bell? It should.For that was Nigeria’s finest day in sporting history.It was also the moment of glory for golden girl,Chioma Ajunwa,who zoomed out of obscurity to shame bookmakers and shatter the record books by leaping 7.12 metres in the very first round of the women’s long jump event of the Atlanta Olympics,a.k.a.

Atlanta ’96.

By that singular strike,the diminutive police officer-turned-sports superstar became Nigeria’s first and only individual Olympic gold medalist till date,as well as the first African woman to achieve that spectacular feat in a field event.

Born on December 25,1970,in Ogbe,Ahiara,in Ahiazu-Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State,months after the end of the fratricidal Nigerian civil war,Ajunwa,before leaping to global glory in Atlanta,had played football for the Nigeria’s female soccer team before blazing into athletics.

Even though a new terrain,Ajunwa,whose father died when she was still a kid,leaving her mum with nine children to cater for,made a huge impression as a track-and-field athlete at the African Games and African Championships between 1989 and 1991 respectively.

Although her career suffered a slur in 1992 when she failed a drug test and was subsequently banned for four years,the athlete who consistently maintained her innocence during that dark period of her career,bounced back and had her sweet revenge in the Atlanta Games,winning the ultimate prize in long jump,emblazoning her name in gold in Nigeria’s history book.

Yet,life seemed so unfair to her as a child.Her world,as well as those of her eight siblings,almost tumbled when their father suddenly died,leaving them to the whims and caprices of uncles,one of whom,the superstar claims,wanted to inherit her mum and all of her children.But when that plot failed,they were dispossessed of their father’s sprawling land and were stripped of virtually all means of survival.

At the height of the family’s excruciating experience,Chioma,who describes herself as ‘a child of destiny’, wanted to become an apprentice mechanic,but her loving mum blocked her,vowing that her last child would never do such a thing.Even when the then Inspector General of Police,Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo,spotted her unusual talent in sports,as a teenager,and wanted her recruited into the Nigeria Police,her mum wept as if her lachrymal gland was about to burst,and said her child would only join the force over her dead body.

But after a lot of going back and forth,the unbending IG had his way and got Chioma (meaning:Good God) into the police force.Today,the golden girl of Nigerian sports is not only a Chief Superintendent of Police,but also the Divisional Police Officer at the Meiran Police Station in Lagos.

Despite her glittering records and highly inspiring achievements,Chioma’s road,even in marriage,was not all that smooth as she gad to endure eight- -and-a-half years of childlessness before her womb eventually opened and she became a proud mum.

On Monday,September 3,2012,Chioma Ajunwa scored the greatest goal any woman could ever aspire to score.She had a set of triplets,two boys and one girl.The triplets are big and healthy.Mum Chioma,too,is in perfect health.

Her joy knew no bounds on Tuesday,as she sat down with a five-man team of ASPIRE,in a no-holds-barred interview that lasted three solid hours.

Please,sit back,relax and enjoy all of it.

Excerpts: at the goodness of His time. How He did it, I wouldn’t know. But I found myself winning the first individual medal for the country. And it was gold! It is the Lord’s doing because if it were by my power or my might or something that can be bought, I wouldn’t have made it. Where would I have got the money? But God just made it to happen at the goodness of his time. And that is exactly what is happening to me the whole of my life till now.

For instance, many people have been asking how it was possible for me to have triplets. They even gave all sorts of reasons why I shouldn’t be a mother…!

Really?

Oh yes!

People are really questioning that, questioning your having a set of triplets at this point?

Yes, people are asking. People are saying that

‘People are saying that they didn’t see me pregnant, and that I didn’t come to show them. And I ask them: when has it become a culture that anybody that is pregnant must go to a media house and announce?’

Ajunwa

Photos: OMONIYI AYEDUN

When we entered this place, the picture I was looking for was that of your golden leap in Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Why is conspicuously missing in your living room?

It’s somewhere there but like you said, it’s not that big.

But if I were in your shoes, that picture would be the dominant picture in my house because that was your greatest moment of glory. Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medal…

(Cuts in…) I agree perfectly with you. But this is what happened. When we returned from Atlanta, during the reception to honour us and we were being taken from place to another, something happened. All the recordings that I made in Atlanta, I’m sorry to say this, were stolen by journalist. The journalist stole my camera, with all my recordings in there.

You must be kidding! A journalist?

I’m dead serious. I’m sorry, a Nigerian journalist, a female journalist, one of your colleagues, stole my camera. The problem is that I don’t know her name and since then, I’ve never set my eyes on her. I have not seen her again.

How did it happen?

What happened was that she kept following me all over the place, calling me her sister. And I had no reason to be suspicious because she was always coming to the stadium to interview us, asking us questions. I felt since she was normally coming to the stadium to ask questions, I dropped my camera on the table when I was asked to come to the podium and give a speech.

She was seated close to me. But by the time I returned to the table, after making my speech, she had gone with my camera. That was how I lost everything that I recorded.

How did that hit you?

Painful. Pained me to my marrow because that camera contained all the (visual) records of my performance at the Atlanta Olympics. I cried.

Sorry about that. But when you were going to Atlanta, did you, in your wildest imagination, ever dreamt of giving Nigeria her first Olympic gold medal?

If I say that I was expecting it, it means there is no truth in me. I never even thought of winning any medal not to talk of gold. But to God be the glory, He made everything beautiful for me

they didn’t see me pregnant, and that I didn’t come to show them. And I ask them: when has it become a culture that anybody that is pregnant must go to a media house and announce? I don’t feel happy talking about this, neither is my husband nor the Nigerian Police Force where I serve. The important thing is that people saw me (when I was pregnant) and whoever did not is not important. It’s not my business. The most important thing is that they (the children) have come, and by the grace of God Almighty, they have come to stay. If anybody wants to be happy with me, let him or her be happy. Let them join me to glorify God because it is a miracle. I never knew I was pregnant until it got to the seventh month. Prior to that time, I knew what had been happening to me but I thank God that, at last, they (the children) came. So, Atlanta wasn’t by my own power.

That moment after the jump and you saw the scoreboard with your name on it, how did you feel?

After I took the leap, it took some time before the officials could raise the white flag. They were hesitating, and I wondered why. As I was walking back, I was looking back to see if the board was rotating because once it starts rotating, it means the jump has been given to you. Then, I noticed one Mr. John, from Kenya but originally a Briton, going from one official to another, talking. But I couldn’t hear what they were saying. After what seemed to me like an eternity, they eventually raised the flag, and the board started rotating. Sadly, at that glorious moment, I didn’t see anybody to hug me because I was the only Nigerian there.

In victory, you were the loneliest woman in the world…

Well, something like that. As a matter of fact, I was the only African there. So, what I did was to go on my knees and bowed for God. I worshipped God. It was much later, while on a training tour in Kenya that I met that same Mr. John who, then, revealed to me that the officials want-

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The Big Interview

When I won gold,there was no single Nigerian to cheer or hug me.In victory,I was the loneliest woman in the world ed to rob me. When they discovered that the jump could be a winning jump, they wanted to rub me of it. But he told them that if they did, he would expose them. They got afraid, I guess. So, they didn’t have any choice but raise the flag.

So, it’s possible to rub athletes at such levels too?

Yes, they do it. They do it mostly in technical events. Even in 100 metres, sometimes, we end up going to watch the photo finish.

At what point did it strike you that what God had just helped you to accomplish would change your life?

I never knew the meaning (implication) of winning the Olympic gold. Even, moments after that jump, I still didn’t know the magnitude of what had I had just done and what it would do to me. At that point, I never thought it was anything big. Even when the president (the late General Sani Abacha) called the Nigerian camp, and said he even if everybody wanted to stay back, if everybody should stay back, I must return to Nigeria, I still didn’t understand. It was only when I got to Nigeria that I realized the full meaning of what God had done for me. During our stopover in Senegal (on the journey back home), I started noticing that the medal meant a lot because of the crowd that came to welcome us. It was huge, and everybody wanted to touch me. Until that moment, I felt it (the gold medal) was just like any other medal; just like any of those medals that I’ve been winning.

In specific terms, what has winning the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta ’96 done to your life?

(Smiling…) Really, the only thing I can say is that it has given me fame. It has also opened doors for me but it has not made me rich.

What about the money that came in after that?

What money? N1M? What about monies from sponsors, and donations from governments and organizations, and others?

You mean donations from companies in Nigeria?

Yes. (Squeezing her face in anger…) Not in this world. Never! What Tower (Aluminum) gave to me was just a plaque. All other companies were giving me congratulatory letters. Nobody gave me money.

But in terms of doors, it did open doors. Or didn’t it?

Yeah, it did open doors for me and it made everybody to know me.

How did it affect your job as a police officer?

It helped me. It helped me rise through the ranks. Honestly, whenever I have to talk about this, I feel so bad.

Why do you feel bad?

We are not good in this country. Had it been it was another country that I won the first individual Olympic gold medal for, I would have got car gifts, houses and plenty of money. But what did Nigeria give for me? I was given one million naira. Even that money was given to me in bits.

I never knew what I used it for. That is why, when people want to interview me, I don’t like to talk about these things because there are some things one would say that would not go down well with some people. I don’t think we like good things in this nation.

But you were also given national award…

Yes, I was given M.O.N (Member Of The Order of the Niger). What is the meaning of being given M.O.N? M.O.N was given to everybody that went for the (Atlanta ’96) Games. So, what makes mine different? Members of the national football team (the then Green Eagles, now Super Eagles) that won the African Nations Cup in 1980 were all given houses in FESTAC Town. My manager, Chief Segun Odegbami, was one of them. I’ve been there and I can tell you it’s such an awesome house. But what do I have to show for my own achievement?

Nothing. Is there any street named after Chioma

Ajunwa Ajunwa in Abuja? Nowhere. All you see is Cameroun Street, Alhaji Street, Sadiat Street and all such nonsense. But people that bring honour to this country with their own money and energy get nothing. That’s why people say I am looking old because I ran all my life for this country; I jumped all through for this country. All I get is M.O.N. What is M.O.N? All these small boys that they are giving M.O.N now, what have they done for this country?

I thought the M.O.N., indeed, all national awards, come with money, apart from the certificate.

Which money? It comes with nothing. Just presidential handshake.

Ok, Chioma, let’s go back to Atlanta ‘96.

You said you were the only one on that pitch, that glorious day. That means the AFN (Athletics Federation of Nigeria) did not think much of you as an athlete worthy of any medal. Consequently, you were left to yourself. So, how did you feel after you won the gold?

You know when my colleagues Mary Onyali and Falilat Ogunkoya won their medals, our Sports Minister then, Chief Jim Nwobodo, came to our camp with his entourage, including the then Director-General, Dr. Amos Adamu. They gave money to the winners and gave pep talks to other athletes that were yet to have their events.

They called them names and told them they would give them things only if they won they events. As they got up to go, Onyuike, a hurdler, who was then a law student, got angry and asked

the entourage: why he did not mention my name while talking to those that were yet to do their own event. He asked them if my own event was not important. The then minister told him: ‘Go and win first. When you win, then, you come.’

So, I asked them if my event was not important. I started crying and my other colleagues were encouraging me not to cry. Then, I went to my room. On the competition day, Beatrice Utondu, Mary Tombiri and myself went to the Nigerian House to collect our national flag.

Beatrice asked for the flag saying that she was sure I was going to win, and that after winning, I would need the flag for my victory lap. The man didn’t make any sense from what Beatrice said.

He just burst out laughing, but later said that they would come. He said we should go, that they when they come over, they would come with the flag. Meanwhile, we knew they were all going for the football event, that was why we wanted them to give us the flag. But they refused. So, we left. We never saw any of them. They all went to watch football. They never came. But when God did the miracle, it shocked every one of them.

After I won, there was no flag. What he gave to us was that small table flag. I couldn’t use that for the victory lap. Fortunately, someone in the crowd threw one to me. That was what I used for my victory lap. I was so lonely in Nigeria’s moment of glory. They (Nigerian officials) did that to me to show that they never believed anything good could come out of long jump and me.

They believed that in long jump, nothing good could come from Chioma. But I thank God for

‘People that know me very well, people that know me to my house back home, know that all through my life, what has been happening to me couldn’t have been from any man. It could not have been by any man. It can only be God. I am a destiny child’

Chioma with hubby

whom I am. People that know me very well, people that know me to my house back home, know that all through my life, what has been happening to me couldn’t have been from any man. It could not have been by any man. It can only be God. I am a child of destiny.

I can see, in you, a determined woman.

Could you share with us some of those experiences of life, for ill or for good, that made you what and whom you are?

I was born into a family of nine-six boys and three girls; and I happen to be the baby of the family.

That means your parents must have pampered you silly…

I did not allow that to happen. I am from a very poor home.

What was Papa, your father, doing?

My father died when I was very young. I was still very small; in fact, they were still carrying me when my dad died. And my mother had to train nine of us, and she didn’t find it easy.

Things were so bad that when I passed my entrance exam into the university my mother was crying.

What year was this?

That was far back in 1988.

Why was she crying?

Because there was no money to enable me to further my education. Instead of her to be happy that her daughter had done well, she was crying.

She was crying because she was afraid that you would lose the admission?

Yes. Of course, I lost it. Where would my mother get the money for me to go to school?

So, I decided to go and learn how to be a mechanic. I would have been the first woman to become a mechanic if not in Nigeria but at least in my village. I went to buy an overall, and I was ready to go to Aba to enroll at a mechanic workshop as an apprentice.

Where were you living at the time?

I was staying at Mbaise. My mother stopped me from going because she felt that kind of job was not meant for a woman. She thought it was a man’s job. So, she put her feet down. But I was not discouraged. Because of the spirit in me, I knew I was going to be an extraordinary person in my family. So, I told my mother to leave me, that all I wanted to be was a mechanic. But she stood her ground. She said no. At the end of the day, my ambition to become a mechanic became suppressed.

After she refused to let you go, what next?

I decided that since I had been running since my primary school days, I would go to Owerri and ask the Sport Council to place me on an allowance as they were doing to other athletes.

When I got there, I told the secretary but she started shouting on me, saying: ‘Look at these small children; they don’t even fear. Imagine her audacity.’I was disappointed and wondered how much was even the allowance to warrant all this noise? Fifty naira! And she was shouting on me.

God, I cried that day. I decided to leave.

But as I was leaving the stadium, I saw three police people coming-two men and a lady. They told me that their Oga wanted to see me. These were people I never met before, and you can imagine how much I feared the police those days. Because of my fear for the police, I started crying. At a point, they came to me and said their boss wanted to see me. I refused to listen to them. They started dragging me because I said I was not going with them.

At that point, one of the athletes came out to see what was happening; once she saw me she asked what the problem was. I told her I did not know why they wanted to take me to the police station. She escorted me to the police headquarters. The man (the boss) was so shocked to see how small I was. Obviously, he was expecting to see someone taller than I was. So, he said: ‘Is this the antelope you were referring to? This juvenile? After they had convinced him, he gave me N200. But I refused to collect. I told him my mother would kill me. He, then, ordered the policemen to follow me to my place. They did, and they gave my mother N500, telling my mother that she should allow me to come for training. But my mother bluntly refused. She swore never to involve herself with the police.

She said nothing would make her or her children get involved with anything police, not to talk of her last born. They told her not to worry, that I would be taken care of. After sometime, she buckled. That was how I entered the police.

Continued on page 32

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The Big Interview

Continued from page 31 How long did it take your mother to agree?

I can’t remember exactly how long, but my mother did not accept immediately. And because I thought they might come back for me, I ran to Port Harcourt where my senior brother was staying. It was there in Port Harcourt that they arrested me the second time.

Arrest you?

Yes now. When you are stopped from where you are going to and taken to a police station, is that not arrest? You are under arrest. So, they told me that the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo, had given a signal that anywhere I was in Nigeria, they must find me.

Unknown to me, they had been looking for me for a while until somebody told them that I was in Civic Centre. At a point, the pressure was unbearable, and my brother advised me to accept their offer, that when I grow up, I would understand better. Well, to God be the glory, at the end of it all, I followed them to Kwara State for the Nigeria Police Games and I won four gold medals for them.

What year was this?

That was 1988.

How old were you at the time?

I should be around 14 or 15 But you were very small?

Yes. I was very small. However, when I got to Police College, they rejected me because I was not up to the required age. God, I was very happy and decided to leave. Again, they stopped me. They caught me later, saying that if I were allowed to go, the Inspector-General of Police would give them query. They knew I was not of age, but I came here under special recruitment. I was given a special room with two other people.

We were called IG’s special children. There was no stressful activity for us. All we had to do was just to go for our training. It was when I got to Police Academy that I had time to train (in athletics). When I was at home, my parents did not allow me to train. They did not even want me to do the sports. Many times, they would lock me out but I would jump through the window.

After the Police Games (in Kwara State), I was invited to the national camp. Nigeria was to host the All Africa Championship here in Lagos.

At that time, Mary Onyali, Beatrice Utondu, and some others were among the best. We were told that some US-based players were coming and all we had to do was just to sit and watch them. But I did not like it because if I was to sit down, I won’t be able to develop myself. That night, I did not allow them to sleep, and I was given a chance.

Though I was the smallest amongst them, when we got out there, I jumped 6.53 and I won the championship. Neither Beatrice nor Okpara Thompson, nor any other athlete was able to get there. I won the first gold for Nigeria in that championship. They now decided that I would stay back and continue training because of the World Athletics Championship coming up in Spain. When I got there, I was new on the world stage. The competition was done in the night; it rained heavily; and the snow was heavy. I had not travelled out before and I did not know there were places that could be as cold as that. Because of the bad weather, I was not able to jump well.

I jumped 6.48 and I came fifth. That was how I came into the (national and global) limelight.

Does this trait run in your family?

Well, I did not inherit it from any member of my family. But I did it to the best of my ability.

When I say that I am a child of destiny, you will now understand where I am coming from.

What were the other events that happened in your life that made you believe you were, indeed, a destiny child?

I can say that, apart from what I mentioned before, some of my age mates have not gotten to the level I am today. In 1991, when I came back from the All African Championship, I built a house for my mum. The money I made there, I never used it to buy cloths or gold. I kept it because I knew where I was coming from.

When I came back from the (athletics) World Cup, I used the money I made to wire my house and bring electricity in there. I even supplied light to my neighbours. Everybody was praying for me. People believed I had done many big things and just left me for God. How much did you make in you last championship that helped you build a house?

I had up to N300, 000 because (the late Chief M.K.O) Abiola gave us money How much did he give you?

How a Nigerian journalist stole my most prized possession from Atlanta Olympics

Ajunwa He gave me N170, 000 because I won two gold medals. When we went for the World Cup, we went with his wife-Alhaja Simbiat of blessed memory, and she gave us money.

How much?

She gave us $50, 000. I kept the money, together with my allowances, until I came back home. When I returned, I bought a big generator at Alaba International Market…

As young as you where then, how did you get the idea of building a house for your mum?

I really wanted to make my mother happy, because she suffered a lot for us. My mother would not buy cloths to wear; any little money she gets, she uses it to train us in school, and to, generally, make us happy like all other children.

I don’t want to blow my trumpet.

Like I said, you are not blowing your trumpet, but we need to know some of these things so that people reading it can learn from you.

When I came back from Atlanta, I built a magnificent house for myself in my village. Ask anybody that is from my village.

Why not in Lagos?

I built it for my brothers. There was no land for them to build when they wanted; and they kept on having problems. Little did they know that the last born of the family would deliver something better to the family. My father was the only child of his parents. But his brothers took all our

plots of land and gave them to government to build a secondary school. After they finished building, there was still land left. They said that in exchange for the land, they were going to train my father’s children. But instead, they gave their own children. None of my brothers or sisters was sent to the school. Eventually, my dad was killed.

Till today, when you get to my place, the land that remains is still massive.

When they finished building Saint Patrick School, the land still remains. They built Post Office, the land still remains. It was still left.

That was where my dad was buried. And they were trying to desecrate my father’s tomb. They used the place to do ridges, and the people working in the Post Office and in the school would give their concubines plots to cultivate whatever they want. One day, my mother went to the place but they used cane to pursue her. But God proved Himself faithful. He proved that He is really the husband of widows and Father to the fatherless.

One day, when I was in Atlanta, it was like I was in a trance. And I saw someone wearing a dazzling white apparallel walk into my room.

The person tapped me and said ‘Go and posses that land. Build whatever you want to build.’The voice was audible. It was clear. When the person left, I jumped up and saw that my light was off.

I ran to the door and saw it was locked from inside. That moment, my mind stuck to the land.

The next time I traveled home, I went straight to the local government chairman’s house. I told him that I did not come to him to fight for me, but that I just came to tell him what I wanted to do. So that by the time they come, he won’t be dilly-dallying. I also went to my traditional ruler and told him what I wanted to do: build a house on the land.

He was surprised. I told him that the land belonged to my father and that they buried him there; and I could not leave my father’s carcass there unprotected. I must protect it. Before then, I had already built a grave on top it to stop people farming there. In fact, that was what made my mother cry every time. The traditional ruler gave me the go-ahead. I didn’t stop there. I went to the chief judge of our place and told him what I was about to do.

My elder brother was afraid. He did not want me to build there. He said people would kill me.

I told him my life is in God’s hands, and I will build there; that my father was buried there and I wanted to protect him. My brother said the land has been sold fifty-two years before we were born and, therefore, belong to the government.

I told him we also are part of the government; that what I was doing was not illegal; government has built whatever they wanted to build.

Only two of my brothers who were stubborn supported me. The next day, we started work there. Four of my brothers who did not have land to build, I built house for them there. People thought we were not going far, but before they knew it, we had built a gate, locked it and started the main building.

Those who were called to come and destroy the building could not. Once they discovered it was Chioma Ajunwa’s place, the person who won gold medal for them, they would just go back. That was how God just gave me that victory. I never spoke to any of the boys. I did not even see them. My house was built on the land, my father’s tomb was protected, and when my mum died, that was where I buried her. I also built a big house for them.

When did mama die?

My mother died in 1992.

Was she ill?

Yes, she was.

How old was she?

Eighty-two. When my mum was alive, people in my village knew I took care of her very well.

I bought a car for her so that she will be using it to go and throw away the dirt that she sweeps from the compound. I made my mother happy because the woman suffered so much. If not for God, I would not have been able to achieve it on my own.

What were the threats you faced when all these happened to you? Were you attacked spiritually or otherwise?

If I say that, I would be a liar. Nobody attacked me, but you know you must have challenges here and there.

What were the challenges?

I think it was in my career. People did not like me. They did not want to see me. Everything I did was not good enough but, in a way, they could not help it.

Why would anybody be sad and angry at your success?

I think it is a natural phenomenon. When you are doing something good, some people would just be wondering: ‘is it only her?’ They would be saying all sorts of things out of envy. It was like Chioma Ajunwa just came and everything was working for her, and they did not know the secret. They did not know where I was coming from.

By the way, what is the meaning of ‘Chioma’?

Good God. So, has God been really good to you?

He has. That is why we say, people should mind the name they give to their children because names have a lot to do with the destiny of the child. Today, things seem to be okay for me but they did not know that where I was coming from. I suffered a lot. My family, and I we suffered humiliations. My father’s brothers forced my mother to marry their own son. They wanted us to change our father’s name to another man’s name. Imagine someone who went to Cameroon to waste his life, now turning round to claim another man’s children because my father was late. Of course, my mother refused and ran away.

(To be continued next week)

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October 20, 2012

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Interview PROF.YEMI AKINSEYE-GEORGE, SAN

The trader’s son who became a SAN

By KEMI YESUFU,Abuja He is a professor of Law.He was also recently sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).But his great achievements aren’t what make Professor Yemi Akinseye-George tick.It is his passion for creating a more successful younger generation.The baby-faced university don,whose gentle mien is deceptive of the fire in his belly, wants to produce 10 professors before he retires.Having got to the peak of his career in the academia and in legal practice,all he wants to do is create a generation of Law teachers he can hand over the baton to when the time comes.In this interview,Professor Akinseye-George talks mostly about his life,the secret to good relationships in the workplace and in the home.He also speaks about his career just as he touches on the reform of the Evidence Act for which he played a prominent role.Excerpts: Can you remember your first day in court?

Yes, I remember my first day in court.

It was at the Lagos High Court, where I moved a motion. I had been taught in chambers what to say, though I didn’t quite understand it. I simply did as I was told. The judge granted the motion.

With time, I realised that moving a motion is simple because there are standard steps to take. Secondly, the other counsel did not oppose the motion I moved, so the judge granted it. So my first day in court was an easy one.

What has kept you interested in legal practice?

For me, legal practice is engaging.

You can’t predict what your opponent will come up with, so you have to keep on studying and anticipating what they could bring. Agood lawyer prepares the case of his opponent, just as he prepares his own case. You ask yourself what you would do if you were in the shoes of your opponent. The other thing that has kept me going is the study of cases.

When you study cases, you get to read the stories of how people quarrelled or what led to friends ending up in court.

There is also an element of suspense when you try to read how the court resolved a dispute. When it comes to litigation, each time an adjournment is made, you look forward to the next date in court. These are some of the things that keep legal practice interesting to me.

You lectured in the university just as you have worked at having a good career in practice. How have you been bale to combine both worlds successfully?

Fifty percent of my career was dedicated to practice, while the other half was in the university. I taught at the University of Ibadan for 15 years.

Then I moved to Abuja to work as special assistant to two Ministers of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo and Chief Akinolu Olujimi. So, I have worked as a litigator, a consultant, a researcher, an academic and a writer. I have worked in different fields and this is why I didn’t fancy a career on the bench because it limits you. A judge cannot go into business, consultancy and litigation like I have done. I am satisfied with how my career has turned out, because I made the right choice not to pick a career on the bench.

Which excites you more, teaching or practising law?

Although I enjoy going to court, the greatest motivation I have is teaching the younger generation. For me, my preference is in the academics. I derive tremendous joy from teaching the

younger generation. I feel fulfilled being part of creating a good future for young people. I enjoy guiding the youth aright.

Because of this, I believe in integrating ethical consciousness in my teaching. I don’t just teach students the letters of the law; I want my students to be concerned about the poor. I want them to show concern about what happens in society.

I want my students to promote human rights and development. I tell them about the need to fight corruption.

Teaching gives me a platform to help mold future lawyers and this inspires me.

What would you pick as a career high moment?

Well, I would say that I haven’t had low moments in the real sense of it. This is because I set my priorities right. From the outset I told myself service would come first, not money. So, my expectation regarding money isn’t high. And when you don’t set high expectations on money, you won’t be disappointed.

When it comes, you take it and when it doesn’t come, you move on with life.

All through my career, I have focused on turning transactions into relationships. I hardly get disappointed doing this. So, I cannot pick out high moments, because things have been good most of the time.

25 years of practice, you have been appointed into the select group of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

How do you feel?

I feel fulfilled. I identify with the fact that one of the highest needs of man is recognition. When your peers and your superiors ask you to come into the inner circle, it is a huge recognition. It has also been a humbling experience, just as I feel challenged to do more. I will have a

‘My father wasn’t a lawyer. He was a trader.

My mother wasn’t educated. So, if it was possible for me to get to where I am today, then any young person with focus can get to the pinnacle of their profession’

George lot do, because even in the midst of Senior Advocates, there still exists a special class, so my pursuit of excellence continues. What I have to do now is to reprioritise and redefine my focus. My attaining the highest target of lawyers in Nigeria gives me a platform to promote excellence. As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, whatever you say is taken seriously and this makes it important that you speak only when necessary. My induction into this elite group also comes with great responsibility. I want to help young colleagues rise in the legal profession. Before I leave the university, I want to have helped produce 10 professors. I have already identified young people who have what it takes to excel in academics. I have been giving them advice, guiding them the best way I can.

I believe that in no time, these young ones will get to the top. I believe that my appointment as Senior Advocate will inspire others that with hard work they can succeed no matter their background.

I am a good example. I come from a humble background. My father wasn’t a lawyer. He was a trader, though he was a community activist. My mother wasn’t educated. So, if it was possible for me to get to where I am today, then any young person with focus can get to the pinnacle of his/her profession.

As someone who is keen on mentoring, can you tell us what it takes to become a professor and a SAN? To be a professor of Law, you have to be consistent. You have to resist temptation coming in form of higher wages.

For instance, I had to turn down the opportunity to work in First Bank.

When I got the opportunity to work in the bank, I discussed it with my wife and we both agreed that my future wasn’t in banking. I had to boldly resist the offer from First Bank because my salary as a lecturer was a quarter of what I would I have earned there. But looking back, I have no regrets. Some of those who left for banking at that time aren’t happy with the way things turned out.

Ayoung lecturer needs to be brave by setting his sight on his goal so that he can overlook his pay package. They have to keep on researching, writing and publishing. They shouldn’t slow down because of the challenges in the country.

Problems like poor power supply, the bad infrastructure shouldn’t hold them back. I encourage not just young lawyers but all other professionals to develop a clear-cut strategy. Based on this, I advise that once you are appointed a professor, the next thing you should think of is how to contribute to the development of Law. For instance, we trained judges in our chambers. We also contributed to law reforms by providing technical assistance even when we were not paid for this. When a lawyers does things like we have, though they might not be making money all the time, those who are an authority on the law will take note. And this makes it easy for them to recognise you once your name comes for appointment as a Senior Advocate.

They are likely to acknowledge that you did more than just carrying out your duties in the classroom. They will acknowledge that you have made contributions to the growth of the profession. As a professor you should do more

than teaching, you should interact with judges, senior lawyers, Senior Advocates and let them realise that you have something to offer. When you are given a chance to interact with your colleagues outside of the university, you should practicalise the theories you have been teaching.

Can you share with us instances that you have practised the legal theories that you taught?

I taught Evidence for many years. In recognition of this, the former AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo, invited me to work with the National Assembly to prepare the Evidence Act for passage. He made me the chairman of the technical committee that prepared the act. To the credit of the current Attorney-General and the former Justice Minister, the act was passed in 2011. So my belief is that there must be a connection between town and gown. It is not enough to teach theories, what we teach must be of practical relevance.

Who was the prominent figure in your childhood?

It is not just one person; they are a few people who stand out in my childhood.

I will start with my dad. He often told us (his children) that there was nothing we couldn’t achieve if we put our minds to it. He didn’t have the opportunity of getting higher education. He stopped at Standard 4 but that didn’t stop him from encouraging us to do well in school.

Even when we got into the top three positions, he would ask us to aim for the

Continued on page 39

34

SATURDAY SUN

ASPIRE

October 20, 2012

Human Interest

A parcel of love for helpless widows As part of their annual acts of charity, female members of District Six of St. John’s International braced the odds to extend a helping hand to widows within the Catholic fold

By ERIC DUMO With straight faces and a gaze set in no particular direction, you could tell they were not happy. They had every reason to wear such mournful expressions – at different times and different places, they had lost their soul mates, their husbands and pillars of support. Some of them had lived with the wound for several years and have had tough times bracing the flood of challenges life had presented them since that time. It had not been a pleasant experience for some of the women and their children.

But last week, the eight widows had their lives changed when goodhearted women of St. John’s International, a group within the Catholic fold, rallied support to put smiles on their faces. The group handed out a cheque of N100, 000 to each of the eight women in an effort to alleviate their pains.

Many of the widows had before now, endured lives full of struggle, deprivation and total neglect by those they looked up to for support. A handful told the paper what manner of pains they and their children had passed through since the heads of their homes passed away. It is a period they hate to look back to.

Lady Kate Ezeakacha, a leader in St. John’s International, told the paper that they were inspired to extend love to the widows as a result of the many challenges before them and also because the Holy Book mandated so. “What really inspired us is because as sisters of members of Knight of John’s International, one of our primary objectives is to do charity. Saint John the Baptist loved widows. If you could remember, before he died, he spoke out the truth against Philip marrying his brother’s wife. So, we want to really touch the lives of our widows, show love to them.

“We need to empower them. It is said that it is better to teach somebody how to fish rather than giving them fish every day. That is what we have done with this empowerment of N100, 000 to each of them. We have given them this so they can start a tangible business, earn something and take care of their families.

“If God blesses us, we will surely like to expand our horizon but our major concentration for now is on the widows. You know the bulk of suffering lies on the widows. If you don’t take care of widows, some men will exploit them and other things will follow. That is why we need to help them. We give to the less privileged, but we need to give to widows so that they will be able to take care of themselves,” she said.

For her part, Lady Okwui SidneyMoka, coordinator of the exercise this year, said she was privileged to be involved in the scheme. She called on corporate bodies and wellmeaning individuals in the society to show some concern for the plight of widows.

“Our main objective is this for now. We cannot stop doing charity.

From this level we will move to another level.

“I was so touched when they brought the idea of empowering the widows and less privileged. All through my life I have been so touched by the plight of widows.

When I see them, I feel so sad. But when this project came up, I was glad to be a part of it.

“As a group, we have sacrificed a lot in terms of time and resources but we can’t do this alone. We want good people within the society to also help the widows around them. This will go along way in making Nigeria a better place for all of us again,” she said.

Speaking, Rev. Fr Augustine

Ladies of St. John Int’l in a group photograph Medaiyedu, CMF, head of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, Ikorodu, where the event was held,

commended Ezeakacha and her group for the gesture to the widows.

He told the magazine that the female

Sidney-Moka

Mbanefo

Lady Ezeakacha

Rev. Medaiyedu

Widows with the cheques

knights, known as “Lux”, were an example for all to follow.

His words: “We give glory to God for this initiative He has given to the ladies of the Knight of St. John’s International. They have demonstrated very clearly what the gospel instructed. They have taken a big step to look at the plight of widows.

Today, they have nobody to fight for them except God. Today they have lots of trouble but the sisters have through this charitable act come in to assist them. I pray the Lord will bless this little seed that they have planted to grow into multiple blessings.”

One of beneficiaries, Victoria Mbanefo, 34, was full of appreciation for the women who took the pain to alleviate their sufferings. She pledged to invest the money in her business to help train her four children through school and life. “I am so happy and grateful to God. In fact, it is only Him that can reward them for all they have done for us. I pray the Lord should bless and protect them. They will live long with their husbands. I don’t want them to be young widows like me. I want God to help them see their grandchildren.

I am 34 years old; I lost my husband three years ago.

“I’m already in business. I just need to increase in it. I hawk food items and so I will now add the money to the business to increase my profit. This will really help me take care of the children,” she said.

The seven other beneficiaries were no less appreciative – their facial expressions and body language spoke volumes for the excitement in their souls. They all told the reporter that their lives would never remain the same with the gift from the women of St. John’s International.

SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

35

Human Interest

How unemployed youths barb their way to wealth

By CHRISTIAN AGADIBE (nnamchris@yahoo.com) They are everywhere now, these ubiquitous barbers. In every street corner, where two or three houses stand in whatever name, whether an avenue, or a boulevard, or a close, or a ‘corner joint’, to borrow the street cliché, or a street, and there you will find the ‘headmasters’, plying their trade, displaying their ingenuity with the latest or rave-of-the-moment cuts.

They emerged, first in trickles, in the late 1980s, then as harsh economic realities bared their fangs and kicked many out of jobs, they began to mushroom. Today, these young and very artistic barbers are found in many nooks and cranny of the country.

Unlike your barbers of old, who relied mainly on a pair of manual clippers, scissors and blade, and a revolving chair that made the local welder strut in the village square like a king, many members of this breed of barbers are educated, articulate and fashionable. They are artists in their own rights.

They use their expertise to turn their economic adversities around, underscoring the maxim that ‘tough times don’t last, tough people do.’

Just like many, hitherto unemployed youths have used the vocation as a poverty killer, regardless of whether power is constant or not, their creativity has also won huge following among investors who have devised all kinds of means to put their money where their mouth is. Today, these new wave barbers make money, through their trade, under all kinds of arrangements. Hence, the surge in the population of practitioners who take advantage of the ‘open door’ nature of the enterprise.

Welcome to the world of our wave-making barbers.

Although barbing salons are mushrooming every day, the vocation has also been infiltrated by what a salon owner in Yaba area of Lagos, describes as ‘half-baked barbers.’ These ‘infiltrators’, according to the proprietor, popularly called Alhaja, “comprise mainly of young men and women who have little or no experience, and, therefore, offer little consumer satisfaction.”

However, this to a barber in the salon, Emeka Izunbor, 23, is neither here nor here. “Na bad belle,” he reacts sharply in Pidgin English. “Na when you no allow them to turn you to slave naim dem dey talk rubbish. All barbers are good.”

Really? However, the Alhaja-turned-salon proprietor says “barbing is good business if you are patient and can cope with the pranks of the boys.

They would steal but with proper supervision, you will still make your money.”

So, how does she do it? Does she employ and place them on salaries? “Nope!” she says, the words tumbling out almost before you finished the question. “Me, place them on salary? Never! That’s the surest way to kill the business and get hypertension to boot. My simple formula is to rent out my chairs to them on a daily basis. I have 10 chairs and each chair must fetch N5, 000 per day, that is 10 haircuts at the rate of N500 each. Whatever he makes after that is his profit. And I think they love it. No wahala for either side. ” Although there is usually mutual distrust between the proprietors and professional barbers, it has not been able to kill the trade. While salon owners have learnt how to deal with the shenanigans of their contract barbers, and with the barbers also duly recognizing their customers as kings and queens, the barbers have devised ingenious means of wooing customers, trying their level best to satisfy them.

As it’s characteristic of us, we went to town to see these artists, who some people have creatively nicknamed ‘headmasters’, at work.

At 52, Sunday Tewegbade may not be happy with the daily returns he gets from the business, but he says he is satisfied, and indeed grateful to God that he has been able to touch “many lives” through his job. He recalls how he started barbing with just razor blade (some) 30 years ago, as a teenager, courtesy of his late father. Rising from that little beginning, he is, today a well skilled barber and proud proprietor of a well respected barbing salon

along Herbert Macaulay Street, in Yaba, Lagos, called the Next.

A graduate of the College of Commerce, Jos, Tewegbade says he never hesitated for one second on whether to take up barbing as a profession or not. “I was clear about what I wanted,” he says, beaming with smile. “Today, I thank God I didn’t miss it. I’m not complaining at all.”

Tewogbade would not let you go until he has relived how his barbing odyssey started, tracing it back to 1986 when he had to abort his admission into the University of Jos and relocate to Lagos following his father’s sudden death. To augment his meagre salary where he worked as a clerk in Lagos, he had to start practicing barbing, starting with his friends, using razor blade. Not too long after, he mastered the trade and got introduced to a salon at Murtala Mohammed Way, also in Lagos, where he began to use electric clippers. By July 1986, he became self-employed, and set up his own barbing business. Today, he has lost count of trainee and full-fledged barbers that he employed till date.

“Most of my staff have been working for me for close to 20 years now, and they are mostly graduates, most of them are married with kids,” he says, “and they are doing well. They don’t play with their

work. I don’t pay salary to them, I give them a weekly target. They pay me every weekend.”

Stephen Oviosun, a 32-year-old business administration graduate of Lagos State University, LASU, who has been in the vocation for over 11 years, having used the business to sponsor himself through the university. He is thankful to God for leading him to barbing, he enthused in an interview he granted the paper in his salon in the Isolo area of Lagos.

Although he says barbing could be a lucrative business but complains that the field is getting overcrowded with people. With the soaring unemployment rate in Nigeria, he says, it is the easiest trade to start because it is not capital intensive. But Oviosun is not smiling widely these days as he was used to because, according to him, the field is overcrowded.

“Business is dwindling,” he laments. “We have to re-strategise. We have to re-brand. At a personal level, I have introduced new barbing techniques in my outfit. I have also been able to give some incentives to my barbers. In addition, I introduced things like newspapers and magazines for my customers to read while waiting for their turn. I also bought towel warmer, DSTV, just to mention but few, and just to make my salon unique in the area. And I think, it is working. But, bye and large, it is working.”

A 25-year-old musiciancum-barbing stylist, who gave his name simply as Mobolaji, has been in the business for 15 years. His salon, BJ Blessed Cut, at Isolo is a beehive most of the time, crowded with customers. He charges N300 per cut, at par with the many salons in the area. Unlike some people, he doesn’t feel threatened by the burgeoning population of barbers in the city. To him, the more, the merrier. In fact, he says competition brings the best out of him. “When I started my business in this vicinity,” he recalls, “I could count the number of salons we have here with my fingers, but now they are

uncountable. They are more than 10 barbing salons in this small area right now. So, you have to be creative. You create different ways of delivering service to your customers. You find out what are the new trends in the trade and key into them or your business will die. Then, your prices must be competitive.”

Are you an investor? Wanting to invest in barbing? The following lines by Mobolaji may interest you: “My advice is that when you don’t know about a particular business, please, stay clear. Don’t dabble into it because the so-called professionals in that field would fleece you to your bones, particularly if you are not there to supervise. If you hire barbers and leave them to operate al on their own, they will swindle you with all sort of lies. If you are not always around, you would be sorry because there is no way you are ever going to know how many customers they cut hair for per day. It’s impossible.”

A lady who holds her barbing salon business in trust for her husband buttresses Mobolaji’s assertions. The woman, who identifies herself simply as Mrs. Akpochafo, said, “This is the fifth year of our operation. Barbing is my profession, but it was my husband who established this business 10 years ago. I had to move in because the complaints were just too many. Customers used to complain about the price structure, the barbers were not punctual, and the standard was falling among other challenges. So, I had to come in. Since then, our business has been moving up. If you don’t know the job and you have to employ people, they would be playing pranks with your job. But when you are conversant with job, they can’t play any trick. My worker pays us weekly. For the two seats in our salon, he pays us N7000 per week.”

Although Samson Iyanda, a football-turned-barber who practices with his wife at Isolo, testifies to the ‘goodness’ of the profession, he also says there are drawbacks. “Although it is profitable to have good barbers in your employ, they are very rare,” says the father of one. “I know what it takes to be a good barber. I have five years experience on the job, and I can tell you the most important things you need to build up, namely: customer relations, neatness, modern and brand new barbing equipment, towel warmer, and things that would make your customers generally comfortable, etc. This done, inject good capital to take care of your consumables like shampoos, dyes, and so on. Once you are able to do this, and with prayers, with some elements of luck, you should be in good business.”

36

SATURDAY SUN

ASPIRE

October 20, 2012

Special Assignment

Lagos’ empire of sin With illicit drugs, cheap sex and criminality still holding sway, many residents of Empire, a densely populated suburb in Mushin, Lagos, fear the future could be laced with uncertainties if the situation is not curbed

The building that once housed Empire hotel Story and pictures by ERIC DUMO Michael Udeh, 41, works extremely hard to cater for the daily needs of his family. A washerman at the Abalti Military Barracks in Ojuelegba area of Lagos, his monthly income is barely enough to take care of the growing needs of his household. His wife, Stella, works as a cleaner in a nearby hospital. What she brings home at the end of every four weeks only assists the family in escaping hunger – it can do nothing more to upgrade the family of six. With quality life still a long way from their reach, everyday living is indeed a tough one for the Udehs, one of several little-earning families who liter Empire, one of Mushin’s thickly-crammed neighbourhoods.

But in spite of these glaring deprivations and challenges faced by the family, Michael has huge dreams for his four boys – Gabriel, Isaiah, Patrick and Kennedy. He wants the best education for them and a quality future, too. But he fears that might not happen here at Empire, a locality notorious for its dangerous drugs, cheap prostitution and high crime rate. The area is notorious for harbouring some of the deadliest criminals in Lagos and indeed Nigeria.

“This area is becoming dangerous by the day,” Udeh reveals. “When I first moved to this area in 1986, things were not like this. Everywhere was peaceful and there was plenty of enjoyment throughout the day. Fela was alive then and people came from all places to enjoy themselves here. But now, all sorts of people come here to steal and cause trouble for us living in the area. There is no week that police will not raid this place more than three times, because crime is getting too much.

Even though I grew up here, I don’t want my children to experience some of these things we have

Pastor Abi-Abiola seen here. That is why I arranged with my uncle in Port Harcourt for them to be staying and schooling over there. Whatever little money my wife and I can raise, we will send over there to support their training. I don’t want them to grow up in this area and become bad boys because there is no how they would be in this place that they would not be influenced badly. It is better for them to remain there (Port Harcout) and when God blesses us, we can move to a better environment.”

Existing long before the arrival of Fela in 1962, the place known as Empire today was a neighbourhood made up of only a handful houses with swamp and bush occupying the larger space.

There were no drugs at the time, neither were there women of easy virtues parading its streets, prospecting for “clients”. The entire community was peaceful and only a few outside it knew it by

Thaddeus its name. But everything changed when the late Afrobeat legend perched on the area. His arrival indeed introduced a whole new twist and created a distinct image for Empire – an image of illicit drugs, cheap, unprotected sex and crime.

Sadly that image has stuck with the area – more than its good sides – refusing to peel off.

Ogbolu Thaddeus, 85, has been in the community long enough to understand the many issues on ground. A retired security expert, who at some point played music alongside Fela, he has seen Empire transform from a serene, tiny enclave to a bubbly community where all sorts of immorality take place today. Thaddeus is worried that the pres-

ent situation of things is not very healthy for the people, especially the growing army of children – teenage boys and girls who stand the risk of being lured into the type of crimes they see every day in the area. He wants government to wade in quickly to save Empire from going down with the flood of criminality that has surrounded it.

“Empire was not like this in those days,” Thaddeus tells you. “It was a peaceful and wonderful place, but people saw it as notorious because of Fela’s presence. People have been living here as far back as the 1940s. I came here in 1950 and this entire place was a swamp. There were only two houses here, Empire Hotel and another one belonging to Oguntokun whom the street was named after. The hotel was owned by an Igbo man called Kanu and the name “Empire” was the name of his first son who is a doctor and now a senator.

“People were relaxing in the entire area at the time and the leading band then was Stephen Amaechi’s. It was his band that was playing here at the time, until the arrival of Fela in 1962. He (Fela) returned from Europe in 1962 and the place became a known spot for enjoyment. Hemp was sold but cocaine was not known then; there were lots of free street women here. People from other areas of Lagos came here, people from Obalende and many places came here and enjoyed overnight before going back to their various destinations in the morning. Hotels were springing up here and everywhere. There were places like Caban Bamboo, Boundary Hotel but Empire was famous because of the night life; the night fun was much here, the cheap drugs and free women.

“When Fela came, this whole place changed a lot. It was his coming to Empire that brought smoking, drugs and free women to the area. He organised shows almost every time and this attracted people to this place. That was the beginning of

SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

37

Special Assignment evil things in this area”.

The years that followed saw things moving from bad to worse for this Lagos suburb. The presence of cheap drugs and almost free women was a good incentive for criminals who gradually began to call it home. From far and near, they came to be a part of the frenzy. Day and night, Empire was the happening place within the Lagos metropolis. The promoters of the illicit activities that took place there made money while individuals had their lives truncated – some completely ruined as a result of drug addiction. But Thaddeus told the reporter that even in those days, the level of crime was not as bad as it is today.

“The changes that have occurred here since I came are many and one of them is that there has been increase in crime. In those days, people moved freely without anybody harassing them.

But today this is not so anymore.

Policemen never used to come here, not even in their uniforms, because it was Fela’s kingdom. But now, the increase in crime has made police to raid the area almost every time. Now you see criminals from nowhere carrying guns here and the police enter to beat and kill people anyhow.

“Security is the biggest thing on people’s minds here, and harassment.

Many people have no jobs here and that is why you see people taking to drugs and alcohol. The truth is that when people smoke and drink on empty stomach, they begin to think evil and that is where the problem lies. Even children that were born here, groomed here, fall into crime when they become grownups. Some, whose parents are enlightened and have the money, whisk them away abroad or to another area to live their lives. The government is aware of all these things, but they are not doing anything about it. Every day people smoke Indian hemp, cocaine and different things because most of them are frustrated,” he argues.

Asked whether some of these activities can be controlled, the octogenarian said certain conditions must be met if drugs and other illegalities in the area must disappear. “These things can only be controlled by providing the people here with jobs. There must be an incentive. Most of them don’t like what they are doing. They want to get employed, they want to have a home, many of them are squatters, no house to sleep and no job to feed on. Without provisions made in these areas, drugs, prostitution and criminality would never stop here.

“When I first came to this area, accommodation was very cheap. The first apartment I got here, a room and parlour, cost one shilling and three pence. That was in the 1950s up to the 70s. Houses were very cheap here at the time. At present, a single room costs N3,000 and you must pay for two years, including agreement and commission. These are all part of the problem. If these things remain, then nothing would change in this place; instead things would get worse,” he says.

Known simply as “Stainless” in the neighbourhood, life at Empire has fallen short of what it used to be for him.

According to the 45-year-old who deals in local brew and alcoholic mixtures, business has plummeted in recent times, especially with customers scared away by the increasing spate of crime in the area. Frequent police raids in the community have not helped matters, he says – they have contributed in spreading tension across the place.

“People know Empire to be a notorious area but this is not correct. The name might sound bad but we have great people in Empire. Those days, because of the presence of Fela, there were lots of hooligans smoking anyhow and fighting even security officers.

“The problem we have in this place now is that police come to raid almost every day. It is just a bad way to collect money from people. As a result, business is not moving like before because people are not happy to come here

A view of the Empire neighbourhood

Stainless at his shop again. Before, this place was bubbly day and night. Business is not good like it used to before,” says Stainless.

Though, many revealed that the best days of this area have long passed, it was still a bubbly arena when the reporter visited in the course of the week, however. Even in broad daylight, men and women of different ages were seen smoking hemp and taking all sorts of substances. On Oguntokun Street, where the famous Empire Hotel once stood, there are about three motels housing dozens of prostitutes who hang around strategically and woo potential “customers” among passersby. “Number Six” is the first as you make your way into the street from the Jibowu axis, “Cool Corner” comes next, before, finally, “White House”.

Two of such places stand on the nearby Atan Street – Lido Hotel and “Seventeen Bar.” There are also a handful of chalets where people pay as low as N300 to have a “quick one” with any of the ladies parading the streets across the locality. But places like that operate in secrecy. Each motel is dominated by ladies from a particular ethnic group, according to the paper’s findings. At “Number Six”, it is prostitutes from Edo and Delta states that are in charge of proceedings.

Akwa Ibom “chics” take the lead at “Seventeen Bar”, while Igbo ladies are predominant at “Cool Corner” and “White House”. However, the setting at Lido is heterogeneous – the place is stocked with ladies from as many parts of the country as you can imagine. A round of sex in any of these spots starts

from N500. It could be higher for firsttimers, but less for those who know the terrain and understand when to force a “fair” bargain.

The prices of narcotics vary here, the same way the line-up is not uniform. A wrap of hemp known in local parlance as “igbo” starts from as low as N50.

The price changes with the quantity and grade. Another form of “smoke” the reporter found here is “skonk”. Addicts and peddlers told the magazine it is a higher grade of hemp made for a special class of smokers – those whose consuming power is more than normal.

A wrap of that goes from N200 – it is expensive but some of the patrons smoke up to five every day, according to Stainless whose friend deals in the illicit substance. But destructive and deadly as they are, it is not only hemp and “skonk” that have a large following across Empire and its environs. Other equally harmful drugs like “gum” and codeine mixtures are popular, too.

Many of these substances are cheap but extremely damaging to health. They are a common feature wherever you turn in the area.

The present situation of things here is not only a source of worry for some residents – parents especially. Individuals connecting their areas through Empire at night say they are bothered as well.

“Last week Friday, my handbag was taken from me when I passed through Okesuna Street around 9 p.m.

Somebody, I think a young guy, just came from behind and pulled my handbag. He told me if I shouted he would harm me with a bottle. So I kept quiet

because there was nobody there at that particular time. Before I knew it, another guy joined him and that was when I left the bag for them and ran for dear life. Where they passed after that time, I can’t tell. I have stopped taking that place to my house. Instead, I would pass through Ojuelegba and walk through the express to my house,” Chioma Nnachor, a 37-year-old trader, tells the reporter.

Apart from Nnachor, scores of individuals have lost items and valuables to hoodlums who hang around the area in the pretext of coming to have a good time at Empire. Frequent police raids have done only little to curb some of these crimes now escalating in this part of Lagos.

Pastor Isaac Abi-Abiola of the Nation Builders International Church, one of the numerous religious outfits in the area, believes nothing would change in Empire except the people themselves are willing to forsake their sinful ways. He told the magazine that there is nothing much they can do as a church to help drug addicts and those involved in immorality come out of their indulgence if the actors themselves are not willing to make sacrifices.

“There is nothing different in Empire when compared to Nigeria as a whole,” the cleric maintains. “Winning souls have to do with sharing the truth. How many people are really interested in hearing the truth, because the truth is largely bitter? People want their goals achieved but none of them is ready to pay the price. So how do you convince such people that there is a price to be paid to enjoy God’s blessings. That is the crux of the matter, not just in Empire, but Nigeria as a whole. It is a question of individuals disciplining themselves and offering their souls to God’s service.

“I have been given that impression several times that the area isn’t good enough for the image of the church but I throw it back to my learned friends to tell me where they have ever found that was dropped from heaven. Ikoyi and Lekki weren’t the way they are today in those days. It was people like you and me that stepped into those places and made them what they are today. So God isn’t going to come down to redefine Empire, to rebuild Empire. To be honest, Empire wasn’t like this from the beginning; somebody came in here, to be specific, Fela, and gave it the image it has today. He is no more here, so somebody also has to remake that image. If you now say this environment is not conducive for a church, so which other place is good to

site a church then? If Christianity is not about rewriting history, then what is it about?

“The truth is that all that is happening in Empire is just a small reflection of all that is going on in Nigeria as a country.

The major challenge is re-orientating the people. People’s mindset must change for progress to come, whether in Empire or Nigeria as a nation,” the pastor insists.

Ngozi Braide, spokesperson for Lagos State Police Command, told the paper that they are committed to ensuring that sanity thrives not just in Empire, but in every part of the metropolis. In a telephone chat with the reporter, Braide revealed that the frequent patrols by her colleagues around this part of Mushin are to ensure criminals do not go away with their sins.

“As you know, Mushin is a very sensitive part of Lagos and that is why you can see a lot of policemen patrolling the area day and night. We don’t want to give room to criminals at all. As for the drugs and prostitutes you are talking about, our men are dealing with the situation and I can assure that there is no cause for panic. The command has capable men to ensure safety and sanity in that area,” the police image-maker states.

Indeed, residents of this part of Lagos who do not subscribe to the terrible crimes and activities that take place unhindered every day would be hoping that a quick solution would be found any time soon. Many parents who spoke with the reporter expressed worry over how the environment is turning good children into bad eggs.

Curiously, it is in the same locality that foremost Catholic cleric – Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie – was born and raised before springing to global prominence. Strongman of Kwara State politics, Olusola Saraki, until recently, had his mother’s house standing on Oguntokun Street. Though, it has since been bought and demolished by its new owner, the Sarakis still have a number of properties in Empire – a testament to the calibre of people that had and still have dealings with this part of Lagos. But, sadly, it is the criminals within Empire and the sophistication of their crimes that have earned the area its notorious tag. Except far-reaching measures are taken and quickly, too, to address the long list of social problems in this suburb, there could be more troubles for residents and the dozens of drug and sex addicts who turn to it for momentary pleasures – pleasures that have proved far too costly for individuals and the community over the years.

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SATURDAY SUN

ASPIRE

October 20, 2012

Snaparazzi

Representatives of Network Alliance (A Socio Cultural/Politico-NGO) founded by the late politician,Engr.Olufunso Williams,recently,celebrated the 6th anniversary of his death at St.Paul Roman Catholic Church,Ebute- Metta,Lagos.

L-R: Dr.Remi Akitoye, Chief (Mrs.) R.Adeseye and Engr.O.Amosu

Late Engr.Funso Williams St.Gregory Classmates,Mr.Magnus Williams,right,and a guest.

Chief (Mrs.) R. Adeseye, left, and Mrs. Ariyike Fadahunsi

Officiating Priest, Rev. Jonathan Okafor

Cross-section of members at the events.

Dr. Olatokunbo Pearse, 2nd left with some members

Cross-section of women members.

Funeral ceremony of Madam Comfort Alaba Ojo at Salvation Proclaimers Gospel Church, Odo Ajaye, Ilesa, Osun State, recently.

Photos by BIODUN ADEYEWA

L-R: Pastor Mike Ademisoye, S.O. Adetitilayo and Pastor M.A. Ayantoyinbo

Pastor and Mrs. Olumide Ashaolu

Professor and Mrs. Maboyoje A. O. Aluko

L-R: Mr. Goke Olowe, Mrs. Arinola Olowe, Mr. Oladele Ojo and Moses Olarinre

Daughters of The Holy Spirit (DHS) Catholic Church, Osogbo Diocese

SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

39

Interview

George

‘Service, not money, motivates me’ Continued from page 33 first position. For him, we could take the first position in our class. As children, he would ask us whether those who came first had more than one head. I also was influenced by global icons involved in some of the major events in recent history. Nelson Mandela is one icon that influenced me greatly. I have never ceased to admire how he promoted an integrated South Africa. Despite all that, he went through in the hands of the apartheid lords, he wasn’t bitter. When he was elected as president, he worked with all the groups in the country. His reconciliatory posture is one of the reasons South Africa is one of the leading countries on the continent today. Aside from my father and Mandela, my greatest source of inspiration is Jesus Christ.

I believe in Jesus because of the principles he taught. He preached the importance of love and leaving in harmony with your neighbours. He preached that we shouldn’t judge our neighbours. I adopted these principles and this has helped me with my relationships. In life you need people to help you because no man is an island. But people won’t help you if you are proud, arrogant and judgmental. I have gotten help from many quarters because right from a young age I chose to be humble as instructed in the Bible.

Professionally, who are the people you look up to?

I would like to mention Mr. Wole Olufon who was my first boss. He is still in practice in Lagos. He taught me that you can be a lawyer and at the same time be a good Christian. Then, my judicial father is Justice Kayode Eso. In fact, I had the privilege of writing his official biography, Kayode Eso: The Making of A Judge. Reading Justice.

Eso’s judgments always inspires me.

He is a man with a mind of his own. He never was afraid to dissent from others.

Remember the twelve, two-thirds majority case between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari?

He wasn’t perturbed by the fact that the military was simply waiting to hand over. He stood alone; he had the courage of conviction to say that Shagari didn’t win the election. But he

gave his judgment without being offensive, because despite being a judge, he was a team player. He got along with all his colleagues in the Supreme Court.

My other mentor is Chief. Afe Babalola. He is like a father to me. He gave me tough assignments with short working time. When I complained about the short time within which I am to get back to him, he would say, “Yemi, you are a young man, you can finish the assignment in time”. Many times he asked me for my opinion on some of his cases in the Supreme Court for which he paid me generously. He recommended me for a number of jobs, including that of special assistant to the Attorney-General of the Federation. I also have an aunt in Lagos, Mrs. Dupe Adesote, who inspired me a great deal.

She and her husband always told me, “Yemi, you are number one”. They would often say, “Yemi, you are the best”. They always gave me a high reputation to live up to. I spent most of my holidays in her home and she treated me so well that it would have been difficult to convince people she is my aunt.

Not my mother. Finally, my wife, Laide contributed to what I am today. She had a master degree in Education when we got married but she returned to school to study Law. She told me she saw the need to assist me in running my firm while I continued with teaching and public service. I don’t think I would have succeeded in combining all three sides of my career if my wife didn’t assist me with managing my firm. She also is a good mother.

How is it like working with your wife?

It has been wonderful. I don’t have a problem with recognising superior intellect. My wife is brilliant. When she says this is the way this or that matter is headed, I might agree or disagree but I listen to her. For me, mutual respect is key to husband and wife working together. I don’t brush my wife’s arguments aside just because she is a woman. I don’t believe in looking over women just because of their gender. What really counts is how brilliant an individual is.

Many times women have shown that they can excel if given the opportunity, so my wife and I exchange ideas freely

in the office. It could be challenging sometimes but the advantages of having her in our chambers outweigh the disadvantages.

You and your wife have led a busy life. How did you handle the home front?

She literarily owns our firm. She is like most other chief executives who tailor their work schedule to suit their lifestyles. My wife goes to work every day to set an example, but hers is more of a supervisory role. Another thing that helped is that she has a lot of support coming from our domestic staff. I can tell you that our family life hasn’t suffered. We trained our children based on biblical principles. I also taught my kids with the way I carry myself. They see how I treat their mother, so they have no option but to respect her. Our children have turned out well. My daughter is in the Nigerian Law School, she will be called to the Bar next year by God’s grace. Her younger ones are doing well in the university.

Earlier, you mentioned that you took the advice of your first employer on how to remain a good Christian even as a lawyer. How were you able

‘From the outset I told myself service would come first, not money.

So, my expectation regarding money isn’t high. And when you don’t set high expectations on money, you won’t be disappointed. When it doesn’t come, you move on with life’

to keep away from temptation as a lawyer and lecturer?

I applied certain principles. For instance, as a lecturer I would never allow the door to be closed when I have a female student in my office. It goes beyond not engaging in the act, it is equally about not appearing to be engaged in the act. In fact, there have been instances when female students shut the door when they got into my office for one thing or the other, but I told them to open the door. You know, my wife schooled in the Law Faculty of the University of Ibadan the same period I lectured and we never had problems. We both trusted each other. The other way I was able to align my faith with my career is to highlight my priorities. My number one priority is to make heaven. I believe in the reality of heaven. I believe that once a man closes his eyes in death, he opens it where he will spend eternity. Where you spend eternity is determined by how you lived your life. This makes it imperative that whatever goes against my belief, I stay away from it even when I come across such things as a professional. I am also happy that there is a difference between sin and crime. Someone can escape the law due to technicalities or the fact he was never charged to court, but he will not be free of his sin unless he denounces his bad ways. Because I know the importance of bringing sinners to Christ, I have gone beyond handling briefs to settling matters among litigants. I had a client whose siblings fought over an estate left behind by their parents. Though they had promised to pay us our fees, I had to ask them why they were fighting each other. We reconciled the family and this again showed that you can remain a good Christian even as a lawyer.

“Lawyers are liars”, is a common saying in these parts. As one who avoids wrongdoing, even when it might help you excel as a legal practitioner, what is your take on this popular statement?

Yes, it is a common saying but it comes from laymen who don’t understand how lawyers do their job. For example, there is a case in court and the law dictates that you should take three steps to get what you seek and you take two steps, you won’t get what you are looking for. When the opposing lawyer points out your failure to the court, the next thing is for you to say that he lied, but he didn’t. We have the rule of law and everyone must abide by it, the lawyers and their clients inclusive. It is in our own interest that we all respect the rule of law, it is not enough for someone to accuse another person and he/she is jailed based on that accusation.

Acase must be proven beyond doubt in court. We cannot allow injustices, people being sent to prison due to false accusations stemming from prejudice and vendetta. I remember the case of a colleague who was retired prematurely from the university because her head of department didn’t like her face. When we got to court, the question was, “Where are the files containing queries that had been written to her?” There was none. When they couldn’t establish reasons she was retired, the court reinstated my colleague. Meanwhile, people went around spreading rumors that she was retired because of inefficiency and abuse of office. My client almost went crazy. But the court’s judgment got her back on track. In fact, the ViceChancellor was later sacked because my client wasn’t the only one who suffered from his actions. Many others did.

So you can see why the rule of law must be upheld? Even kings and presidents are subject to the rule of law.

Lack of substantial evidence is the major reason the Federal Government resorted to plea bargain to the anger of many. How much can the new Evidence Act help in improving the rate of convictions?

I must give credit to the current administration, because the Evidence Act promoted by it allows for the use of electronically-generated evidence.

Unlike before, the tape which you have

used in recording this interview is now admissible in court. We live in a digital age, so it is hard to believe that until 2011 digital evidence wasn’t admissible in court. You couldn’t bring a laptop to court to argue your case. An objection would have been raised over its admissibility. Up until last year, we were still using our evidence laws from the preindependence era. But now, with digital evidence, it will be easier for prosecutors to nail corrupt individuals.

How prepared are lawyers to use digital evidence?

It will take a little time for prosecutors to get used to the use of digital evidence. This is why my office is involved in training lawyers, judges and prosecutors on the use of electronicallygenerated evidence. The next step we should take is the digital recordings of proceedings in court. Judges take proceedings in long hand and that is why they get tired. It is no surprise that we have many adjournments on one case.

Another advantage of digital recordings of proceedings is that they serve as a master tape. Still talking reforms, we should also go into day-to-day trial of cases until conclusion. Thirdly, there must be reform of interlocutory appeal; it must not be possible to use an application to stop the trial from going on.

Let the interlocutory appeal be taken together and let the case be decided, then, you can go on appeal. Many cases have been delayed based on technicalities. We have to stop this. It is only in Nigeria that you can spend years dealing with an interlocutory appeal while the main case in stalled. By the time the main case comes up, many things will have changed, evidence is lost, the witnesses are gone and this doesn’t do us any good. This takes me to your question about plea bargain. It is a necessary case management tool. Plea bargaining is used even in countries like America where the government is ready to expend huge resources for the prosecution of cases. Nigeria doesn’t fund the anti-graft agencies well enough. One defence lawyer earns more than 10 lawyers in our anti-graft agencies.

Government lawyers don’t have the right tools to prosecute their case most times. They also have to deal with archaic laws. This is why Nigeria should take a good look at our judiciary, otherwise people will get disenchanted with democracy. People are not happy with the failure of government to try people accused of corruption. People with allegations of corruption hanging over their heads are walking free. Some of them have ended up in places where they are making laws for the country.

We just have to fund the anti-corruption agencies adequately, we have to pay their staff well, train them and if they still go ahead to take bribes that make them fail in their duties, then we can absolve ourselves of any blame. We can then say that we did our best to fight corruption.

You said our judiciary needs an overhaul due to the outdated laws that govern it. How soon do you see government responding to calls like yours?

We have an incredible opportunity with the coming to office of the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mrs. Mariam Aloma Mukhtar. She can do a lot with the right support. She is yet to announce her programmes. Her predecessor started out with his reforms, they were good but they weren’t far-reaching. As I said earlier, we can start with four things.

One is the admission of electronicallygenerated evidence, day-to-day trial, the reform of interlocutory appeal and the digital recording of court proceedings.

Talking about day-to-day trial, it can only be made possible in Nigeria when proceedings are digitally recorded and interlocutory appeal is reformed. Agood example of the beauty of day-to-day trial is the case of Conrad Murray, the man sentenced to four years in jail for Michael Jackson’s death. Such a highprofile case was dealt with within a short frame of time. The judge sentenced Dr. Murray within a frame of time.

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SATURDAY SUN

ASPIRE

October 20, 2012

literaryworld

with Henry Akubuiro hakubuiro@googlemail.com

08070965586

Bank whose book stunned Yoruba royal fathers

I

–Segun Adebiyi

have plans to re-publish Oba Adeleke and other books of yours over there?

Literature in Switzerland is about the best you can find around the world. The people are so informed and very enlightened that conceptual they read so much. When you walk into any motives bookshop and see a huge crowd, one may be behind the forced to assume that people are out there to book. grab some sort of product for gratis or probAlso, the ably a lottery jackpot. The queue to grab one book has got book or another is just very amazing. This enlisted into fact is known to so many good authors. As a the National result, they mostly seek for publishers to Library of have their works make their way to Swiss Nigeria book shelves not only because of the finanarchive. It cial or publicity footnote but partly to gain also was access to those who will appreciate their recently approved and works and also express explicit criticism.

When did it occur to you that you were cut Furthermore, the linguistic skill of an averincluded in out to be writer and how did you develop the school syl- age Swiss is above average and the country the talent? has a rich literacy tradition, which could be labus by the The ability to write came from my curiosFederal traced to its four national languages: ity to learn new things, acquiring knowlMinistry of German (73 per cent, central, northern and edge, trying to find out why things were the Education, eastern Switzerland), French (21per cent, way they were. In the process, I developed Abuja, for western Switzerland), and Italian (5 per the interest for reading and writing. As a academic use cent). The fourth official language, schoolboy, I was relatively in the frontline of of primary 4 Romansh, is spoken by a minority of less many academic activities back then. Now, I pupils in all than 1 per cent of the population, but has, still would not call myself a writer in that Nigerian nevertheless, a tradition of more than 2000 sense, though I could be on the right path. schools folyears in southeastern Switzerland and, apart lowing the from that, English is widely spoken throughWhat triggered the idea for Oba review and out the country. By and large, every citizen Adeleke…? recommenda- speaks a minimum of three languages. One There are two major reasons that motivattion by the could, then, equate this multilingual skill as ed my writing the book, the first being proNigerian one of the catalysts for measuring the enormoting and raising public awareness and Educational mous acceptance of literature there. appreciating our indigenous languages and and Research On whether we plan to re-publish the protecting them, as well as our culture and Development book in Switzerland, yes, we have such idea tradition from disintegration as a result of Council on the pipeline. In fact, the biggest bookcultural pollution. One major problem we (NERDC), store there is a major sponsor of Plight have in Nigeria today is bad governance, Abuja. The Africa Foundation, supporting us with book despite the knowledge and skills we acquire acceptance donations and other educational materials. on a daily basis. Study has shown that has really Nigerians are some of the most educated But the focus now is Nigeria. We have an been very people in the world. extremely bad reading culture in the country. overwhelmApart from Egypt, early African civilizaToday, every child wants to play video ing.

•Adebiyi tion started among the peoples of Nigeria, game, watch English Premier League, including the Benin Empire, Oyo Empire, You are also involved with an NGO, Plight Cartoon or just hang around. There is nothNri Kingdom, Kanem-Bornu Kingdom and, dren and adults. We have to enjoin children ing wrong is all these, but what are the evenas stakeholders in the campaign against cor- Africa Foundation. What’s your interest in tual mental benefit for children? in recent history, the Sokoto Caliphate, Jaja establishing the foundation? ruption and they have to be taught to have a of Opobo, and the rest of them. You now The interest was informed by my passion wonder how the cause of these deficits came good sense of direction and thorough underWhat are you working on next? standing about value and; through my book, to be a sort of blessing to the people around about in our system, given our track record Well, my next book project may be on the me –call it social responsibility, which, in of institutional capacity building and knowl- much about value can be learned. I intend vocabulary usage of words in Yoruba lanthe natural sense, we all need to be part of, using the book to sensitize, educate and edge acquisition. Poverty cannot be why we depending at what scale, that is, giving back guage for children and other Yoruba lanhave an alarming corruption rate in Nigeria, enlighten our children who are the future guage learners –simple words such as to the society. So, in my own little way, I leaders on the need to shun materialistic because, if you go to many African, Latin Microwaves, Fan, Internet, E-mail, Google, decided to participate in the area of educaapproach to life and the belief that amassing American and South East Asian nations, one Lubricator, Telescope, Parachute, Satellite, would begin to appreciate good governance wealth at all costs is the only way to sustain- tion by founding Plight Africa Foundation, Surgeon, Opener, Navigation-system, where we target remote demographic areas ability and happiness. in the midst of a pronounced poverty that Incubator, Refrigerator, Programming, where children do not have access to basis exists there. The second reason I wrote the You have suddenly become the toast of emi- education by setting a small library for them, Toaster, Table, Camera, DVD Player, book is to promote and raise public awarewhy lobbying the local governments in such Computer, Cursor, Mouse, Office-stapler, nent Yoruba royal fathers… ness about culture of reading. We have to, Library, Airport, Seaport, Governor, Petrol, areas to establish a primary school in such Yes, since its publication, the book has again, cultivate the culture of reading into Kerosene, Museum, among others, which been endorsed in several quarters unexpectplaces.

From our villages’ tours and experiour daily lives, and children are the most edly by many stakeholders, including school ence, some children as old as 16 years have would be pragmatically used in unadulterataffected in this regard. ed Yoruba language, because, as it is now, teachers, book critics and scholars. What’s never set their eyes on a pen or a book there are difficulties for the children using more, the Oodua Progressive Congress before, so also are some adults! So, just as Can you lead us into your fictional enterthose words in Yoruba, partly because their founder and President, Dr. Frederick several research indicators have shown that prise? children and women are the most affected in Yoruba equivalents are not yet in existence.

The book is an educative prose short story Fasheun, has also applauded the book. the human development index (and most of We may translate these words to other that propagates value versus materialism for Several Yoruba traditional leaders like the Alaafin of Oyo, HRM Oba Lamidi these people are found in the rural areas), we Nigerian languages if the demands arise and children between 10 and 13 years. Above Olayiwola Adeyemi; the Alake of Egbaland, are glad that we could help prepare the if we are able to mitigate with experts in all, it focuses on our children growing up Oba Adedotun Gbadebo; the Oba of Lagos, minds of those people to a formal education. those other Nigerian languages, who could not only to be useful to themselves but also Our focus also is to encourage parents to synergize with us at seeing this achieved. to contribute to their immediate environment Oba Rilwan Babatunde Akiolu; Akran of and the society at large –and the only way to Badagry, Aholu-Menu-Toyi 1; the Olofin of send their children to school, as education is The linguistic use of our local language has Ado-odo, Oba Lateef Adeniran Akanni; the gateway to poverty eradication and through do this is by identifying with their culture, been so much abused that we no longer see education already impoverished children ethics and value, as modern education alone Olu of Imashay, Oba Gbadebo Oni; the anything wrong in combining or borrowing Onilogbo of Ilogbo, Oba Olufemi Samuel may escape generational transfer of poverty. foreign language while communicating in does not amount to leadership or followership of integrity as we witness in our nation Ojugbele; the Ologba of Ogbaland, Oba our local languages which, on the contrary, Sanni Arolagbade Ashade; among other You have been in Switzerland for a while today. The book primarily teaches honesty, while speaking foreign languages is never royal fathers, have all fallen in love with the now. How is literature faring and do you truthfulness and humility among both chilacceptable. f you aren’t a famous political bigwig in the country and eminent royal fathers are just offering you an open door in their palaces, something must have given rise to the plenty hurrahs.

In just few months, Otunba Segun Adebiyi has been received by several Yoruba royal fathers, including the Alaafin of Oyo. It wasn’t because of his job as a banker in Switzerland; it was because of his sensational juvenilia, Oba Adeleke Alaso Eye, which has since been approved by the Federal Ministry of Education for use in Nigerian school curricula. The writer spoke to Saturday Sun on his sudden rise to fame.

SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

41

literaryworld Day Kaduna stood still for Okediran

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t was a most exciting experience for the guest writer, former ANA President, Dr. Wale Okediran, last Saturday, as the Kaduna State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors held its Annual October Lecture, in collaboration with the Kaduna State University, KASU. With the theme, “Literature and Developing Nigerian Political Culture,” the event held at the university’s Science Lecture Theatre.

Earlier on Friday, Okediran was formally received by the members of the state chapter together with the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Barnabas William Qurix.

The team, led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. A. K. Babajo, took a tour of some faculties and depart•Okediran ments of the university, including the Faculty of brief historical background and the objecArts, Department of English and Drama, tives of the annual lecture. Instituted and and the Department of Mass co-hosted by the ANA chapter and Communications. During the visit, Kaduna Writers’ League, KWL, in Okediran read from his latest novel, October 2006, he informed that “the lecTenants of the House. There were also ture was borne out of the need to create a poetry recitations by some ANA memspace for writers, academics, as well as bers. policy makers and members of the public The Saturday event began with a welto discuss the various ways through come address by the chairman of the which literature can enhance the growth chapter, Mr. Usho Smith Adawa, giving and development of healthy societies,”

expressing his gratitude to the university authorities for co-hosting this year’s edition, in addition to its regular assistance especially in providing venue for the annual event.

The chairman of the occasion, Col. JIP Ubah, a patron of the chapter, commended the organizers of the lecture for the choice of the theme and the venue, stressing that it was timely and a worthy exercise at this time when the nation needed direction. With writers as spokesmen and spokeswomen of our collective memory, he said, Nigeria needs literature as a developing nation.

In his paper entitled “An Overview of Nigeria’s Prose Fiction”, Dr. Alexander Kure, highlighted the prose tradition in Nigerian literature with particular reference to Okediran’s Tenant of the House, praising the novelist for his “dexterous use of alternate narrative techniques of the first-person narrator and the omniscient narrative in an engrossing, suspense-filled and highly informative manner to portray a nation in dire search of its lost soul”.

Mrs. Amina Ibrahim Yakowa, the wife of the state governor, who was represented by Mrs. Naomi Kish Adamu, wife of the Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice, commended the organizers of the event and pledged that the state government would continue to assist writers in their efforts towards creating a better society. In the same vein, the Vice Chancellor, represented by Dr. Hauwau Evelyn Yusufu, Director, Consultancy Services, pledged to continue collaborating with ANA to achieve the collective aim of promoting literature and national development.

Okediran’s citation was read by Mr. Zwahu Yanwaidi, a member of Kaduna ANA. So far, the writer has published

over ten books, including The Boys at the Border, The Rescue of Uncle Babs, Dreams Die at Twilight, Strange Encounters, and Tenants of the House.

Tenant of the House (2009) is a fictional account of some of the happenings in the National Assembly of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

When he took to the stage, Okediran read from specific portions that capture the essence of the 206-page novel. Of particular interest were the aspects dealing with the use of firearms by some politicians, even female politicians, and the involvement of the main character, a member of the House of Representatives, in the Fulani game of Sharo, a contest for the heart of a lady, in which contestants are ruthlessly flogged to prove their manliness. The punch line was the inability of the ‘Honourable’ to honourably win the game, as he couldn’t withstand the merciless lashing.

In the question-and-answer session that ensued sequel to the reading, the audience wanted to know if the stories were real, and what motivated the author to write such a book that apparently ridicules Honourable members of whom he is a part. He responded that the book is a work of fiction based on his experience of the antics of some of his colleagues in the House. Though it is not necessarily accounts of real happenings, the story captures the subject-matter, which is the political intrigue, the money-politics and moral decadence that have found a generous space in the roomy chamber.

The occasion was rounded off with the induction of Dr. A. K. Babajo as patron of the Kaduna State chapter of ANA, book signing by the guest writer, and vote of thanks by Mr. Fedelis Okoroebe, Vice Chairman of the chapter.

Greg Mbajiorgu’s play on climate change wins national award

By DENJA ABDULLAHI

W

ake up Everyone, a play by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka playwright, Greg Mbajiorgu, has won the Nigerian Universities Research and Development Fair (NURESDEF), which took place recently at the Federal University of Technology, Minna.

During the four-day event, the best and most recent research efforts and innovations from Nigerian universities were on display, including keynote lectures and series of lectures presented by guest lecturers.

The high point of the events was the presentation of awards and certificates to participating universities. The prizes awarded to the best individual or group works in Research and Development were in four categories: Humanities and Arts, Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences and Medicine, and Agriculture.

The host university took the first position in the overall prize, beating the defending champion, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to second position, with the Federal University, Lafia grabbing the third position.

In the Arts and Humanities Category, Greg Mbajiorgu’s drama on climate

change, Wake up Everyone, came tops in Arts and Humanities Research and Innovation at the fair. This year’s NURESDEF was organised and sponsored by the National Universities Commission, in collaboration with Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

Wake up Everyone, which was first experimented on stage in 2009 at the ATPS, Nairobi International Conference on Climate Change, seemed to have foreseen the flood ravaging the entire country today. Beyond warning about the impending flood way ahead of time, this play inspires us to change the way we relate to our environment and dramatizes some of the measures rural farmers can take to survive the threat of climate change.

Besides, Wake up Everyone is celebrated for amplifying the view points of rural dwellers on climate change adaptation issues and it is a theatrical demonstration of the complementarities between the sciences and arts on this subject.

Despite the fact that climate change is a complex subject for dramatists, Mbajiorgu’s experimental drama offers the best techniques for telling the story of climate change on stage in a manner that is bound to compel government and policy makers to take necessary actions. At

this period when flood is threatening our collective existence, the play is very essential and timely, because it suggests measures we can take to save our vulnerable coastal regions from total extinction.

The arts, theatre and dramatic arts in particular are central to community resiliency. In the face of natural disasters, like the flooding we are facing now, drama is a powerful force for recovery and healing, drama and the literary arts in general, serve as hallmarks of state innovation and progress.

The period seems to be very auspicious for the ecological and mono dramatist, Greg Mbajiorgu, a senior lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who, in September 2012, at Calabar, kicked off the 20th anniversary celebration of his monodrama, The Prime Minister’s Son, with a well publicized visit to the NYSC Secretariat, Calabar, Cross River State, where the play was conceived, written and premiered over 20 years ago.

That was preceded with a well-attended Play Reading Party 12 at the Korean Cultural Centre, Abuja, organized by Arojah Royal Theatre. A grand colloqui-

•Mbajiorgu um to focus on monodrama and other theatrical art forms in honour of Funso Alabi is being planned by the playwright for the first quarter of 2012 in continuation of the 20th anniversary of The Prime Minister’s Son.

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SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

Winning Ways

Addressing youth unemployment (2) Let's Talk Opportunities

DELE ABEGUNDE deleabegunde@yahoo.com 0807-788-7880

Starting extra mural classes As I watched the video of the four students of the University of Port Harcourt slain on the YouTube, and I saw that the people urging for the blood of those young men were youths like them, then it occurred to me that Nigeria is in trouble. Those young men and women have lost all emotional feelings for even those in their age group, one could imagine if it was a Senator or a Member of the House of Representatives or an Army officer that was being slain, the shout could have been more. It could have been a Minister, Commissioner, Governor or anybody that was being beaten to death. In the Nigeria of the past, one could have had groans or moans of opposition to that dastardly act, but no more, the love for our fellow men or Nigeria is dying and men and women who should help are living in veiled houses. We should go and read about Somalia, that once great trading nation and centre of eastern learning, it is virtually dead.

One of the reasons for this lack of feeling is the helplessness that joblessness engenders. We must rise to address this and proffer solutions. In all honesty there is enough in Nigeria for every one’s need, but there isn’t sufficient for everybody’s greed. I was in Akwa Ibom state a few weeks back, I was invited to speak at a function that took place in the two cities of Uyo and Eket, so I was there for about four days from Thursday to Sunday. I saw in Eket a very witty invention that provides cover from the rain for the motor cycle rider and the passenger. I had never seen any invention like that in Nigeria and my hosts told me that a company in Eket there, started that in January 2012. The umbrella cover for the motor cycle was made in the shape of a shield which tapered off at the back of the passenger.

This of course effectively covered the rider and it’s passenger from the elements. It was unique. I hope to write next week on the nations offering grants to individuals with unique inventions like this.

If the youths in Eket could bring such product into Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers and all those coastline states to sell, they will make it. Through out the period of my stay in Akwa Ibom state, it rained every day. It is a very viable product right now during the rains.

We have for the past four weeks been looking at the opportunities that could be tapped by all the youths from all the corners of our great nation and this we shall continue today. As I always said, there are peculiar opportunities that are particular to some states or areas, but the ones we have looked at, are those that any youth in Nigeria where he or she is in situ, could attack and prosper.

Extra Murral lessons are run for students in the primary, secondary and professional schools. For the primary schools, it helps them to be better prepared than their colleagues and especially when the National Common Entrance examina-

tion is in view. Parents are ever willing to pay that extra to give their wards a boost. For the secondary school students, it helps them to prepare for an array of examinations ranging from WASCE to NECO and the rock of Gibraltar, JAMB and post UME. Finally, for the professional examinations, they range from the Bankers exams, to ICAN, IPM and several others. The caveat in this last one is that you must be professionally proficient yourself before you can dabble into any of it. So let us concentrate on those for the starters.

These classes could be run by a group of unemployed youths with expertise in English, Mathematics and one or two other subjects that are not too technical and even where technical, make that person, a partner too. Draw up an agreement on the terms of your partnership, how it would be run, what each person will be required to bring in, the services to be rendered and the benefits to be derived from the partnership. If you can’t afford the services of a lawyer ab initio, draw up a reference document and thereafter perfect it as soon as you could. To avoid immediate overhead, you could use the house or apartment of one of your parents ( that could be someone’s contribution), then advertise your classes by writing it on a black board in front of that property as well as go to the primary and secondary schools in your locality. And finally on Friday or Sunday, advertise it to parents in your local mosque or church. It is very likely some of these parents would know you and your antecedents while growing up which could be a plus.

A date must be set for the take off and try as much as possible to ensure that you take of.

Teach them the curriculum and syllabus that prepares them for these exams and you are in business. Even if you choose to go it alone, the steps enumerated should also be exploited. You will not believe how much parents are ready to sacrifice to assist their wards gain a head start ahead of the others. Be civil to the students as well as their parents and occasionally during the hot seasons, avail them once in a while with soft drinks, you will not believe the miracle of the soft drinks and what it will do to your referral before other classmates and even parents.

Education is prime investment that parents are never shy to put money into when the product is good. As your students begin to gain placements into the secondary schools and universities, advertise them on your notice board, especially if you are competing with others in your locality.

Even, if you are not, while soliciting for the parents to send their wards to you, tell me of your record. I went to such lessons while growing up and honestly it gave me a head above my classmates and I was one of the two that secured admission into Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti from my primary school. The other mate who is late now, attended the same home (extra mural class) lesson with me. These extra lessons helped and are still helping.

The reason why it is suggested is because there are students all over Nigeria, so to get the raw materials is not difficult, even in the most rural village in Nigeria, you will get your students. Secondly, this service which my father ensured that I got over forty something years ago is still needed tomorrow and for as long as babies are made and born. Thirdly, starting is not too capital intensive. Once the accommodation could be sourced and please ensure that it is free, one will not need more than ten thousand ( N10,000.00) Naira for the initial take of.

I am talking sincerely, it is only when you begin to add so many products that the cost goes up. If the basic is for the student to come with the exercise book, pencil or a ball point pen or even slate, and you teach from the curriculum and syllabus, you don’t need more than that to take of. Just like food, water and clothes, education is life to a growing child.

Key into your own position there and you will not believe that you are soon out of the unemployment market.

Next week I will work on the countries and companies world wide that sponsor witty inventions, no matter where your country is located on this globe so that the youths that have novel ideas could add commercial value to them. Till then, Let us begin to love one another as Nigerians again.

Good old days?

Touch the Sky

PAAGO ALEELE IMABEL aleelepaago@yahoo.com, 08023620564

Do you believe yesterday was better than today? I don’t. It is one piece of conventional wisdom I have voluntarily dumped. How can anyone say yesterday was better than today when they had no internet, no Ipad, no BB, dvd or 3D TVs? Please show me an era where there was no corruption or when men did not kill or any of the other vices people are prone to throw about as the reason yesterday was great. It doesn’t exist. Without doubt, tomorrow will be greater than today. There will be more possibilities and that will bring more challenges too, but there is no way today can be greater than tomorrow.

That settled; now let’s get down to a very critical difference between yesterday and today: the order of things.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt the argument of the good old days came up. It did not matter that they had experienced God in a dimension even Abraham never did. It did not matter that they had ahead of them the greatest of promises to literally walk into.

They stayed focused on the conventional wis-

‘The leaders of this country do not have the solution to our national problems any more.

That belonged in the good old days. And I am talking about all cadres of leadership – political, spiritual, economic, community and family leaders’ dom of the good old days.

This was one of the greatest challenges that God faced in the well orchestrated national birth. Why do you think God had to bury Moses at an unknown location? Exactly the same reason that Obama decided to bury Osama in an unmarked spot at sea. Because people tend to go back into the past, the icons of the past eventually become stronger than they were. Sango was a powerful man until he died, then he became a god. The Israelites would have continued to go back to Moses’ grave to seek direction. They would take the rod and use it for divination purposes. God knew and decided to eradicate it. He brought a new and better order with Joshua.

It is the first example of generational change that I want you to consider. Moses

did all his miracles with the rod. With it he parted the Red Sea, caused water to come out of rock, brought darkness and hail on Egypt and all those other terrible miracles that clearly established that God was at work. But that was just a beginning and anyone who thought that was God’s best hasn’t seen anything.

Enter Joshua. As they stood at the verge of the Jordan, the Israelites looked and wondered. How they longed for the good old days, when Moses would have just stretched a rod and the sea would part. But Joshua simply walked into the raging river and the water ceased to flow. Creating dry land downstream! No wonder the bible says after that event, Joshua was greatly magnified in the eyes of the Israelites. He would not stretch a rod against Jericho, he would walk around it.

His commissioning was clear – ‘wherever the sole of your feet shall walk upon, you shall possess.’ What Moses would do with a rod, Joshua would do with his feet. How foolish would it have been for Joshua to try to act like Moses and create a rod for himself? He was not afraid to step out of the shadow of the Big Boss and to become his own person.

Are you held back by the icons and successes of yesterday? There is a new order.

When Jesus came to earth, his ministry started off with a very insignificant event that is laden with meaning. If there were a planning committee to launch his ministry they would have organized a miracle galore: probably they would have asked that the sun go round in circles in the sky for a whole day.

Or they would have made rain fall upwards from the ground. They would have planned something really spectacular. After all we are talking about God’s son, the second person of the Trinity. The miracle should befit his status. But while the planning committee was deliberating on which miracle will best launch the public image of Jesus, the Savior turned water into wine!

Gosh! Anybody could have done that?

Zobo and Nutri C serve the same purpose.

But Jesus had a lesson buried in that “simple” miracle (if there is anything like that).

The people were longing for the good old days, when an Elisha would have thundered and called the bluff of Herod. But the order of things has changed.

You will find the new order in John 2:9 and in Luke 3: 1-2. Luke is really graphic. He starts at the top – from Tiberius Caesar (in Rome) and lists the most powerful politicians and rulers of the day. Then he goes on to list the most powerful religious leaders of Israel and ends with a statement that shook the entire Jewish kingdom then and now… “the word of God came to John in the wilderness.” Who was John? A nobody by political or religious reckoning; a servant by heaven’s reckoning.

Now go back to John 2:9. The chairman and special guests at the feast had no idea where the wine was coming from, “BUT THE SERVANTS KNEW.” Does it strike a chord? Jesus came to reorder the structure and he was going to institute servants as the new kings. Nobodies would now be used to confound somebodies, the foolish will now baffle the wise. How else would the word of God bypass the High Priests and go to a mere man in the wilderness? Jesus taught and lived this principle and heightened it at the feet-washing episode just before his death.

The leaders of this country do not have the solution to our national problems any more.

That belonged in the good old days. And I am talking about all cadres of leadership – political, spiritual, economic, community and family leaders. Today, servants/children are the ones holding the keys to our national salvation. The challenge is that the servants are ignorant of this or they are bound by the icons of yesterday. They are held back trying to do things the way they have always been done. We are trapped in the conventional wisdom milieu. Who will break free from this mould?

You are the one. One reason why good things fall apart is for great and better things to fall in place. The power of change is in your hands. There is no better time to be alive than today.

SATURDAY SUN

October 20, 2012

ASPIRE

43

Winning Ways 1000

business books you must read before you die

By ERIC DUMO

Your cutting edge for tough situations Max McKeown’s new book, Adaptability: The Art Of Winning In An Age Of Uncertainty, harnesses the essence of human survival — the ability to adapt — to help people succeed in business and all other aspects of life. He draws on millions of years of evolution to create a practical and strategic set of rules that take adaptation from an involuntary coping strategy to a deliberate winning strategy. Adaptability proves that innovation is important but not enough. The ability to adapt smarter and faster than the situation changes is what makes the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.

McKeown is indeed an interesting fellow, definitely not your run-of-the-mill business guru. In this book, Max wants to show you that adaptability is a far greater concept to understand than the normal branding, strategy, operations, marketing, etc.

This is the sixth book on his bookshelf and a bit of a departure from his normal focus of innovation as the driver for the future. Innovation is far from the focus as the author points out that strategy innovation and in fact adaptability are the three main areas of focus for business and perhaps success in other spheres of our daily lives.

Max states, in this book, that his biggest interest is how people “move beyond the rules” to find new games and new ways to win; or to adapt. Divided into thirds, Adaptability takes you through examples of adaptation through time and circumstance. Discovering how people saw (or

‘The ability to adapt smarter and faster than the situation changes is what makes the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win’ didn’t see) that adapting was necessary, recognizing what method of adaptation

There’s always a place for you in life The greatest tragedy on earth is not death but a life without purpose.

There are many people on earth that have never discovered the purpose why they are born. To this set of people, life is a game of chance. They live without knowing the purpose for their existence. In this world, I have come to discover that it is not everybody that is living; some just exist.

There is a need to sit down, think, discover and locate your place in life. It is in locating your place in life that you can get your allocation in life.

The problem with many people in life is their wrong location. Do not say it does not matter location. Do not say it does not matter where pone finds oneself. Just do your best. The truth is that your best will not show when you are wrongly positioned. Do not sit with the wrong people; do not sit at the wrong place. If you do, you will not fulfill your destiny.

There is always a place for you in life.

This means there is a vocation, career, job, occupation you are created for. Locating your place in life, occupying the place and making the best of it is the surest way to success in life. Imagine, some people are gifted to become successful artisan, but they are looking for white-collar jobs. Some are talented to be successful in a vocation such

as fashion designers, builders, mechanics, traders, but they never discover their place in destiny, hence they live unfulfilled life.

There are graduates of different levels of education that remain a failure until the day they discover and locate will lead and land you in a wrong situation.

To make it in life simple. To be a success, you must locate your place, associate with the right people and do what you ought to do at the right time. When you are with the right people, in the right place at the right time and in the right place at the right time and in the right vocation, your breakthrough comes easily.

At this juncture, I need to remind you that the main reason why many people are not succeeding in life is that they live in a wrong place. Many people that live in major Nigerian cities today are living in a wrong place, and this is the major reason why they remain a failure. There are people who travelled overseas in the quest for greener pasture and breakthrough but they are living in a wrong place. Not all people that travelled overseas succeed. The main thing is to ask your maker, God, the question of your place, in life. Believe me, the sky is not a limit to your achievement, breakthrough and success in life if you can locate your place, occupy your place, remain focused in your place.

Consider God’s creatures: the birds in the air are fed and catered for because they remain in the sky – their God-ordained habitat. Likewise, the fish live in water and they do not lack at all, simply because they remain in their place and their allocation gets to them. What of the other animals in the bush? They remain in their place of location and they are provided for. Do you know that it is the wild animal that leaves its place that is always exposed to the danger of being killed? If only you will locate your place in life, remain focused and get yourself developed, your allocation will come to you in abundance.

The following questions will help you in knowing your place of location in life so that you can always have your life allocation. Ask the following questions and provide the answers: Who am I? What is my talent? What do I enjoy doing? What do I naturally find easy doing? What are the things that turn me on whenever I am doing them? Where do I belong? What do I need in life? What is my life goal? What gives me fulfillment in life?

Genuine answers to these questions will enable you locate your place in life, and once this is done, remain focus and you will surely succeed.

Before I conclude this piece, let me give you nuggets that will enhance your success

was or would have been beneficial, and then how to take that information and make changes in the future to plant seeds for future adaptation.

The number of points made throughout this book was massive, seventeen rules in three sections. At times, there was too much to take in. Honestly, there were many moments of information overload.

Two of the more resonating moments for me in the book were around recognizing an adaptation is needed (Rule 5 Stability is a dangerous illusion) and understanding the right adaptation for what “ails ya” (Rule 9 Free radicals). To tell the truth, there were far more than two of such moments.

Rule 2, Embrace unacceptable wisdom, reminded the author so much of his father.

A man he looked up to for his curiosity and tenacity in the business & chemistry worlds. The gist, if you rely on conventional wisdom, you might miss out of the opportunity to adapt. Listening to the radicals and rebels might just help you see opportunity, which is really the seed of adaptation. My father always used to say, “Never listen to those who say you can’t, listen to those who say, let’s find out.”

Would I recommend this book to others?

Without a doubt, yes, I would recommend this book. Would I just recommend it for business types? No, this book has much in the way of those interested in sociology and anthropology equally. Trust me, there are something like three to five examples from the near and far history to show how people and business have adapted and ended up on top.

Success Tips

DADA Z.I. (The Educator, 08028471149, 07029309472) Dadazi2000@yahoo.com

in your place of location: (1) Decision (2) Defining your goals (3) Acquainting yourself with God (4) Self-development (5) Discipline (6) Truth and Honesty (7) Associating with good and quality people (8) Hard work (9) Excellence (10) Devotion.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. Therefore, locate your place today in order to get your share of God’s wealth and blessings for mankind on earth. Meet me next week for another Success Tips, Remain Blessed.

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SATURDAY SUN

ASPIRE

Back of the Book

October 20, 2012

Arts

African woman: Asuelime thrills audience with JOAW

The cast on stage

By SAM ANOKAM Though the audience was entertained at different scenes last Sunday at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, it was still thrilled to a rare stage performance of an all female cast.

The theme and the message for the occasion was still the same.

The message: Influence of tradition and culture in a changing world on women.

The play, Journey Of An African Woman, JOAW, for two hours traffic, showed the audience the transition of an African woman from youth through adolescence to adulthood, with stage performance of different problems facing the African woman.

Anchored on the three generations of the African woman, the play explained the epochs as the generation with the plight, the generation that reacted and the generation that compelled to inherit the consequences.

Laced with songs and dance, the journey of an African woman tells the story of different women showing different conditions of the African woman, what they go through in different categories of life-a widow; a career woman; a material woman and much else.

Important issues like relationship, prejudice, self centredness, deprivations among others were depicted. For instance, a

A performer on stage

Michael Asuelime, the director Christian lady in love with a Muslim man had to face the dilemma of her belief, family pressure and her conviction. The trauma of a hardworking, well to do woman who had to contend with pressure from her family over the jobless state of her unemployed husband who is from another tribe or is it the deprivation of a woman who lost

her husband and had to prove her innocence as well as face the stark reality of losing everything she struggled with her late husband to acquire to his family.

There was no dull moment as there was good stage balance even as the entire drama did not witness any form of stage wait.

Also there were few and useful prop, good delivery of lines and

adequate setting depicting different stages of life.

Pleasant as it was to watch with great and exciting displays from Iretiola Doyle, Uzor Osimkpa, Aduke among others, Journey of an African Woman is not totally representative of the plight of women in the entire continent. Apart from the Zulu war dance from South Africa done by kids, nothing suggests to the audience that an Egyptian, Somalian, Kenyan or even Senegalese was represented. In all, JOAW is a delight. The narrators were particularly useful by allowing the audience to reflect on the performance.

For the award winning writer, producer and director, Michael Asuelime, the play was inspired

by what his mother went through in the name of tradition and culture, all because she is a wife. “JOAW to me is the interpretation of the plight, reaction and repercussion of a woman living in the African context. Her life is filled with music, dance and drama.

I have nothing against tradition and culture but it can be more female friendly. Last year I talked about content and this year, contact, you can feel what I intend to talk about next year. I am happy about the turn out. That tells you that stage is all.

Though you cannot force your opinion on people, I think more information and awareness need to be disseminated concerning stage plays.�