Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Fela Kuti, Dim Ojukwu, Two men, One great Legacy

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If you can’t fix them, leave them!

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti {Img: NatGeo}

NewsRescue- It initially seems odd, that these two remarkable, great men, could leave a single, same legacy. One,- the most famous Igbo man in history, worldwide, and the other, no doubt the single most famous Yoruba name in history, for all times and worldwide. Fela is now honored in the US (which he even despised), with a popular Broadway show, ‘Fela on Broadway’.

What common legacy did these two great visionaries from Nigeria leave?- They, were crusaders of progress, of strong African determination. They saw the fine line Africans must tread to restore the continent to its position as world leaders, and when they fought to take the Nation along- Ojukwu as a prominent political General of the Nigerian post independence army and Fela also a General, but with music his weapon of choice- both men decided that if you can’t fix them, leave them.

Emancipate yourselves

Bob Marley song and quote

If you can not take Nigeria along, drag it out of its desire to be a carcass, a colonial tool and toy, wrapped up in all the colonial twines of decadence, greed, corruption, enmity, divisionism and destruction; you must free yourself from it. In airplanes, we are advised to first put on our mask, before trying to assist other passengers, and this was their very principle and legacy.

Ojukwu carved out his region, a region of people he knew would listen and take Nigeria the direction he had envisioned it should go as proper African- and not just- but also world leaders. He carved off Biafra republic and gave his people independence from the baggage that was Nigeria. His Nation had discipline, peace, recognition of the sense of communal belonging, appreciation for themselves and love of their Nation.

Fela carved out and gave his people an independent Nation- Kalakuta republic. An independent Nation within that baggage that was Nigeria. His people had respect for law and order, patriotism, a sense of communal living and belonging and true loyalty and pride to the Kalakuta republic. Traits missing in the larger Nigeria.

Within these two Nations, both pragmatic men at last had a chance to self determine and direct the ship in a sensible direction, away from the decadence and chaos of colonization, away from continued slavery and servitude to the whims and wishes of the colonial master, away from the hate, greed, tribalism and animality that was inherited from the divide-and-conquer and exploit weapon of colonization.

Ikemba Dim Ojukwu

At independence, Ojukwu had said that at last he saw a chance for Nigeria. He saw a bright future of greatness, being freed of the bondage’s of the European. He could see a bright light ahead, and ‘he tiptoed’ on ‘his mark’, to demonstrate how he thought Nigeria and its new leadership were ready to sprint forward to greatness. To his dismay, year after year after independence, he realized he was the only one who had that vision. Everyone else was sleeping. Myopic, vision-less and in a deep retrogressive slumber. And when he recognized that no one was ready to take Africa where it should go, in 1967 Dim Ojukwu liberated Biafra. {Watch Video at 3.01 as Ojukwu declares this: http://youtu.be/J3ReFoFp0Gs } The Biafra civil war was so unique in world history, 30 months of war that ‘Doctors without borders’ was established due to the needs of this unique struggle.

Both Nations destroyed by Obasanjo

Fela described the predicament of Nigeria thus- that in a country that is blind, and that has only a single eye. This single eye, they borrowed from the colonial master, and this eye, this single eye is only a photocopy of an eye borrowed from the colonial master, that is passed around to see by all citizens of Nigeria. He, Fela, had two original, pure African eyes, which he used to see. Fela fought to take people along. He sang prophetic songs- still just coming to pass, self determination songs, revolution songs, but few listened. He was attacked, his republic razed, his mother murdered by the longest serving president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, coincidentally the same individual, the army commander at the time, that destroyed Ojukwu’s Biafra. But Fela maintained independence for his people.

Politics

Both patriots, as Ojukwu in his last statement of how he wished to be remembered described himself, recognized at a point that- if the ‘hopeless’ democratic system was what had to be contended with to make change, then they will lead by example and fight with this tool to show the masses that no way is too senseless and no system too impossible to breech in order to make change. Both visionaries vied for presidency, but lost, because the masses are ‘lost’.

Related- Democracy Fails Africa

Legacy of Love

The legacy’s of Fela and Ojukwu teach us one thing among many- That we should never give up our quest to save our people, but most importantly, that we must start that process by saving ourselves. To love others, we must first establish and love ourselves. If we are drowning, how do we pull the rest continent up? We must first carve out a region of sanity, a region of sense, or moral discipline and uprightness for ourselves. Biafra republic was Ojukwu’s attempt, and Kalakuta republic was Fela’s. Regions they could contain and control and determine. For us, we may start with ourselves, first ensuring we ourselves are sensible, sane, reasonable and emancipated. Then we move ahead to liberate our families, communities and so on. Not out of hate for others, further than our immediate republics, but as a means to show an example of what sanity looks like, and then ultimately as a means to assist those other regions and the greater Nation and continent, to rise, safe and secure from the fangs of the evil that is intricately wound up in the fiber of our post-colonial existence.

Fela on Broadway, show by Jay Z Carter, Will Smith, Jada etc

NewsRescue

Bush's blocked artery was potentially life-threatening

Linda CarrollNBC News contributor

Video: Getting regular checkups is important — even for those who are already active and asymptomatic, such as former president George W. Bush. Exercise alone isn’t a guarantee against developing heart disease, and doctors need to make sure blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol are regularly monitored and checked. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports.

George W. Bush was one of the most athletic U.S. presidents -- jogging, clearing brush on his Texas ranch and an avid mountain biker. But his recent heart problems were a lot more serious than previously thought, according to NBC News.

What was described at the time as a routine procedure -- a blocked artery was found during a physical exam at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas -- was potentially life-threatening, according to a report in the National Journal Monday.

Bush's doctors ordered a CT angiogram, which revealed a serious blockage in one of his coronary arteries.

At his doctor's recommendation, Bush agreed to have a stent placed to open the blockage. A stent is a metal scaffolding placed into an artery narrowed by cholesterol plaque. It restores blood flow and prevents a heart attack.

While Bush’s situation was more dangerous than reported, the presence of a heavily blocked artery doesn't mean he was at risk of an immediate heart attack, say doctors who were not involved in the former president's care.

“You can get along very well with some tight narrowings,” said Dr. Jeff Brinker, an interventional radiologist and a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

When blockages develop over time, our bodies can fashion their own kinds of coronary artery bypasses, Brinker said. Other nearby blood vessels form connections that take on some of the workload of the blocked artery. Often, when a patient gets a stent you’ll see those connections almost instantly disappear, Brinker said.

The presence of a major blockage "doesn’t mean you are going to drop dead or have a heart attack the next day,” said Dr. Howard Hermann, a professor of medicine and director of interventional cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. “There are other factors that go into the decision of whether to put a stent in, including where the blockage is, how fast it developed, whether there were symptoms, what the stress test showed and others.”

Still, it’s possible that while Bush may not have reported any problems before the stress test, he may have had subtle symptoms. It’s not uncommon for patients, after a diagnosis, to recognize they were having symptoms, Hermann said. “In retrospect they may have thought it was a muscle pull or heartburn, or they may have started slowing done without realizing they were doing it to prevent symptoms,” he added.

And even though Bush was physically fit, doctors say years of unhealthy food choices can lead to heart disease. "Exercise is not a guarantee against developing heart disease," said Dr. Chet Rihal, Mayo Clinic. "Therefore it is very important to keep in touch with our doctors to make sure our blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol are regularly monitored and checked."

NBCNews

Why Yoruba Shouldn’t Be Called A Tribe But A Nation….

By: Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

One of the most unfortunate aspects of not being properly educated is the fact that those that suffer from that affliction often accept everything that their slave and colonial masters and ethnic overlords tell them and, without thinking, they swallow the fables and labels hook, line and sinker.

CHIEF Femi Fani-Kayode

When a supposedly educated person insists on labelling a nation of highly advanced people, who have existed for thousands of years as a distinct race, who have had their own empires, who are the most educationally and culturally advanced on the African continent, who have a singe language with approximately 20 different dialects within them, who have contributed more to the industrial, commercial and intellectual growth of Nigeria than any other, who have a rich and illustrious history and heritage which few in Africa can match, who number at least 50 million in Nigeria alone and who constitute the largest number of African people living in the diaspora on earth, whose people have spread all over the world and have strong historical, cultural, religious and ethnic roots in Benin Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, America, the U.K. and many other places, whose people have settled into and legitimately lay claim to Ilorin, Kaaba and other parts of northern Nigeria, whose offspring and progenitor established many kingdoms including the Bini Kingdom, whose pantheon of gods and traditional religion of ifa is respected and practiced in many parts of the world, whose historical, philosophical, religious and cultural contributions to Ancient Egypt are well known and well documented, whose level of sophistication and exposure to the knowledge of western education is second to none and whose sense of liberalism, justice, decency, hospitality and fairness is not understood, appreciated or reciprocated by any other ethnic group or nationality in Nigeria and so much more and that supposedly educated person still insists on calling such people, despite their sheer numbers and their homogenous geographical setting, a mere “tribe” then you know that that person is truly ignorant.

You may call others a tribe if u so choose but not the Yoruba.

We number as many people as almost the whole of the UK or France and far many more than three quarters of the countries on the European continent and our history dates back as far as that of the Celts, Normans, the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.

NewsRescue

Saturday, 28 September 2013

Miss Philippines crowned the new Miss World

By CNN Staff

Miss World 2012, Yu Wenxia crowns Megan Young of the Philippines as the new Miss World during the grand finale of the Miss World 2013 beauty pageant held at Bali Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday, September 28. "No words! Thank you so much for everyone for choosing me," said Young. "I promise to be the best Miss World ever." Miss France Marine Lorphelin, left, took second and Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, took third.

HIDE CAPTION

Miss World 2013: Top 5 finalists

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Miss Philippines Megan Young is crowned Miss World
She was born in the United States
The 23-year-old is an aspiring filmmaker

(CNN) -- A new Miss World was crowned Saturday, and though she competed as Miss Philippines, she hails from the United States.

Megan Young, 23, an aspiring filmmaker, took the top honor at the competition, held in Bali, Indonesia.

"No words! Thank you so much for everyone for choosing me. I promise to be the best Miss World ever," Young said.

Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, and Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, were second and third runners up, respectively.

Megan Young, seated, is crowned Miss World 2013 on Saturday.

Miss world sparks controversy

Young was born in the United States and moved to the Philippines at age 10, according to her biography.

The new Miss World is a college student who has appeared on screen as an actress and presenter since she was 15.

Young wants to move behind the camera and become a director, according to her bio.

Miss World's 127 contestants competed in beach fashion, fitness, world fashion, talent and "Beauty with a Purpose" meant to honor charitable work. The top 10 models -- from Ukraine, South Sudan, Brazil, the Philippines, France, Cameroon, Cyprus, England, Italy and the United States -- were announced earlier this week.

Protesters in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, denounced the event.

In an attempt to appease religious concerns, the pageant scrapped the swimsuit competition and replaced it with less-revealing beachwear attire.

Also, the finals were originally to be held on the outskirts of Jakarta, but protesters forced the event to relocate to the Hindu resort island of Bali.

CNN's Neda Farshbaf, Mary Primiano, Kathy Quiano and Madison Park contributed to this report.

CNN

How ASUU Strike Turns Female Students Into Prostitutés

It is no news that many students take up part-time jobs while studying at this or that university. Such practice is encouraged and offers many benefits. However, the ongoing ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities') strike has seemingly brought a new meaning of the "part-time job" notion for some female undergraduates.

Since the strike left the universities almost empty, these girls, known also as 'Olosho,' now earn their living by offering séx to various men. 'Home service,' 'short time,' 'body for ground,' 'cash for hand,' and 'séx for money,' this is how they call what they do among themselves.

There are different types of university commercial séx workers: their 'packaging' and 'swag' determine which category of men they service.

Their expencive and often indecent attire singles them out on campus during the day, their body language attracts customers.

Thanks to the strikes, these girls can now carry out their 'duties' full-time, in private hostels and especially in accomodations within the university axis.

The activity peaks are usually from Thursday through weekend, when men pick the girls up with their cars.

Moremi, Fagunwa Hall and Madam Tinubu Hall (MTH) are considered to be the hottest séx spots among the University of Lagos female hostels.

All you need to call a UNILAG prostitute is a blackberry phone, a car and some cash to spend.

One 300 level girl in the Psychology Department spoke thus: "I no fit go runs [part-time prostitution], if motor no dey, na the client go organize how dey go carry us. Sometimes if I go clubbing, from there I fit follow man go for overnight runs, and I know how much I go carry commot."

Another girl says: "For me, parole no dey like that before, it's just roadside. I try stopping vehicles and any interested man will pick me. At the end of the groove, I come back with something like N10,000 or N20,000 depending on the consumer."

Also, there is a trend among female students in the university hostels to sell their bed space, and use the money to get an accommodation in a private hostel. Some rent apartments with the money they get.

Before hitting the roads to perform séx acts, many girls consume alcohol for encouragement.

A 100 level female student in the English Department says, "The truth is, that there's nobody to take care of us, and I have a daughter to cater for. It is part of this money I use to send her to school. At times, I leave Lagos to Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ibadan, Edo, depending on the pay. I'm doing all this just to raise money for her upkeep."

Another students, 200 level in English Education Deparment, says, "I risk my life to travel as far as Jos and Abuja, and I spend at least two weeks, depending on the agreement I strike with my client. Most of the time, I follow my client around over there under the pretence that I am his personal assistant."

What is more, these students-turned-séx-workers also go to bed with their lecturers -- to get higher marks. It is said that girls who sleep for grades are organised, work and move together. They hardly attend lectures but make fantastic results at the end of the day. Some people state that female students even pay the lecturers after having séx with them.

The security guards at private female hostels say that girls go out at night and come back in the early morning hours, so no one would ever guess they had spent the night somewhere else.

When there is a gathering of politicians or government officials, the girls use social media to solicit for wealthy prospective male clients.

Some girls are lucky enough to get a laptop, a phone, or a set of jewellery as a gift. Sometimes, however, they are beaten up by clients or left unpaid.

Investigation has also revealed that some students still get involved in runs after graduating if job opportunities are poor. They buy bed space like students and stay with the ones they have trained on campus. Most of the experienced séx workers never think of getting married; instead, they turn into 'sugar mommiés'.

TON

Agba Jalingo - EVEN IN THE TEMPLES, THERE ARE NO SAINTS, BEST MEN ARE ONLY FOUND IN WEDDINGS

Many have asked me why I am supporting the emergence of APC. Some also say I am making a wrong judgment because there is no difference between the APC and PDP which we all accuse of misrule.

No doubt, when you find a Tinubu and a Buhari (Mai Gaskiya as he is fondly called by his teeming Talakawa supporters), two men who represent two different ideologies in one political party, when you find Senator Ahmed Yerima Bakura, a man stoutly canvassing child marriage and a Femi Fani Kayode who is standing criminal trial for embezzlement of public funds in a party that is talking about change, it calls for caution in the level of optimism that the public should have in that kind of association.

Never the less, I have ruminated on the matter and examined even the best of the examples that we can present anywhere in the world that no political party or association anywhere in the world is populated by saints. The gathering where angels are members exists only in Heaven.

Neither the Democrats nor Republicans in America are saints nor Labour, Conservatives or Liberal Democrats in the UK. Even the Communist hegemony in China has seen recent prosecution and life sentencing of former top shots, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Xi Lai.

Best men are only found in weddings and politics is not a wedding ceremony. Even in the Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues and Shrines, there are not gathering of saints. Rather, there are congregations of broken pieces looking for perfection, how much more for political parties that are comprised of variegated tendencies.

I recall vividly how I attended several meetings at Senator Shitta Bay’s Jabita Hotel, Lagos in the months preceding the formation of the merger party.
Olu Falae, Late Pa Anthony Enahoro, Prof. Pat Utomi, General Adeyinka, Rev. Moses Iloh, Alh. Yerima Shettima, Asari Dokubo, Balarabe Musa, and several other well meaning Nigerians were all part of that gathering were it was the wish of every one that the opposition can come together and forge a common front to challenge the status quo.

In 2007, even in mainstream civil society, it was hoped that Tinubu and Buhari who were leading the major opposition parties could swallow their ego and form a common front to challenge PDP. We had always held that it is their refusal to work together that has left the PDP alone to colonize the territory without let or hinder and consequently impeding the deepening of democracy in the country.

I have no reason now not to applaud the realization of that wish. It holds no magic wand to our nations' quagmire but it is a proactive step by the political class that is worth testing. "We the people" have remained largely un-organized and tattered. If the emergence of a strong opposition with the same tactics of the ruling party will afford us a possibility of a paradigm shift; it is the people that must form the third leg of the argument and proof that is it their vote that will determine which 'thief' will win the next election. It is better than when one 'thief' was always sure of winning come rain or sunshine.

It is also on record that all previous attempts in Nigeria to form a political merger collapsed at one point or the other. The only thing that may have followed through have been alliances. This is the first time major opposition parties in the country are successfully coming together to become one party.

Now, like it is all over the world, there is a near balance of forces in the political theater. Two parties with a near balance in money, personnel, thievery, thugs, violence, corruption money, rigging tactics, intellectuals, propagandists have emerge that will go for a duel.

The ruling party will lose some ground to the opposition and frankly speaking, even thought is it generally perceived that ‘all governors are stealing money’, Fashola is still better than Jona Jang. Oshiomhole is still better than Martins Elechi who many Nigerians may not even know unless we mention his state – Ebonyi.

Competition will naturally set in. It will force some form of performance in the arena. The fear of losing the next polls to a strong opposition will force some performance.

It is the people that must organize themselves properly to benefit from the spoils of the impending battle. We must make ourselves vote-able and use it well.

Rouhani-Obama Chat Provokes Cheers, Protest In Iran

By Marcus George

DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranians cheered President Hassan Rouhani on his return from New York on Saturday after his historic phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama but a smaller number of hardliners shouted "Death to America" and threw eggs and shoes at his official car leaving the airport, Iranian media reported.

While an anticipated handshake between Rouhani and Obama at United Nations headquarters failed to materialise, they held a 15-minute call on Friday at the end of the moderate new Iranian president's trip for the U.N. General Assembly.

Iranian media said hundreds of Rouhani supporters keen to see him make good on pledges of "constructive interaction" with the world to ease Iran's international isolation and get punitive sanctions lifted turned up to hail his U.N. visit.

But about 100 conservative hardliners also appeared and, shouting the "Death to America" slogan common since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, pelted his official car with eggs and stones in protest at Rouhani's diplomatic opening towards Washington, according to witness reports posted on Twitter.

The semi-official Mehr news agency ran pictures of groups of protesters holding up a Death to America placard and banging the sides of Rouhani's limousine as it began to depart the airport. Mehr said one protester threw his shoes at the car, a gesture of deep insult in the Islamic faith.

There has been little reaction so far from Iran's political leaders but one senior parliamentarian tentatively welcomed Rouhani's conversation with Obama as a sign of the Islamic Republic's "position of authority".

"This (phone call) shows that Iran's place in the world is of critical importance. That the president of America insists on a telephone call is a sign of sincerity," Mehr quoted the head of parliament's committee for national security and foreign affairs, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, as saying on Saturday.

The Iranian currency, the rial, climbed against the dollar on the open market by around two percent following the landmark phone call.

ROUHANI WON ELECTION ON MODERATE, REFORM VOTE

Rouhani won election in a landslide last June, buoyed by many voters keen for steps towards moderation and reform after eight years of intensifying repression at home and isolation abroad under hardline predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But new high-level contacts with U.S. officials at the United Nations were unlikely to have happened without the approval of Iran's clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the polarised reactions on Rouhani's return hinted at the challenge he faces in getting hardliners especially in the powerful security elite behind his conciliatory approach.

U.S. officials said the phone call - which concentrated on how to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme - was requested by the Iranian side but in comments to journalists after his return, Rouhani indicated it was an U.S. initiative.

The phone contact signalled a striking shift in tone between Iran and Washington, which cut diplomatic relations a year after the revolution ousted U.S.-allied Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and led to the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.

Obama has said for years he is open to direct contact with Iran while also stressing that all options - including military strikes - were on the table to prevent Iran building atom bombs.

The United States and its allies have accused the Islamic Republic of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability but Tehran says it is enriching uranium only for civilian energy.

Before leaving the airport Rouhani told journalists that contrary to reports in Western media, he had not refused a meeting with Obama earlier in the week but there was insufficient time to coordinate it.

"To have a meeting between the presidents of these two countries there are many necessary steps. If this meeting had been compressed into the programme, it would have been premature," the official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.

HuffingtonPost