THE LAST LAUGH...

Saw this very lively picture of Barack Obama's Granny,Sarah Husain Obama laughing her heart out on hearing of Barack's acceptance of the Democratic party's nomination to run for the US Presidency.
Folks,I am hoping we will all join Ma Obama come November 4th to share in her more joyous laughter.Then,it is hoped that Obama would have convincingly clinched the US presidency.I am looking forward to be the first person who will put a call through to Mama to break the news.
Read Obama's speech at the Democratic convention.It was powerful.I didn't read any mention of Africa,except when he talked about his father ''a young man from Kenya..''.But he did had a message for African leaders :
''Our government should work for us,not against us.It should help us,not hurt us.
It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence...''

LESSONS FROM BEIJING

Hmm. We lost the Olympics football Gold medal.Our heads are held high.It wasn't a bad one at that. I am only ashamed that for all the millions of Naira spent to get us in and out of Beijing,a Silver and some two Bronze medals were all our Athlethes could lay their hands on.Not their fault though.Blame it on those who pretend to be running sports in this country.We know quite well that these fellows are more interested in running huge funds meant for sports development into their private pockets.

The Nigeria's disastrous show of shame at Beijing is the result any nation will get if she refuses to develop her sporting potentials.How come Nigerians who have nationalized are excelling for their various adopted countries,whereas when they were representing Nigeria it wasn't so?We knew Beijing 2008 was a disaster waiting to be because there was no adequate preparation.Why wasting all that funds that could have been injected into something more beneficial to the generality of the citizens instead of embarking on a jamborical wild goose chase for the mandated eight gold medals?Once in a while,we need to tell our selves some hard truth.

We have to go back to develop sports from the grassroots or we stop partaking in international games of the Olympics magnitude to avoid further embarrassment.The time to start is now! For all the Nigerian Athlethes who braved official corruption and intrigues to represent their fatherland in Beijing,Well done.Keep your heads high

ARISE O' NIGERIANS!

Come Saturday,when the Nigerian Dream Team will be taking on their Argentine counterpart in the finals of the Olympic football competition,nothing short of the Gold medal is expected from the Coach Samson Siasia led boys.Like it happened in Atlanta '96,Argentina will bite the dust again.Go for Gold boys!

AT LAST,I FOUND HIM!

It was an excited me yelling out over the Phone to my colleague,Emenike Ejekwu :''Meniks,I found him! I found him!!''. From the way He threw back the''Who? Who?...''response on the other end of the Phone,I knew he was caught off guards by my exclamation.''Alozie Ogbubuaja!..Alozie Ogugbuaja!!...'' I replied.''Where did you find him?'' ''On The Sun''!
Just some days before that Sunday during a discussion in the office I had thrown a question for which I wasn't expecting an answer because I have asked the same questions several times with no one giving me any answer-''Where is Alozie Ogugbuaja? '' I had boasted to some colleagues during a recent discussion on ''Corruption,crime and the Nigerian Police Force'' that it was only when someone like Ogugbuaja was made the Inspector General of the Police force that all those vices that has come to be associated with the Police force would be eradicated.On an earlier disscussion sometimes back,I had suggested that if someone like Ogugbaja were to be made the chief negotiator in the Niger Delta crisis,then consider the problem solved.
Reading through Ogugbuaja's interview in The Sun gave an insigt into the pains and frustration the man has been living with since his unceremonious exit from the Police force in 1992.Here was a man who was excellent symbol of the Nigerian Police force,whose passion for the police job was deep hearted;whose love for the fatherland was well beyond words.Alozie wanted to revolutionalize the Nigerian Police force and make it people oriented.He wanted a police that was responsive to the yearnings of the Nigerian people.He felt disgusted with the way the Nigerian government neglected the police.I remember Alozie penning a regular column about the police force in the defunct ''Sunday Times''. I remember how he was once reported to have confronted a rioting mob at the University of Lagos,during one of the student's anti-government protest in the 90s armed with just a pen and nothing more.He was such a daring officer.He exhibited this as the Force's PRO.The authorities instead of utilizing the potentials of this rare officer to transform the Nigeria Police made a sport in frustrating him out.And too painful the Nigerian state and her police have never been better off.I admire Alozie's guts and hopes fo the fatherland.
Alozie Ogugbuaja sums up this hope in the following words:

''I am proud being an African,I am also proud being a Nigerian because,maybe,God wants to use us to transform Nigeria to attain the nation of our dream.But precisely,Nigeria is not what it should be,the state of the nation is very bad...I see Nigeria as a challange to be conquered.I am not happy with what is happeninig.''

AFRICA UPRISING - O' YES, WE CAN'T!

I have read conflicting reports on the success and failures of the last Thisday ''Africa rising' Festival in Washington DC.I just learnt that very soon some African/Nigerian eminent personalities will soon be hosting a Dinner/concert in Lagos tagged ''Yes,we can!''in support of the US Democratic presidential hopeful,Barack Obama.The dinner is aimed at raising funds to support the Obama quest.
If truth must be told,enough of all these embarrassing hypocrisies.Tell me-how has the two legged Thisday festival held both in Nigeria and Washington and third in the four festival planned,so far, helped the Nigerian,nay the African cause? If the aim of the festival was to promote and showcase Africa's progress and probably culture to the world then there is need for a rethink.This is nothing short of what Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will call 'colonial mentality'.I get real sick many times when I hear of events like ''World Igbo Congress'' holding in Washington DC,''Egbe Omo Oduduwa(Yoruba)World congress'' holding in Atalanta,Georgia,''Afenmai World Congress'' holding in Califonia and all that stuffs.How has all these 'American congress' jamborees' affected and impacted on their immediate Nigerian communities on whose instances they were being held?
And now the Obama Lagos dinner.This is one most ridiculous push at showmanship taken almost over the edge.Why are the organisers of this event not taking time to examine the myriad problems bedevilling their host country instead of shoring political and financial supports for a man who is million miles away from the realities on ground.But,think of this-Does Obama need Nigerians and Africans monies to win the white House race? Grow,Nigeria grow!!