am a final year student of the faculty of Law of one of the most prestigious university in the South West( name withheld). I was among those lucky young dude who had the privilege of writing WEAC once, but nevered had the patience of putting up for JAMB. because of my performance I enrolled immediately for a Diploma program in my present school and just as normal I came out with a much better result than i anticipated. I still do fill bad not taking jamb because most of my haters as it were thought I wasn't as good as my friends claimed. enough of my academic sojourn. after the diploma program I was asked by the coordinator of the program in my faculty(law) to put up for a study work program scheme available to students who have distinquished themselves among their peers, pls don't get me wrong, am not here to bore u with my academic.......... the first job I was given by the counseling unit was a teaching job. I was really mad and angry.I honestly thought I was going to get something Better (white collar tinz), at first I though I was being victimize for being........... finally I made up my mind and I resumed, it was meant to be a 5pm class with one of the professor's ward. this boy was really bad academically, but all this chachanged in 3weeks. this was the beginning of my venture into the Educational Sector. what I thought was untush for a young aspiring lawyer turned out to be what am gradually becoming. from one student to over 15 students. it was so bad that my friends and course mate thought I was going insane. lectures took my morning and afternon while tutorials stole my evenings, the only time I had for myself was my night and that I shared with sleep and my books. as months and semesters went by, I came to a realization that the most lucrative and profitable sector as far as I was concerned is the Educational Sector, you are free to disagree, but its still my view. I was so good in my undergraduate professesion(teaching) that I took some of my course mate presumed difficult courses. pls don't ask if I collected cash from them. to cut my long boring story short, I was contented with what i was earning and I never wanted to look back. but all this changed last month after listening to the CEO of TECNO CLEAN on Fidelity SME radio program on inspiration FM, I thought it was time I look beyond satisfying my individual desires and forge a big better future in my new found profession. after few days, an uncle off mine bought me a documentary(video) on the MEN WHO BUILD AMERICA. this documentary changed my life and perception on what entreprenure really is. its a must watch for aspiring JP Morgan and Rockefeller's. this is the beginning of my quest to not only be a millonaier but employer of labour. am a young guy with desires to be rich and famous for one obscure reasons or the other, but I think if there is any reason I desire to be rich among other reasons will be the fact to affect my society positively. now Law School is stairing at me in the face and am wondering what will become the little empire am trying to build?. am already getting signals from Law Firms and non legal firm who would want my service. with my current CGPA am more than qualify to be retained by my school, my state government are also showing interest. pls don't get me wrong, am not on a 1st class, but if my faculty were a bit linear may be I would have, but all tinz being equal am happy and greatful to God. these are my delima, but I think I have found answers to them. I want to gamble the little I have made over the years on my new found profession. I want to be the next big thing in this unpopular sector. am ready to invest in it and am also ready to share my ideas and business proposal with young aspiring potential partner or investor who thinks that success is usually found n the most unusual places. i would have loved to drop my mobile number or at least what my business plans are, but my little knowledge on Intellectual property law here in Nigeria is still not good enough. your suggestions and advice is highly welcome. am thinking of dropping my e-mail, but am filling indifferent about it. (ogbogopaul@rocket mail.com), for aspiring JP Morgan Alone.

thanks

“To be curious means to look beyond what we think we know”, “to be curious is to discover” these are the words upon which discovery Channel was built on. Am really not a big fan of discovery channel, but these words really got me thinking as to how far one needs to look to truly discover who he is and most importantly what others will discover about him. It was based on this thoughts that I decided to reply or better still educate and illuminate some of my friends on Nairaland that picking up your mobile phone and writing uninformed article about people and posting them on social network simply because it is free isn’t a show intelligence. Sometimes I wonder if we realize that writing or making untrue statements about people with the aim of reducing the integrity of such persons in the eyes of the public amounts to both civil and criminal offence generally known as Defamation i.e. Libel and Slander. After all to be curious means to look beyond what we think we know. I have read lots of beautiful articles on Nairaland and other social networks and blogs, but I will only respond to the article written by a Nairalander titled “IFEANYI UBAH HAS GONE BROKE”. I must confess, the author did a wonderful work with the title, but the content was nothing to write home about. It was indeed a nice write up, but it would have made lot of sense if the author was curious and courageous enough to look beyond what he thought he knew. My conclusion after going true the article was the fact that the author had a misconception about his subject matter which in this case was Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, it was obvious that his write up was written with sentiments and most importantly lack of knowledge and respect for his subject matter.Furthermore, it was obvious from his piece that he is from Anambra State and most importantly he is intimidated by the achievements of his subject matter. This may be attributed to the fact that he is approaching his early forty with nothing to show for it or simply because he fills that no Nigerian could have amassed such wealth at such tender age or probably because he thought he could make the front page for the first time with such defamatory write up, but am sure by now he knows better.

A man once said that, the only way to test one’s strength is to test his limits. The question then is, how do one test the limits of one’s strength? Will it be his physical, financial or intellectual strength? For the purpose of this article I will implore we look beyond what we think we have read and heard in the dailies in testing the strength of this rear gem. To some Dr Patrick ifeanyi Ubah is said to be the greatest philanthropist in the history of anambra State, the Youngest achiever the state has ever produced and most importantly the highest employer of Anambra Indigene in the history of the State since creation. A man who was said to be the first and only Nigerian to donate $300,000 to Chinese Government to relieve the victims of the devastated earthquake in China. I know at this point some may argue,“of what benefit is that to Nigeria talk more to Anambrarian”, but we all know the importance of such gesture in times of investments and capital developments in Anambra. Furthermore, he is said to be controlling over 40% of the downstream oil sector in Nigeria, I know a lot of people will say and so bloody what or of what importance is that if he controls over 40% of the downstream sector, but a critical look will prove otherwise. This feat would have amounted to nothing or will be of little significance if it was owned by aYoruba or an Hausa man, this is simply because they are the major players in our economy, but the fact that this young Ibo man could have gotten to this point ahead of major players like Otedola, dantata and the famous Dangote is evidential that he has something other Ibo businessmen lack. The Ibo’s we always cry foul of being marginalized by other tribes not knowing that their marginalization is attributed to their past and present decisions. The subsidy scandal is a good example. How many northerners and southerners were mentioned in the subsidy fraud? While the Ibo’s saw it as an opportunity to discredit and take over the company of their own, the hausa and the yorubas saw it as an opportunity to send a message to other regions that tribe is of more importance to political gains and association. If the Ibo’s must attain a respectable position in the political history of Nigeria, they must rise above individualism to regionalism i.e. invest and promote their region before personal and individual gains. I have gone through all the biography of the gubernatorial candidates in anambra State but none of them as far as am concerned has the qualities of Dr Ifeanyi Ubah. Is it Ngige? A former PDP member, former illegal Governor of the State, and currently a senator under the platform of ACN now APC? Am sure u will agree with me that this man is due for retirement, or is it Peter Obi’s pet Obiano? A man who as far am concerned is better off as a commissioner or Chief of Staff to whoever emerged as the Governor of the state. In as much as I know that Dr Ifeanyi Ubah might have its flaws and weaknesses I still believe that he has much more to offer than the other two candidates fused together.A man loved by many but hated by those who fill his just too young to own the largest Sea port in Nigeria or probably because he choose to train and educated the youths of his State abroad so they can contribute to the industrialization of their state or may be simply because they just can’t withstanding an Ibo Man becoming a Billionaire without shedding blood or simply because he is DR PATRICK IFEANYI UBAH. Whatever reason they might have, one thing is clear and indisputable, he is indeed a blessing to his country, friends and most especially to his people, immediate and extended family.

In conclusion, we realize that elections are not won on the pages of Newspapers, social networks or blogs, if it were, ACN would have clinched Ondo State gubernatorial election early this year and Jonathan would not have been able to win Lagos State during the last presidential elections. Why my views and opinions alone cannot win the election for Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, I still believe that a subjective and informed articles is of immense benefit to the growth of our democracy. With these words “To be curious means to look beyond what we think we know” I say let who the cap fits wear it.

written by Lady Ijeoma Okonkwo

“To be curious means to look beyond what we think we know”, “to be curious is to discover” these are the words upon which discovery Channel was built on. Am really not a big fan of discovery channel, but these words really got me thinking as to how far one needs to look to truly discover who he is and most importantly what others will discover about him. It was based on this thoughts that I decided to reply or better still educate and illuminate some of my friends on Nairaland that picking up your mobile phone and writing uninformed article about people and posting them on social network simply because it is free isn’t aof show intelligence. Sometimes I wonder if we realize that writing or making untrue statements about people with the aim of reducing the integrity of such persons in the eyes of the public amounts to both civil and criminal offence generally known as Defamation i.e. Libel and Slander. After all to be curious means to look beyond what we think we know. I have read lots of beautiful articles on Nairaland and other social networks and blogs, but I will only respond to the article written by a Nairalander titled “IFEANYI UBAH HAS GONE BROKE”. I must confess, the author did a wonderful work with the title, but the content was nothing to write home about. It was indeed a nice write up, but it would have made lot of sense if the author was curious and courageous enough to look beyond what he thought he knew. My conclusion after going true the article was the fact that the author had a misconception about his subject matter which in this case was Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, it was obvious that his write up was written with sentiments and most importantly lack of knowledge and respect for his subject matter.Furthermore, it was obvious from his piece that he is from Anambra State and most importantly he is intimidated by the achievements of his subject matter. This may be attributed to the fact that he is approaching his early forty with nothing to show for it or simply because he fills that no Nigerian could have amassed such wealth at such tender age or probably because he thought he could make the front page for the first time with such defamatory write up, but am sure by now he knows better.

A man once said that, the only way to test one’s strength is to test his limits. The question then is, how do one test the limits of one’s strength? Will it be his physical, financial or intellectual strength? For the purpose of this article I will implore we look beyond what we think we have read and heard in the dailies in testing the strength of this rear gem. To some Dr Patrick ifeanyi Ubah is said to be the greatest philanthropist in the history of anambra State, the Youngest achiever the state has ever produced and most importantly the highest employer of Anambra Indigene in the history of the State since creation. A man who was said to be the first and only Nigerian to donate $300,000 to Chinese Government to relieve the victims of the devastated earthquake in China. I know at this point some may argue,“of what benefit is that to Nigeria talk more to Anambrarian”, but we all know the importance of such gesture in times of investments and capital developments in Anambra. Furthermore, he is said to be controlling over 40% of the downstream oil sector in Nigeria, I know a lot of people will say and so bloody what or of what importance is that if he controls over 40% of the downstream sector, but a critical look will prove otherwise. This feat would have amounted to nothing or will be of little significance if it was owned by aYoruba or an Hausa man, this is simply because they are the major players in our economy, but the fact that this young Ibo man could have gotten to this point ahead of major players like Otedola, dantata and the famous Dangote is evidential that he has something other Ibo businessmen lack. The Ibo’s we always cry foul of being marginalized by other tribes not knowing that their marginalization is attributed to their past and present decisions. The subsidy scandal is a good example. How many northerners and southerners were mentioned in the subsidy fraud? While the Ibo’s saw it as an opportunity to discredit and take over the company of their own, the hausa and the yorubas saw it as an opportunity to send a message to other regions that tribe is of more importance to political gains and association. If the Ibo’s must attain a respectable position in the political history of Nigeria, they must rise above individualism to regionalism i.e. invest and promote their region before personal and individual gains. I have gone through all the biography of the gubernatorial candidates in anambra State but none of them as far as am concerned has the qualities of Dr Ifeanyi Ubah. Is it Ngige? A former PDP member, former illegal Governor of the State, and currently a senator under the platform of ACN now APC? Am sure u will agree with me that this man is due for retirement, or is it Peter Obi’s pet Obiano? A man who as far am concerned is better off as a commissioner or Chief of Staff to whoever emerged as the Governor of the state. In as much as I know that Dr Ifeanyi Ubah might have its flaws and weaknesses I still believe that he has much more to offer than the other two candidates fused together.A man loved by many but hated by those who fill his just too young to own the largest Sea port in Nigeria or probably because he choose to train and educated the youths of his State abroad so they can contribute to the industrialization of their state or may be simply because they just can’t withstanding an Ibo Man becoming a Billionaire without shedding blood or simply because he is DR PATRICK IFEANYI UBAH. Whatever reason they might have, one thing is clear and indisputable, he is indeed a blessing to his country, friends and most especially to his people, immediate and extended family.

In conclusion, we realize that elections are not won on the pages of Newspapers, social networks or blogs, if it were, ACN would have clinched Ondo State gubernatorial election early this year and Jonathan would not have been able to win Lagos State during the last presidential elections. Why my views and opinions alone cannot win the election for Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, I still believe that a subjective and informed articles is of immense benefit to the growth of our democracy. With these words “To be curious means to look beyond what we think we know” I say let who the cap fits wear it.

written by Lady Ijeoma Okonkwo

it is funny how African leaders forget so easily. few years ago, a man called Chief Olusegun Obasanjo occupied the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. During his tenure he declared war on the then Governor of Lagos State,Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu. during this political war, the president exhausted all the powers available to the office of President. some have argued that, the power exercised by the then President was arbitrary and unconstitutional. be that as it may, one thing we must not forget is that he acted in his capacity as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. he applied all tactics that was expected of a General. His rule of Engagement was to destroy anything Bola. not only did he hold back the allocation of the State he also leveled corruption charges on him.

To cut this long political story short. the President did all he could do,but the man Asiwaju Bola Ahmed came out strong than ever. Not only did he complete his tenure,but increased the status of Lagos as a Mega city. one thing the General Forgot was the aftermath of such political war. Before he could realize the cost implication of an Elephant fighting a Camel, it was late. today the president home State (OGUN) is being ruled by a prodigy of the man He fought. in conclusion the whole of South West is under the control of this so called Governor as were.

First question, how did this man become so powerful? the answer to this question is not far fetched. i will recommend that you read the story of David and Goliath in the Bible, but if u are a Muslim am sure their must be such similar story in the Quran. To me this was the greatest mistake of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Six years After another President occupying the same office is doing the same political calculation and gymnastics without paying recourse to the past. the painful part to his own political war is that, his rule of engagement is being set by his lovely wife, simply put by a woman. do i need remind you of stories of powerful leaders who lost their exalted position simply because they were misled or confused by women? don't think so, but for reference purpose read the story of Samson and Solomon.. my only question to the President is 'WHAT DOES HE SEEK TO ACHIEVE'at the end.

i know am not in any position to advice the president whatsoever, but if am giving such opportunity, my advice will simply be that he should not make the same mistake his Political benefactor did (OBASANJO). in a nutshell he should not create another Bola Ahmed out of Amechi. i don't think we have what it takes to deal with another Tinubu from the Niger Delta.

he who has ears must and should hear the right advice.

Off course I knw its abuja,but how does the president fills about the whole netwrk failure, am sure he was embaresd dat no body was able to call in, or was it a calculated effort to block d rubish calls?

I wonder wat netwrk dis number is. I tried calling to ask the president.wat he tinks abt it.

I really don't knw were I belong here, cus am an England fan and won't miss their match 4 anytin, but @ d same time, gej sure make me laugh my heart out. But on a serious note, does dis man tink Nigerians luvs him? Even his SSS detail won't take a bullet 4 him. Its a shame on him. I luv American

et, his concern captured the feeling of the majority of lawmakers over what has become the $3m bribery scandal reverberating in the House of Representatives.

One of the few to have survived from the 1999 set of legislators, Lawan until the latest bribery scam, was perceived by many to be above board.

Such was the confidence reposed in Lawan that when the House under the current leadership of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, decided to tread the dangerous path of probing the fuel subsidy regime in the country, it entrusted Lawan with the headship of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Management of Subsidy Regime last January.

 ‘Mr. Integrity’, as he was fondly called by some of his colleagues, did a good job of the investigation with the other seven panel members.

After sitting for over three months, the panel turned in a revealing report, exposing how the nation was defrauded to the tune of over N1.070trn in subsidy payments by an oil cartel comprising government agencies, marketers and portfolio contractors.

The subsidy probe appeared to be the icing on the cake for the instant hero, as lawmakers basked in the euphoria to consider and adopt the recommendations of the report.

However, just like the panel members were taken aback, lawmakers, perhaps, did not know that the celebrated legislator negotiated a $3m bribe with oil businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola.

 From his own admission to the police, he indeed collected $500,000 from Otedola, while the committee clerk, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, collected another $120,000. The two sums ($620,000) were a part payment of the total bribe package of $3m.

 While Lawan claimed it was to expose Otedola, who wanted his indicted firm, Zenon Oil and Gas Limited, off the hook, the business mogul told the world that he set up the politician for extorting money from him.

 The State Security Service, who coordinated the operation for Otedola, has video evidence in circulation, revealing what allegedly transpired between the two.

For the first time in a long while, the entire House came down so decisively against its own, axing Lawan. He was stripped of the chairmanship of the ad-hoc committee and suspended as chairman of the Committee on Education, as evidence that he took the bribe became believable.

Washing off its hands, the House also asked anti-graft agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegation and punish any offender found culpable. In-house, Lawan will also be called to question by the Committee on Ethics and Privileges.

Lawan has come a long way. The diminutive Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker from Shanono/Bagwai Federal Constituency in Kano State, drove into the National Assembly premises in a Honda ’86 Honda Accord car in 1999.

The English Language graduate, who was born in 1962, was instrumental in exposing the certificate forgery scandal of the first speaker of the 1999 set, Mr. Salisu Buhari. The campaign against Buhari, successfully saw him being forced out of office, paving the way for Umar Ghali Na’Abba to mount the speaker’s saddle.

In 2002 when the House moved against former President Olusegun Obasanjo for alleged “abuse of power,” Lawan was one of the most vocal faces of the legislature. He gave Obasanjo sleepless nights until the impeachment threat was eventually dropped.

Lawan has been chairman of several standing committees and various ad-hoc panels, including the influential Committee on Appropriation and Committee on Information/Media. Since 2007, he was chairman of the Committee on Education until last week.

In 2007, Lawan again championed the anti-corruption crusade against a former Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Etteh, who granted anticipatory approval for N628m renovation/vehicle purchase contracts.

He formed a group, The Integrity Group, to champion the campaign to remove Etteh from office. Indeed, he won the sobriquet, Mr. Integrity, after the campaign that resulted in Etteh throwing in the towel on October 31, 2007.

Lawan, who by now had become a kingmaker of sort, almost single-handedly installed Etteh successor, Mr. Oladimeji Bankole as speaker. It was not surprising that during the Bankole years, the kingmaker was held in awe and his word was law.

The former lecturer and later, registrar of the Kano State Polytechnic, had his way on almost every issue in the House, both on the floor and off the floor. Bankole consulted him and took his advice regularly. His capacity to mobilise members was awesome and ignoring him would be at the peril of the leadership.

Yet, under Bankole’s leadership, Mr. Integrity’s track record began to receive a dent and there were posers as to whether he had been a double-faced legislator all these years.

Not long after he mounted the saddle, the Bankole leadership was enmeshed in a N2.4bn car purchase scam in 2008. Nigerians and members had looked up to the Integrity Group to move against Bankole, but strangely, Lawan lost his voice. There was no more steam. Rather, the group reportedly worked behind the scenes to clear the leadership of complicity in the scandal. The House later exonerated Bankole.

Still under Bankole, in June 2010, the House suspended 11 legislators led by Mr. Dino Melaye. Their offence? They were calling the leadership to account over the alleged mismanagement of N9bn of the House capital budget. The matter was swept under the carpet and there was no word from Mr. Integrity.

In 2011, the House unilaterally approved an increase in the quarterly allowances for members from N27.9m to N42m. The leadership was forced to procure a loan of about N40bn in order to sustain the “illegal” allowances.

Bankole and his deputy, Mr. Usman Nafada, later faced charges in court over the expenditure before the case was quashed. However, nothing was heard from Lawan at the time and he benefited from the illegal pay cheque.

Lawan is loved to be hated by many colleagues for being a schemer, opportunist, yet influential lone-ranger who is said to live in the self-belief that he has answers to everything.

In spite of his influence, most members of the committees he had chaired did not flow with him, but tagged along because of the lawmaker’s perceived high esteem among members and outside the House.

The schemer in Lawan showed in the run up to the election of the leadership of the seventh House, where Tambuwal emerged as the speaker on June 6, 2011.

Insiders said that Lawan and the PDP structure had an initial plan to scuttle Tambuwal’s emergence because the party had zoned the seat to the South-West.

He was to be the arrow head of the opposition to Tambuwal. He was to either contest the seat so as to split the votes of the majority from the North or to use his influence to mobilise support for the party’s candidate from the South-West.

Either way, the plan was to stop Tambuwal from being elected as the speaker.

However, when Lawan discovered that the pendulum in the House swung in favour of Tambuwal, he quickly retreated and abandoned the plan.

The smart Lawan wormed his way to the Tambuwal camp by encouraging members to vote for him.

To prove that he was now repentant, Lawan was the only member who openly displayed his voter’s card on June 1, showing that he voted for Tambuwal, before dropping it in the ballot box.

As in previous regimes, he steadily became a key figure under Tambuwal, a reason, coupled with his acclaimed integrity records, that he was entrusted with the headship of the fuel subsidy probe panel.

But, it seems this time around, the bubble has burst. Members now know better.

As the saying goes, there is a time when one’s cup is full. Is this Lawan’s nemesis? Is this the fall of Lawan?

One ex-lawmaker, who is still licking her wounds for crossing Lawan’s path is Etteh.

Hear the embittered former speaker, ““Now, Nigerians know who is corrupt and who is not. It is a big shame, it has further ridiculed the image of the House. Basically, what we read in the newspapers does not come as a surprise having had relationship with him for a very long time. He is the leader of the cartel.

“I did not steal any money. What happened when they were calling for my removal was a mere anticipatory spending, no money was missing. Dimeji Bankole, whom Farouk installed, spent over N400m to renovate his official quarters, which I wanted to renovate with just N40m, and sold it to himself for N100m.

“I was removed not for stealing money but three groups sacked me for their selfish reasons. The first group was led by Farouk Lawan, who was annoyed that he was not given the Appropriation Committee.

“The second group was the fundamentalists, who would not like to bow down to the authority of a woman and the third group believed that since the Senate President is a Christian, therefore, the Speaker must be a Muslim. All these groups joined forces together to fight me.

“But now, God has vindicated me. All of them have been caught in one corruption or the other and they were disgraced out of the National Assembly through Appeal Court on election matters. But Farouk Lawan is the last man standing and God has revealed the truth.”

2 be human is 2 b inadequate, by definition. Only God is adequate & d rest of us can safely say 2 ourselves: Fear not u are inadequate!

When we are in touch with ourselves, we can relate 2 these words, these expressions of inadequacy. At the end of the day, we cannot measure up & cannot not disappoint others & ourselves. Generally d fault is not dat we are not sincere or dat we do not put out the effort. D fault is dat we are human. We have limited resources, get tired, experience feelings we cannot control, have only 24 hours in our day, have too many demands on us, have wounds & weaknesses that shackle us.

A Woman once said dat when she dies she wants this epitaph on her gravestone:“ There was always something!”

& there always is! Invariably, there's always something, big or small, dat casts a shadow & somehow keeps us from fully entering d present moment and appreciating its richness. There is always some anxiety, some worry about something dat we should have done or should be doing, some concern about wat we need to face tomorrow,or some longing for someone who is absent dat mitigates our joy. There's always something, some loss, some anxiety,some jealousy, some obsession,dat is forever draining the present moment of its joy.

Henri Nouwen once gave a very simple, poignant expression to this: "Our life," he writes. "is a time in which sadness & joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a quality of sadness dat pervades all d moments of our life. It seems dat there is no such thing as a clear-cut pure joy, but dat even in d most happy moments of our existence we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction, there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness.  In every friendship, there is distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness."  There's always something!.

As human this honourable man forgot that, there will always be something, no matter how small or big a thing is, something will always remain. I can imagine the smiles of those he considered corrupt or thieves when they heard of his honourable visit to Odetola. After all said and done we must all ave in mind that, there will always be something left no mather how smart or intelligent we think we are