₦airaland Forum

I, like a million other people, have heard about the Obamas. They are the first black family to enter the White House as President and First Lady. And from the little I gathered over the years, they were something and contributed that something to America.

They made history, not just because of the colour of their skins, but because of the positive impact, they had on the lives of Americans and possibly the rest of the world.

But that’s about it. That’s all I knew and wanted to know about Barack and Michelle Obama. If there were making policies affecting the world, it definitely wasn’t affecting my hustle back here in Lagos, Nigeria.

So why then would I want to read Becoming by Michelle Obama?

For starters, I love reading. I discovered from a very early age that reading afforded me an opportunity into the lives of other people in a way that my naturally reserved self could not. And I particularly love bios – whether biographies or autobiographies – because they tell the real stories of real people, their triumphs and defeats.

My secondary school principal always used to remind us that we had to learn from the mistakes of others because we cannot live long enough to make them all ourselves. What better way to learn than by studying the lives of others?

I did not expect to fall in love with Becoming the way I have. It reminds me of when I read I Am Third by Al Silverman and Gale Sayers. The cover was so 1970s that I was sure I was going to be bored. Instead, I had the opposite reaction.

Michelle’s story in Becoming reminds me of my own story, and in a way, I think it reminds all of us of our individual stories, one way or another. As she takes us through her childhood, I am reminded of my own childhood, of the struggle of trying to learn and excel.

I completely relate to her desire to succeed just for the love of success. Like Michelle, I started reading early because my mother encouraged it, but unlike her, I did not record early success in school work until my teacher literally flogged success into me. And from the moment I drank of the heady, intoxicating, liberating and powerful waters of success, I, like Michelle, became an addict.
https://qwenu.com/2019/01/08/omo-eko-diaries-michelle-obamas-becoming-the-review-before-the-review/

Between the 60s and 90s, the impact of military interference in African politics was manifest as a series of coup d’états across Africa that ushered in military leaders that went on to rule for decades mostly as dictators.

None of the African countries that witnessed the long draconian rule of the military has fully recovered from its negative effects, because of the deep wounds left behind. It might take a century of practising democracy laced with good governance along with consistent investment in human development before they can be completely healed.

Recently, given the stark reality on the ground, some selfish or selfless African military leaders as the case may be, have started interfering in African politics again through coups.

First, it was in Zimbabwe in 2017, when the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, key areas of Harare the Capital and sacked the government of Mugabe that had been in power for more than three decades.

However, since the people were tired of the economic hardship that the long stay of Mugabe in power had brought on the country, there was wide jubilation.

Just like in the 60s when the undenounced first military coup inspired other African military leaders to organize coups, the Zimbabwean coup may somehow have inspired some junior radical officers in the Gabonese army who attempted to topple https://qwenu.com/2019/01/08/the-new-threat-of-military-interference-in-african-politics-and-its-implications/

All over the world, political parties are not just media but vehicles to ensure that the peoples’ mandates is truly represented in a democratic society.

Even with the advent of independent candidacy in developed democracies like the United States, political parties remain relevant to the development of a country.

Political parties are an organized group of people bound by a set of ideas with an intention of getting political power and activating governance. Hence one can easily distinguish between democrat and republican in the United States, labour conservative and liberal in the United Kingdom, and most political parties of well-established democracies in the world.

In Nigeria, since the emergence of the fourth republic in 1999, party politics in relations to democratic development has left us with different tales and a far cry from what is obtainable in other parts of the world.

There is really no clear-cut difference between the parties in Nigeria as various politicians use these parties for the sole aim of getting to power without activating governance. Little wonder they switch parties at will when they realize that their interests might not be well represented.
https://qwenu.com/2019/01/07/the-hypocrisy-of-party-politics-in-nigeria/

Which are the worst roads in Nigeria? A consensus statement by anyone who has travelled on Nigerian roads is their state of disrepair which increases the risk of road traffic accidents and death. The bad state of the roads makes them fertile ground for armed robbers and worsens traffic congestion. I personally have been attacked by robbers on a Lagos road.

Qwenu! is dedicating the year 2019 to highlighting the worst roads in Nigeria with the hope that the attention gathered by this series will touch the hearts of our incoming leaders to repair them. So how do you participate?

1. Send us pictures or short videos of good and bad Nigerian roads to editor@qwenu.com or use #qwenuworstroadsnaija on Twitter or
Instagram to get published on Qwenu!

2. Include the name of the street/road/highway

3. Include the local government area and state

4. Retweet, share on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram

5. We will compile the areas with the best and worst roads based on responses

Share this on social media @qwenu_media to bring attention to the state of Nigerian roads.
https://qwenu.com/2019/01/03/the-worst-roads-in-nigeria-contest-taiwo-road-all-through-to-godwin-omonuwa-road-lagos-state/

Brain robbing our human resources

The high rate at which young talented Nigerian professionals and non-professionals are plying the routes of Europe, America, Asia and Australia, is alarming as three in every five Nigerians is processing a visa or on the verge of processing one.

On the 15th of December 2018, a large number of Nigerian youths sat for the IELTS examination across the country in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, for which they each paid seventy-five thousand Naira as part of the process for obtaining a Canadian visa if successful.

Sitting for the exams is just one of the various ways through which young talented Nigerians gain legal entry into Canada, America, Australia, Asia and Europe, others resort to arranged marriages and lotteries.

It is important to note that in both the skilled and unskilled selection and screening processes only the best are chosen as some of the criteria include but are not limited to educational attainment, work experience, multilingual capabilities, marital status etc.

It is disheartening to know that our dear country is being drained of the best of its human resources who have either lost their jobs because of the economic situation of the country or are presently at a job but not satisfied with their working conditions.

Such is the case with medical practitioners and fresh graduates who are met with the reality of unemployment and lack of capital and infrastructure to encourage their entrepreneurial ideas and skills.

Although, after leaving Nigeria, some of these individuals are reduced to menial jobs even with their work permits because most of these countries have little or no regard for our educational system because of the huge lapses in the system and its ability to meet certain international standards. However, Nigerian immigrants still consider this a better option than what is obtainable at home.

The brain drain syndrome is robbing us of our best human resources. Every day we lose men and women who could potentially explore our natural resources and create job opportunities, our future captains of industries, our future nation builders are leaving in large numbers to give their best to other countries because Nigeria has failed to create recognise their worth and create an enabling environment for them to flourish.

It bleeds my heart to know that they actually excel with little or no recognition given to their fatherland, Nigeria.

Our beautiful ones are leaving as often as the clock ticks, which way Nigeria?

As we look forward to reelecting or electing candidates into political offices, we should choose candidates who have a passion for economic stability, candidates who have the ability and capacity to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurial development and conducive working conditions as this will help curb the alarming rate of brain drain in Nigeria
https://qwenu.com/2019/01/02/brain-robbing-the-plight-and-flight-of-nigerian-talent/

Contentions and controversies have begun to spring since the news came out that President Muhammadu Buhari may have extended the tenure of the Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, in office. The development has fuelled speculations that the President is afraid of having someone else control the police force during the 2019 general elections.

According to a report, the President was said “to have agreed in principle to grant the IG additional six months in office to enable him to coordinate and supervise the forthcoming general elections in the country.”

Ibrahim Idris is due to retire from the Nigeria Police Force on January 3, 2019, having put in the mandatory 35 years in service. However, he was alleged to have lobbied some senior Presidency functionaries, who, in turn, got Buhari to extend the IG’s tenure. The President must have been convinced by some reason to keep him in the post for an additional six months, and Nigerians are curious of what that may be.
https://qwenu.com/2018/12/27/extension-of-the-inspector-general-of-polices-tenure-why-is-the-president-afraid-of-replacing-ibrahim-idris/

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Many families are now complaining about how the economic hardship in the country in the last few years has badly affected them. Some are not even looking forward to Christmas because they lost their jobs during the course of the year.

Meanwhile, some families have good reasons such as January house rent, children’s school fees, and financial prudence for maintaining a low-key Christmas celebration. They do not want a situation whereby they will not be able to pay their landlords when they come to ask for house rent in January or the embarrassing situation whereby they will not be able to pay schools fees when their children resume.

However, some people cannot cope with the presently harsh reality of prices of commodities in the market. For instance, rice, a carton of chicken thighs, pepper, and other ingredients that before now were sold for cheap prices, are no longer affordable. The recent increment of the poverty level in the country has directly contributed to this.

Things have become so difficult that some people may not be able to cook like before, while those who usually buy new clothes to mark the celebration, may have to do with the old ones in their wardrobes.

Irrespective of the harsh economic reality in the country, some Nigerians will still celebrate Christmas in a grand style. And this will not replace the general feelings of murmuring and complaints that have currently permeated the land. A reflection of the government’s performance thus far.

For this Christmas not to be a harrowing experience for some, let those who have share with those who do not have. Let us remember to be our brothers’ keeper and show kindness to everyone around us.

Merry Christmas. From all of us at Qwenu!

https://qwenu.com/2018/12/25/a-christmas-in-nigeria-like-never-before/

Considering the rate at which substandard products ‘or fake products’ saturate Nigeria’s retail network, one would question the efficiency of the regulatory body (Standard Organization of Nigeria) delegated to check the proliferation of such products.

It is so appalling that, for every standard product, there are three or more substandard alternatives. That’s not to mention the open duplication of original labels, with entirely different content, to deceive the public and make undue earnings.



The case is most rampant with goods such as insecticides, lubricants, alcoholic beverages, and packaged foods. We find different labels in the market, most of which are grossly poor in quality. It is concerning enough that there are fake products in the market, but what is more worrisome is the unabated proliferation. Unfortunately, the good ones are also eventually cloned by dubious manufacturers.

Just recently, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria reported that over 70% of lubricants in Nigeria are substandard. Concerned about the influx of substandard lubricants into the Nigerian market, the agency announced that it was collaborating with manufacturers and dealers of lubricants to stamp out substandard products in the sector.

The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is the agency responsible for ensuring that only standard products get into the Nigerian markets. It is mainly involved in the “preparation of standards relating to products, measurements, materials and processes among others, and their promotion at the national, regional and international levels.” It also certifies industrial products and assist in the production of quality good

While SON should truly step-up their game to stem the menace of substandard products https://qwenu.com/2018/12/22/substandard-products-in-nigeria-and-the-tasks-before-the-standard-organization-of-nigeria/

In case you do not know, an abortion is a medical/surgical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus (definition from Merriam Webster dictionary).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year in the world there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions –meaning that about 125,000 abortions are performed daily. This is statistic is incredibly alarming.

However, women abort for so many reasons such as, if the fetus threatens the life of the mother, fetal impairment, rape, incest, etcetera. Regardless, I am of the opinion that abortion should not be legalized for various reasons that will be discussed below. Please note that my opinion is not to judge anyone but to clearly state where I stand on this agelong matter. Please feel free to send us your rebuttal to this email: editor@qwenu.com

Life is sacred

From the yearly abortion statistics above, it shows that those involved in it have no regard for life. Whereas life is sacred, no man has the right to take the life of another person. Life is an inalienable right that must be freely lived. This is exactly what the pro-choice who keep advocating abortion do not realize. They believe that life begins at birth when it is obvious that life begins at conception. Hence, it is a murder to commit abortion. The fetus is a life.

The health of the woman

The pro-choice have argued that if the fetus threatens the life of the woman, she can abort it. I am still not comfortable with this argument because what if her uterus is damaged in the process or subsequent complicated health issues arise? However, western medicine has advanced to a stage whereby, if the fetus threatens the life of the mother, other medical options that will save both of them can be put into consideration.

Psychological implication

Apart from the health danger abortion poses, it also has psychological and emotional implications on the woman. Probably she might live throughout her life feeling guilty of committing abortion. And if she has a tender conscience, the thought of murdering https://qwenu.com/2018/12/22/opinion-why-abortion-should-not-be-legalized/

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) spearheads a nine (9) year basic education programme in Nigeria. It was launched by the federal government to eradicate illiteracy, ignorance and poverty by ensuring that early education is adequately provided to all young Nigerians.

The Commission is jointly funded by the state government to provide infrastructure, learning materials and funding, as required by learners at the early grades.

Through its funding facility called marching grants, UBEC provides funding to states intermittently to support grassroots education. An individual could also simply suggest a project to the Commission via its website, but it has to be strictly concerned with basic education.

As much as this is supposed to enhance basic education in Nigeria, the condition of young learners in most states remain deplorable. Worse still, the latest figure of out-of-school children is 13.2 million https://qwenu.com/2018/12/22/aftermath-of-the-nigerian-governments-poor-handling-of-ubec/

Because of the fallen standard in Nigerian public universities, incessant ASUU strikes and difficulty gaining admission, many Nigerian students decide to look elsewhere to get a university education.

Countries like Ghana, South Africa, US, UK, Canada, India, China, and Japan among others, have become easy escape routes for Nigerians who can not withstand the nightmares associated with tertiary education in Nigeria.

In those days, a student could sit for the University Matriculation Examination (UME) five times and if care was not taken, could still not get admission into the University or could spend more than four years at the university because of strikes.

To avoid this situation, many Nigerians moved abroad to school and hoped that once they returned home, their foreign degrees would help them get jobs easily.

Similarly, some Nigerians also moved abroad for postgraduate education (Masters and PhDs) in order to develop their skills. These individuals also had high hope of getting jobs easily with their foreign degrees once they returned home. Unfortunately, things have not worked out the way they anticipated because of the following reasons.

Employers cannot afford to pay them

Some Nigerian employers are wary of employing foreign graduates because they cannot pay them. Nigerians foreign graduates believe that since they schooled abroad, they are entitled to higher salaries. Hence, turning potential employers away whenever they make outrageous demands during interviews. One could argue in support for these Nigerians foreign graduates who sometimes take high-interest loans for tuition.

The Nigerian labour market is more competitive than they thought

Some of the foreign graduates underestimate the competition in the Nigerian labour market. Probably, this might be because of the pride that they schooled abroad, leaving them less prepared for the competition that awaits them at interviews. However, they are sometimes humbled and outshined by those who did not school abroad https://qwenu.com/2018/12/22/why-foreign-graduates-find-it-hard-to-get-a-job-in-nigeria/

Africa may be in the process of development; she may have contributed less to global economic development in 2018; she may be voiceless in the international political sphere, but the fact that outstanding Africans are contributing to the daily events that have helped move the world forward cannot be overruled.

During the course of the year, some outstanding Africans joined the league of movers and shakers of the earth in their various endeavours, and as a result, they were honoured with prestigious awards and nominations that brought them into the global limelight. Below are the carefully selected outstanding Africans who caught the world’s attention in 2018.

1. Dr Denis Mukwege (surgeon, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize)

Denis Mukwege is a Congolese surgeon, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, in recognition of his humanitarian work in Congo. Since Congo became independent, it has been a theatre of war. Consequently, many women and girls have become victims of gender-based violence.

As part of his effort to help the victims of war, he has devoted a major part of his life to treating thousands of women who were raped by rebels. He consistently criticized the impunity for mass rape and berated the Congolese government and international community for not making frantic effort to end sexual violence against women as a weapon of war.

In honour of his daring work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. The committee described him as“ the foremost, most unifying symbol, both nationally and internationally, of the struggle to end sexual violence in war and armed conflict.”


2. Silas Adekunle (robotic engineer)

For Silas Adekunle, it was not award that spread his fame across the globe but his talent as the smartest and highest paid robotic engineer in the world. The genius was born in Lagos before he relocated to the UK. He graduated with a first class degree from the University of the West of England, where he studied Robotics.

He built the world’s first gaming robot in 2017 and became the highest paid in the field of Robotic engineering in 2018 after he signed a new deal with Apple Inc. Silas Adekunle’s feat is not ordinary. Little wonder why his name appeared in the news.


3. Mamoudou Gassama (French spiderman)

Gassama is a Malian migrant in France. He was an unknown figure until he scaled a building to save a four-year-old child hanging from a fourth-floor balcony in Paris. While others were watching, Gassama climbed the building like Spiderman to save the child who might have likely fallen and died, if he was not rescued. In honour of his heroic deed, the French President, Emmanuel Macron honoured him with a bravery medal, offered him citizenship, and proposed Gassama join the French fire service https://qwenu.com/2018/12/21/2018-in-review-outstanding-africans-that-caught-the-worlds-attention/

Undoubtedly, Lagos will be one of the major battlegrounds between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections. This is because, he who controls Lagos, controls the wealth of Nigeria.

Abuja may be the administrative capital of Nigeria but Lagos remains her commercial capital. Little wonder the lion of Bourdillon and his cronies have tightly held their grip on Lagos for close to 20 years. And there is no likelihood that power will change hand in the forthcoming elections.

However, Jimi Agbaje, the governorship candidate of PDP has stepped forward to challenge APC and liberate Lagosians from the control of the party. This is not the first time that Jimi will challenge APC, in his previous two attempts; Tinubu obstructed him in order to support his candidates.

Whether or not Tinubu is powerful is not the question, as he has proved this with the successful selection and backing of Fashola, Ambode, and now, Sanwo-Olu, but the question should be can Jimi Agbaje overcome him? This may never happen for the following reasons https://qwenu.com/2018/12/21/the-battle-for-lagos-why-jimi-agbaje-is-not-a-likely-challenger-of-the-lion-of-bourdillon/

I woke up this morning to a link from my uncle on my WhatsApp. I rarely ever take any action on messages sent so early in the morning unless they are important, but the title of the article caught my attention. ‘Maiduguri residents protest against 24 hour electricity daily, demand reduction.’

My Yoruba mind immediately went ‘nibo?’

Like, this is Nigeria, right? We thrive in spite of our suffering but it does not mean we purposely invite the suffering upon ourselves. I look at the blog I was reading the story on and I erroneously dismissed it as sensational gist. But when I saw it again, this time from a newspaper, on my Google feed, I realized there might be some truth to what I had read earlier and went a-digging.

Lo and behold! It is true. Maiduguri residents had actually protested against YEDC (Yola Electricity Distribution Company) with regards to the 24hr light they had been enjoying for some time now, and were demanding to be taken back to their 12-hours-a-day schedule https://qwenu.com/2018/12/21/if-i-were-in-maiduguri-i-would-cry-out-too/

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is one of the major federal roads, not just because it runs through three states – Lagos, Ogun and Oyo. It is also the transport route for agricultural produce from the South West to the nation’s commercial hub. Despite its value that touches on commuters’ transportation and business, the road has been in a dilapidated condition for almost a decade now.

Successive administrations always name it as integral on their list of proposed capital projects, but years down the line, there is no improvement, In fact, the road is only getting worse. Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan launched the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in 2013, which was to gulp ₦167 billion. That was even after years of neglect and government inaction https://qwenu.com/2018/12/20/will-lagos-ibadan-expressway-ever-be-completed/

Since Sir Alex Ferguson, arguably, the most successful coach in the history of Manchester United retired, the club has struggled to consistently impose itself in England and Europe. The glory that was once at Old Trafford has departed and the board is not aware.

In fact, as United is battered on the pitch by teams who before now could not look into its face, the fans are also derided on the streets for the club’s woeful performance. United has become a repentant devil, it is no longer feared.

On Tuesday, Manchester United sacked Jose Mourinho, ‘the sacked one,’ sorry, the special one, after an inconsistent run of play. However, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the shameful 3-1 defeat, suffered in Liverpool’s hand on Sunday.

It will be unfair to call the board’s decision to part ways with Mourinho rash, seeing how they have patiently watched United suffered in the hands of teams they are not on the same pedestal. If Mourinho were at Chelsea or Real Madrid, he would not have lasted for that long before the choleric Roman Abrahamovic and Florentino Lopez sacked him.

Now that Mourinho has been shown the door, what next Manchester United? Will the sack of Mourinho automatically restore the lost glory? No, I do not think so. United will struggle till the end of the season except if the new caretaker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, gains control of https://qwenu.com/2018/12/20/what-next-manchester-united-now-that-mourinho-is-gone/

Cheating or infidelity as the case may be in marriages is a pandemic problem. There is no country in the world, where married men and women do not cheat. However, statistics may alarmingly vary from one country to another, but no country is adultery free.

I have no doubt that even in the Vatican City, (purely a theocratic state) where more emphasis is given to morality; there must be one or two cases of adultery or cheat in marriages – though the media may not report them like other countries.

Scientists and psychologists, in their several attempts to demystify why men and women cheat in marriages, have given some useful explanations but not adequate. Their explanations did not solve the problem, rather it only aggravated it. Which is partly why the rate at which married men and women now cheat, is alarming. Consequently, contributing to the many reasons why husbands and wives divorce.

Hence, this article intends to explain the unorthodox reasons why men and women cheat in marriages. I have used unorthodox because they are not inspired by scientific research or psychological observation, neither are they found in popular culture books. Hopefully, the solutions given at the end will help those who are about to lose their marriages to infidelity.

The fear of God is missing

Show me a marriage that is ridden with infidelity and I will prove to you that it lacks the fear of God. Not just marriages, wherever the fear of God is missing or is not treasured like gold, people cast off restraint. The fear of God is so powerful that it gives wisdom in everything done. It is also so important that it guides conscience, regulates behaviour, and moderates the relationship between people, including the covenant relationships between husbands and wives.

Despite the conspicuous value of the fear of God, most people including married men and women do not have it. That is why they misbehave, abuse, and cheat one another. For instance, it is not possible for a husband or wife who truly has the fear of God to cheat in his/her marriage. I know of a man called Joseph in the Bible. When he was confronted by Potiphar’s wife to do that, which was not convenient for him, he said, “How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God.” If Mr Joseph did not have the fear of God, he would have thrown in the towel.

On the contrary, some men and women also lived four thousand years ago in Sodom and Gomorrah. These men had no fear of God and because of this; they did worse than infidelity, to the extent that, God had to obliterate them.

Putting these examples into contextual consideration, there is no doubt that when the fear of God is missing in marriages, cheating will become inevitable.

They do not know what they need

Married men and women who cheat in their marriages do not know what they need. It is very important that before men and women embark on the lifelong journey of marriage, they must know what they need, go for it, and stay with it. It is written, ”Rejoice in the wife of your youth”. That is why it is very important not to marry under pressure or marry without seeking God’s counsel. In the process, one’s decision may be based on want and not need. And if one marries what he does not need, give it time, infidelity will be the first consoling option. Sadly, many marriages are products of yielding to pressures or not following the mind of God.

Lack of self-control

In a bid to have a balanced opinion, I have chosen to add this. Worthy of note, there are some married men and women whose pre-marital choices were based on needs but still cheat in their marriages. Reason being that, they lack self-control.

It is a terrible thing not to have control over one’s body before or when married. Anyone that cannot control his body is vulnerable https://qwenu.com/2018/12/20/the-unorthodox-reasons-why-married-men-and-women-cheat-in-their-marriages/

No doubt that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been taking a series of steps to stem the disturbing rise of internet fraud in Nigeria.

However, the situation calls for strategies beyond the conventional ones. It’s a disturbing case whose prevalence in recent years has eroded Nigeria’s integrity at the global front. Thousands of youths who have fallen prey to the tempting desire to earn money without working have turned to various forms of internet frauds.

Using false pretence in form of fake identities online, romance scams and phishing, these criminals find pleasure in depriving people, especially foreigners, of their hard-earned income. The rate has gotten to such as extreme that many of them employ fetish means and ritual practices to manipulate their victims into parting with their money. They have the habit of flaunting their unexplainable wealth, exotic cars and houses on social media.

In trying to curb this dirt on our national integrity, the EFCC, whose sole responsibility is to prosecute financial crimes in the country, has tried several means to bring the fraudsters to book. Earlier this year, 12 internet fraudsters, commonly called “yahoo boys,” were rounded-up in one of the popular nightclubs in Lagos.

Just this week, the operatives of the EFCC arrested three yahoo boys in Abuja. They were apprehended based on an intelligence report that the suspects turned a residence into their office, using laptops, phone and other gadgets to defraud innocent people, including foreigners, of their hard earned money and other valuables. Their activities were consequently monitored through mounted surveillance on the said address.

In most of the successful raids, the Commission deploys some technological tools https://qwenu.com/2018/12/20/how-efcc-can-leverage-technology-to-curb-internet-fraud/

“We still have about 1.38 million Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) uncollected as we speak. Only about 15 per cent of the 2017 new registrants whose cards have been produced has come to pick their cards.” That was from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos state.

It was over 86,000 left unpicked in Plateau state, while Osun state has over 400,000 PVCs uncollected, even at the dawn of the September elections in the state.

Nigeria has adopted to use some kind of access card to vote in our elections, and that has been refined over the years up till the introduction of Permanent Voters Card currently being used. It remains the only tool that can allow anyone to vote in elections.

But in spite of the PVC’s prominent role in the electoral process, with reference to citizens’ constant yearnings for good governance, millions of electorate, who have registered with INEC have yet to collect their cards, even though the elections are already at hand.

INEC’s data shows that out of about 180 million Nigerians, 84,271,832 citizens are registered voters, a 21 per cent increase from the 69,720,350 voters who registered before the recent continuous voters’ registration exercise which ended on August 31.

Such an unprecedented high number of electorates could be expected to effect some radical change. However, INEC’s confirmation that over 10 million PVCs https://qwenu.com/2018/12/19/slow-rate-of-pvc-collection-a-sign-of-a-failing-electoral-system/

Much ado about traditional African foods
I write this just after attending a research seminar that finally reinforced what I long suspected. I am in no way an anthropologist but I am a rational scientist and will start by stating that researchers have long suspected that the type of foods we eat play a significant role in disease causation. However, while some evidence has been clearly established, there are still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle. The key points in this article are highlighted in green.

There is increasing data that the food we eat impacts our bacteria population and diversity (a.k.a. microbiome) and that this may indirectly have an effect on disease development. For instance, why are certain diseases like celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, prevalent in certain parts of the world, especially the West, and less so in most parts of Africa?

Why are certain cancers very common in some countries yet uncommon in others? The answer to these questions will definitely not be straightforward and it may take many more years (possibly decades) to get the full explanation.

Lifestyle changes in Africa
It is very concerning to me that if you walk down the streets of Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, or Johannesburg, you can’t help but notice a Domino’s pizza or Macdonald’s restaurant. In addition, these fast-food restaurants are increasing in number suggesting that there is indeed a demand for them. Many fast-food restaurants including the two listed above have healthy food options, but also have foods that are unhealthy.

Africans have long admired the lifestyle of the West – not just in dressing, culture and lifestyle but also in food. I am certainly not innocent of this action. However, growing up in Africa, I didn’t eat a slice of pizza until my late 20s but now pizza is almost a weekly meal.

My sister visited me recently, and I ordered a pizza pie for her only to return home to see it largely untouched. Her response to me was that “the pizza back home is much better than this.”

Growing up in Lagos, my mother would prepare up to 10 different soups with various vegetables which we would eat with “eba” (garri- a complex starch, or pounded yam, or Semovita).

Our diet was also predominantly rich in beans, rice, and yams. However, over the past 10 years, there has been a transformation in the diet of many Africans. Many may be ignorant of the impact of this lifestyle, the goal of this article is to bring attention to the ills that this transition may have in the future.

The traditional African diet, intestines, and the microbiome 101
As introduced above, the traditional African diet is rich in complex carbohydrates like yams, beans, and plantains. There are even many types of tubers including regular yams, cocoyams, water yams. Complex carbohydrates are rich in fibre and may have a beneficial effect on the type of bacteria that colonizes our digestive tract (gut).

The bacteria in our gut constitute the microbiome. The microbiome has been implicated in various disease states including obesity, liver disease, cancer, and other chronic medical diseases. It has thus become a hot topic for researchers in an attempt to understand how our gut and its bacterial content affects our health and wellness.

How may traditional African foods affect gut bacteria and prevent disease?
The upper part of the intestines have bacteria that like to consume simple sugars. Examples of simple carbohydrates include glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, juices, and carbohydrates in pastries, and sugars found in sodas. Many breakfast cereals also contain have simple carbohydrates.

However, the African diet is rich in complex carbohydrates that are not completely digested in the upper intestine, the remnant nutrients from the breakdown of these complex carbohydrates go further down the bowel to supply nutrition to the bacteria in the lower intestines.

There is some evidence that if bacteria in the lower intestines do not receive sufficient nutrients (which can be seen with a diet that is low in complex carbohydrates, and rich in simple carbohydrates, as is seen in some Western diets), the bacteria start to invade the mucous layer of the digestive tract.

This mucous layer has a protective effect in keeping certain pathogens (bad stuff) in the bowels from crossing into the bloodstream. There is also evidence that a diet low in complex carbohydrates may lead to an increased selection of these mucous-loving, potentially problem-causing, bacteria in the gut https://qwenu.com/2018/12/15/slow-down-africa-dont-forget-your-african-foods-science-is-beginning-to-recognize-their-benefits/

IMHO (in my humble opinion), is a segment where I discuss an issue on my mind, that some people will agree with, while others will disagree. No matter what side of the fence you sit, all I ask, is that you please respect my opinion.

As the world marvelled at the brilliance of Mo Salah against Napoli during the recent UEFA Champions League, particularly in the first half – my eyes were glued to another player not wearing a red jersey.

Kalidou Koulibaly looked “world-class” in the first half of the game. He was excellent with the ball in defence but what impressed me more was his off the ball movement. He almost single-handedly held off Liverpool. There was a period of dominance in the first half when Liverpool could easily have taken a 2 or 3 goal lead. Koulibaly made a big difference.

His tackles were timely, and his pace was blistering in spite of his 6′ 5″ size. He completely dominated in an impressive manner.

I finally understood why some of the big English premier league clubs (including Manchester United) have their sights on him.

As the game came to a close, it was obvious that while Van Dijk also looked fantastic, Mo Salah’s confidence was rapidly rising. The team was beginning to click and fire on all cylinders. My heart skipped a beat as I suddenly remembered that this same “on fire” Liverpool FC would be playing Manchester United this weekend.

I have been a Manchester United fan since the mid-1990s when all we did was win. But, I suspended my fan membership a few weeks ago, at least until Mourinho gets fired. Yes, you can call me a fair-weather fan but this season has been horrific and I have had enough.

Except for the decent performance at Old Trafford against Fulham, the rest of the season has been poor.

It has been so bad for Manchester United that one football commentator rightly stated that Paul Pogba appeared like a Championship player. Think about it, a World cup winner- transforming in the course of months to a Championship level player.

While Pogba has certainly not looked great, the defence of Manchester United has lacked any kind of identity and consistency. This to me is the major problem with Manchester United this season. The defensive performance is completely opposite from last season’s.

All of a sudden, Jose Mourinho looks like he was right just before the start of the season when he made it clear that he needed a world-class defender.

This same porous defence has to play against the ever-sharp trident of Liverpool’s Mane, Firmino and Salah. Really, at Anfield.

Oh my, if Mo Salah doesn’t destroy Manchester United and score another hattrick, then he would have really underperformed.

I predict a blowout game, 5-0 or something like that. A game that will be so dominated by Liverpool that any Manchester United fan will be scared to watch and I think all the damage will be done in the first half https://qwenu.com/2018/12/14/imho-liverpool-vs-manchester-united-50-predictions-of-a-terrified-man-utd-fan/

The schedule of the much-anticipated Nigerian presidential debate to be organized by the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) was finally released on Tuesday. While the vice-presidential debate will hold on the 14th of December, 2018, the Nigerian presidential debate is scheduled for January 19, 2019.

However, the organizers only selected five presidential candidates out of the 71 candidates contesting for the office of the president in the forthcoming election. Obiageli Ezekwesil, Fela Durotoye, Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, and Kingsley Moghalu were the candidates cherry picked. Those who made the selection said popularity and character were the used criteria.

Irrespective of this, the absence of Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), from the presidential debate is fraudulent, undemocratic and against the parameter used by the organizers of the debate. In fact, Omoyele’s exclusion from the debate has put a question mark on the credibility of the debate, the organizers and has caused one to wonder if it was not a premeditated plan, probably sponsored by the very cabal he has openly denounced, to reduce his chances of winning the election.

Based on the popularity and character alibi given by those who excluded Sowore from the debate, he is overqualified to be selected amongst those who will debate in January.

Aside from the fact that, Sowore is involved in Sahara Reporters as the founder, which has earned him popularity amongst millions of Nigerians, the AAC, the party he represents is considered one of the three largest parties in Nigeria. Actually, the party also made it to the top 3 in the Channels TV online poll, organized to determine the candidates that will participate in the presidential debate.

Added to this, Sowore’s involvement in activism and the fight for democracy and good governance since his university days has made him popular amongst Nigerians. Anyone that does not know Sowore has either not been living in Nigeria or has detached himself completely from the mainstream of Nigeria’s news.

He led the Qwenu! presidential poll conducted online a few months ago. Even the Nigerians in the diaspora know Sowore, given how he won the online presidential poll organized by them. He was also the winner of the online presidential poll organized by the European Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria (ECSDN), winning 81.3% of the total votes. If Sowore were not as popular as insinuated by the organizers of the presidential debate, he would not have won these online polls.

With due respect to some of the presidential candidates selected to participate in the presidential debate, Sowore is more popular than them. Apart from Buhari and Atiku, there is no other presidential candidate that is as popular as Sowore, whether at the peripheral or metropolitan level. Therefore, the unpopularity argument of the organizers of the presidential debate is a chimera https://qwenu.com/2018/12/14/matters-arising-the-exclusion-of-omoyele-sowore-from-the-nigerian-presidential-debate/

Since the Electric Power Sector Reforms Act of 2005, Nigerians have continued to grapple with insufficient and unstable power supply. Successive governments have tried to improve the sector, but thanks to low capital infuse and poor political will, there has not been any significant success. However, it seems we’ve allowed this to linger by our refusal to bring-up power distribution companies to their responsibilities.

The Act provides for the “formation of companies to take over the functions, assets, liabilities and staff of the then national electricity company; to develop competitive electricity markets; to provide for the licensing and regulation of the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity; to enforce such matters as performance standards, consumer rights and obligations; to provide for the determination of tariffs:…” By implication, the bulk of the responsibility that comes with generating and distributing electricity lies with the distribution companies.

Over the past ten years, the then National Electric Power Authority has metamorphosed into many electricity distribution companies (discos) that manage power grids and ensure seamless availability of power to the public. These companies, numbering twelve, takes hold of each geopolitical zone in twos. They include the Abuja, Benin, Eko Enugu, Ibadan and Ikeja electricity distribution companies. Others are that of Jos, Kaduna. Kano, Port-Harcourt and Yola.

The discos work in collaboration with the federal government, with each party investing in the sector periodically. However, the companies seem to have focused their attention only on revenue generation and administration, with no financial input to further improve power availability. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) recently raised an alarm that the refusal of discos to recapitalise will only stall our progress towards improved electricity https://qwenu.com/2018/12/12/discos-and-the-desperate-need-to-recapitalize-our-electricity-grids/

13 years after the crash, I wonder how the families of the victims are faring. The horror of December 10, 2005, is a feeling better imagined than experienced, and I wish it was one they did not have to ever go through.

13 years after, the only survivor of the fatal crash, Kechi Okwuchi, continues to live her life in service to others, encouraging people who have experienced some form of trauma or are going through difficult times in their lives not to give up. In spite of the pain she has undergone, and the scars she lives with daily, Kechi, through all these years has been a source of blessing to countless people whose names and faces she may never get to really know.

13 years after, and our aviation industry still has a lot of work to do in terms of the quality of our airports and the planes on our domestic routes.

13 years after and our country is in a worse shape. Access to proper healthcare is almost non-existent for the common man, and our response to emergencies is poor. Case in point is the story-building collapse in Port-Harcourt, where people were trapped in the rubble days after the collapse.

It has been 13 years since the plane crash, and it is hoped that as the families remember December 10, it is with less pain for the tragedy they experienced, and more gratitude for the blessings they have received over the years https://qwenu.com/2018/12/13/the-sosoliso-plan-crash13-years-after/

The defunct Skye Bank appeared to be in good standing in 2014 when it acquired Mainstreet Bank, only to have its assets taken over four years later. At the close of a week earlier in September, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele announced the revocation of Skye Bank’s operational license. Emefiele, who doubles as the Managing Director of the Nigeria Insurance Deposit Corporation (NDIC), added that the bank’s assets are being transferred to Polaris Bank, with immediate effect.

If not for the swift steps taken by the NDIC to forestall the complete collapse of the bank, over ₦949.6bn in depositors’ fund could have gone down the drain. Through the timely engagement of Polaris Bank as the bridge bank, the CBN was able to guarantee the seamless and continuous banking operations in the 277 branches of the bank, save over 6,000 jobs and ensure depositors have unhindered access to deposits in excess of ₦949.60bn https://qwenu.com/2018/12/12/what-actually-led-to-the-fall-of-skye-bank/

The argument in favour of the nonsense our artistes produce by the dozen daily is that Nigerians like noise. Which is true. We are not as somber and serious as our European brothers and sisters. But no one has ever said that we like rubbish or we do not deserve the best.

It is our artistes who imagine these falsehoods in their heads and go on to create songs with meaningless content that they fling with impunity and reckless abandon in our faces. And because we are nice, we will listen to these songs for 3 days and then trash them in history’s not-to-be-mentioned-ever-again dustbin https://qwenu.com/2018/12/13/why-are-our-nigerian-songs-nevergreen/

The first reason is that as human beings, we tend to be afraid of something. Not necessarily the crippling, terrorizing kind of fear, but the type that can act as a motivation for our actions.

If you have interacted with a wealthy person who grew up in extreme poverty, you would probably notice that their greatest fear is to go back to nothing. And so, at every point in time, they are conscious of not making decisions that would propel them back into poverty. Sometimes, they are so careful in their spending that we think they are tight-fisted.

Our fear of the unknown, of unpleasant consequences, or of unfavourable outcomes can cause us to be easily manipulated by others who seek to take advantage of us.

Our desires can also lead to deceitful people manipulating us, especially when we let these desires overtake logical reasoning. The truth is, we all want something. From economic stability to peace of mind; every day we live our lives in pursuit of desires that would bring us happiness and fulfilment. Or drive us into the hands of charlatans if we are not on our guard https://qwenu.com/2018/12/12/why-is-it-so-easy-to-be-manipulated/

Music artists and entertainers in Nigeria need to be more deliberately cautious of the message they pass to the public. Public figures are role models who commands a whole lot of influence among their fans. Their characters and lifestyle provide samples for them to adopt, which unfortunately include the bad ones. A recent gun-handling case involving popular artiste, Adekunle Temitope, also known as Small Doctor is a course for concern.

He was alleged to have brought out a weapon and threatened to shoot a policeman controlling traffic in Lagos. In a country where cultism and gangsterism thrives, where the number of idle youths are increasing year-on-year, reckless and irresponsible use of gun is that last thing that should ever occur. It is not expected of someone who many youths look up to.

In another dent on his image, Small Doctor was also said to have a subsisting case of him allegedly shooting during one of his recent shows, injuring four people. For someone with his kind of reputation and popularity among adolescent and young adults, he’s passing a message that he supports gun-handling, gun violence and other crimes associated with it https://qwenu.com/2018/12/05/artists-like-small-doctor-may-be-unwittingly-introducing-young-nigerians-to-gun-violence/

When a Nigerian politician tells you that it is raining outside, one has to put his or her head through the window to let one’s heart be free of the iron web of the politician. They talk of decades of achievement as something that can be done in a jiffy.

Such is the rhetoric of restructuring in the campaign of the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Of course, there is a need to restructure the country irrespective of the country’s socio-economic, ethnicity and religious status. However, the manner in which Atiku has been propagating the restructuring process is not just authoritarian but a fiction that lacks verisimilitude.

As much as it is arguable that Nigeria has not been able to achieve the basic requirement for any country of the world to lay claim to true federalism, this claim according to Obidimma and Obidimma in their joint paper, “include a political system where there is power sharing under a written constitution with a government consisting of at least two orders: a central or federal government and the governments of the constituent units. Each order of government receives an allocation of financial resources tailored to their specific requirements.”

Nasir el-Rufai, the chairperson of the All Progressive Congress’ Committee on restructuring, in his paper delivered at Chatham House in 2017 further strengthens this argument “that our federation has been dysfunctional, more unitary than federal and not delivering public goods to the generality of our people”.

While el-Rufai attributes the cause to a poor political culture and weird leadership selection process that have replaced institutions and constitution. It is on this parameter that Atiku has failed to answer the question of what is to be restructured. Is it our institution and constitution? Is it the political culture and the weird leadership selection process? These among others should the asked from Atiku by his listeners.

The number one obstruction of restructuring in Nigeria is the constitutional constraints. Of course, nothing is static, so also is Nigeria constitution subject to change.

It has on several occasions been argued that Nigeria’s constitution is a conglomeration of facts and errors which in one way or the other favours the political elite. Unfortunately, the body language of many Nigerian legislatures is not dancing to the tune of the debate of restructuring; neither can the dream of restructuring comes to reality by the sole interest of any members of the executive. For instance, Nigerians have demanded a referendum in our constitution that it is yet to be granted.

Another major hindrance to restructuring is corruption. To what extent will we be guaranteed that the situation of the country would change for better if Nigeria is restructured. How many legislatures in Nigeria can account for their constituency https://qwenu.com/2018/12/12/the-popular-fiction-in-atikus-campaign/