₦airaland Forum

InyinyaAgbaOku:
None is like chike obi in Nigeria.
Browse the trio of nigerian greatest mathematicians : 2 Igbos and one Yoruba. Anything that has to do with physics, maths at the international, nobody comes close to Igbos in Nigeria.

That is what I said about you people.Comparing the greatest black mathematicians with Chike Obi.
Chike Obi is not even up to:


Ethelbert Nwakuche Chukwu who is an Igbo.

Born: November 22, 1940

place: Mbano, Imo, Nigeria

B.Sc. Mathematics (1965) at Brown University; M.Sc. Applied Mathematics at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka

Ph.D. Applied Matheatics (1972) Case Western Reserve University
thesis: Symmetries and Indentification Of Linear Control Systems; Advisor: Otomar Hájek

: Professor of Mathematics, North Carolina State University

URL: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~chukwu/
E-mail: chukwu@math.ncsu.edu

Ethelbert Nwakuche Chukwu earned his B.Sc. in Mathematics at Brown University (1965), a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka and earned his PhD. in Mathematics from Case Western Reserve University (1972). Thus began a remarkable career in Mathematics Resarch and Administration.

Dr. Chukwu's first position was at Cleveland State University where he was an Assistasnt Professor (1972) and Associate Professor in 1976. In 1977 until 1981 he was Dean of the School of Post-Graduate Studies at the University of Jos in Nigeria. He also served as Professor of Mathematics (1978-81) and Chair of the Mathematics department (1979-81). From 1981 until 1984, Dr. Chukwu was Vice Chancellor (President) of Federal University. From 1984 until 1989, he held several visiting positions at universities in the U.S. However, in 1989 E.N. Chukwu became Professor of Mathematics at North Carolina State University where he remains until today. He has worked on several research projects for NASA since his membership in the faculty of mathematics at NCSU. E-mail: chukwu@math.ncsu.edu Also see the web page: Who are the greatest Black Mathematicians?

Dr. Chukwu's hobbies are music and poetry.

Research

Dr. Ethelbert Nwakuche Chukwu was awarded the Griot Mathematics Award by The Academy for Pan African Research and Culture. He has over 75 papers and books on various topics from Classical Analysis to Operator Theory and Applied Mathematics- linear and non-linear differential equations, and Mathematical Economics. Below are the articles located through Math Reviews

Books

Chukwu, E. N. Optimal control of the growth of wealth of nations. Stability and Control: Theory, Methods and Applications, 17. Taylor & Francis, London, 2003. xxiv+384 pp. ISBN: 0-415-26966-0
Chukwu, E. N. Stability and time-optimal control of hereditary systems. With application to the economic dynamics of the U.S. Second edition. Series on Advances in Mathematics for Applied Sciences, 60. World Scientific Publishing Co., Inc., River Edge, NJ, 2001. xx+495 pp. ISBN: 981-02-4674-9
Chukwu, E. N. Differential models and neutral systems for controlling the wealth of nations. Series on Advances in Mathematics for Applied Sciences, 54. World Scientific Publishing Co., Inc., River Edge, NJ, 2001. xvi+513 pp. ISBN: 981-02-4381-2 91-02.
Chukwu, E. N. Stability and time-optimal control of hereditary systems . Mathematics in Science and Engineering, 188. Academic Press, Inc., Boston, MA, 1992. xii+508 pp. ISBN: 0-12-174560-0

Papers

Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche Goodness through optimal dynamics of the wealth of nations. Nonlinear Anal. Real World Appl. 4 (2003), no. 5, 653--666.
Chukwu, E. N. International economic models as surveillance for the optimal control of the growth of wealth of nations. Nonlinear Anal. Real World Appl. 3 (2002), no. 1, 75--84.
Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche Volterra integrodifferential neutral dynamics for the growth of wealth of nations: a controllability theory, with Canada example. Differential equations and dynamical systems (Waterloo, ON, 1997). Dynam. Contin. Discrete Impuls. Systems 5 (1999), no. 1-4, 561--577.
54. Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche Volterra integrodifferential neutral dynamics for the growth of wealth of nations: a controllability theory. Indian J. Pure Appl. Math. 29 (1998), no. 7, 723--799.
53. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. On the controllability of nonlinear economic systems with delay: the Italian example. Appl. Math. Comput. 95 (1998), no. 2-3, 245--274.
52. Chukwu, E. N. Control of nonlinear delay differential economic systems in $W\sp {(1)}\sb 2$. Advances in nonlinear dynamics, 157--170, Stability Control Theory Methods Appl., 5, Gordon and Breach, Amsterdam, 1997.
51. Chukwu, E. N.; Simpson, H. C. The solution operator in $W\sp {(1)}\sb p$ for systems of neutral type . Nonlinear Anal. 29 (1997), no. 10, 1173--1195.
50. Chukwu, E. N. Control of nonlinear delay-differential equations in $W\sp {(1)}\sb 2$ with economic applications . Appl. Math. Comput. 85 (1997), no. 1, 17--59.
49. Chukwu, E. N. Universal laws for the control of global economic growth with nonlinear hereditary dynamics . Appl. Math. Comput. 78 (1996), no. 1, 19--81.
48. Chukwu, E. N. Control of interconnected nonlinear delay differential equations in $W\sp {(1)}\sb 2$ . Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Math. Sci. 105 (1995), no. 1, 73--98.
47. Chukwu, E. N. Control in $W\sp {(1)}\sb 2$ of nonlinear interconnected systems of neutral type . J. Austral. Math. Soc. Ser. B 36 (1995), no. 3, 286--312.
46. Chukwu, E. N.; Smoczynski, P. A weak invariance principle and asymptotic stability for evolution equations with bounded generators . Internat. J. Math. Math. Sci. 18 (1995), no. 2, 255--264.
45. Chukwu, E. N. Optimal control of the growth of income of nations . Appl. Math. Comput. 62 (1994), no. 2-3, 279--309.
44. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Mathematical controllability theory of the growth of wealth of nations . Japan J. Indust. Appl. Math. 11 (1994), no. 1, 87--111.
43. Chukwu, E. N. Mathematical controllability theory of capital growth of nations . Appl. Math. Comput. 52 (1992), no. 2-3, 317--344.
41. Chukwu, E. N.; Underwood, Robert G.; Kovari, Louis D. Global constrained null-controllability of nonlinear neutral systems . Appl. Math. Comput. 49 (1992), no. 1, 95--110.
40. Chukwu, E. N. Nonlinear delay systems controllability . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 162 (1991), no. 2, 564--576.
39. Chukwu, E. N. Global behavior of linear retarded functional-differential equations . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 162 (1991), no. 1, 277--293.
38. Chukwu, E. N.; Lenhart, S. M. Controllability questions for nonlinear systems in abstract spaces . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 68 (1991), no. 3, 437--462.
37. Chukwu, E. N. The time optimal control theory of functional-differential equations applicable to mathematical ecology . Mathematical ecology (Trieste, 1986), 734--752, World Sci. Publishing, Teaneck, NJ, 1988.
36. Chukwu, E. N.; Simpson, H. C. Perturbations of nonlinear systems of neutral type . J. Differential Equations 82 (1989), no. 1, 28--59.
35. Chukwu, E. N. The time control theory of linear differential equations of neutral type . The mathematics of systems and computations (Atlanta, GA, 1986). Comput. Math. Appl. 16 (1988), no. 10-11, 851--866.
34. Chukwu, E. N. The time optimal control theory of nonlinear systems of neutral type . Nonlinear analysis and applications (Arlington, Tex., 1986), 127--132, Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math., 109, Dekker, New York, 1987. 34K35 (49E15 93B05 93C10)
33. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. The time-optimal control of nonlinear delay equations . Operator methods for optimal control problems (New Orleans, La., 1986), 97--130, Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math., 108, Dekker, New York, 1987. 34K35 (49A10 49E15)
32. Underwood, Robert G.; Chukwu, E. N. Null controllability of nonlinear neutral differential equations . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 129 (1988), no. 2, 326--345.
31. Chukwu, E. N. Global null controllability of nonlinear delay equations with controls in a compact set . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 53 (1987), no. 1, 43--57. 93B05 (34K35 49E15)
30. Chukwu, E. N. On the Euclidean controllability of a neutral system with nonlinear base . Nonlinear Anal. 11 (1987), no. 1, 115--123.
29. Chukwu, E. N. Function space null controllability of linear delay systems with limited power . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 124 (1987), no. 2, 293--304.
28. Chukwu, E. N. Evolution equations of Lurie-type in Hilbert spaces . Nonlinear Anal. 9 (1985), no. 9, 977--985.
27. Chukwu, E. N. Constrained global null controllability of nonlinear delay systems . Trends in theory and practice of nonlinear differential equations (Arlington, Tex., 1982), 121--128, Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math., 90, Dekker, New York, 1984.
26. Chukwu, E. N. Null controllability in function space of nonlinear retarded systems with limited control . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 103 (1984), no. 1, 198--210.
25. Chukwu, E. N. Total controllability to affine manifolds of control systems . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 42 (1984), no. 2, 181--199.
24. Chukwu, E. N. An estimate for the solution of a certain functional-differential equation of neutral type . Nonlinear phenomena in mathematical sciences (Arlington, Tex., 1980), 255--268, Academic Press, New York-London, 1982.
23. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. The time optimal control problem of linear neutral functional systems . Journal Nigerian Mathematics Society 1 (1982), 39--55.
22. Chukwu, E. N.; Gronski, J. M.; Silliman, S. D. Spline solution to extremal problems via optimal control . Boll. Un. Mat. Ital. Suppl. 1980, no. 1, 21--29.
21. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Global asymptotic behaviour of functional-differential equations of the neutral type . Nonlinear Anal. 5 (1981), no. 8, 853--872.
20. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. On the null-controllability of nonlinear delay systems with restrained controls . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 76 (1980), no. 1, 283--296.
19. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. On the boundedness and the existence of a periodic solution of some nonlinear third order delay differential equation . Atti Accad. Naz. Lincei Rend. Cl. Sci. Fis. Mat. Natur. ( 64 (1978), no. 5, 440--447.
18. Chukwu, E. N.; Hájek, O. Disconjugacy and optimal control . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 27 (1979), no. 3, 333--356.
17. Chukwu, E. N. A neutral functional differential equation of Lurie type . SIAM J. Math. Anal. 11 (1980), no. 1, 108--114.
16. Chukwu, E. N. Controllability of delay systems with restrained controls . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 29 (1979), no. 2, 301--320.
15. Chukwu, E. N. Functional inclusion and controllability of nonlinear neutral functional differential systems . J. Optim. Theory Appl. 29 (1979), no. 2, 291--300.
14. Chukwu, E. N. Capture in linear functional differential games of pursuit . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 70 (1979), no. 2, 326--336.
13. Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche Euclidean controllability of linear delay systems with limited controls . IEEE Trans. Automat. Control 24 (1979), no. 5, 798--800.
20. Chukwu, E. N. On the null controllability of a control process satisfying a nonlinear fifth order differential equation . Nigerian J. Sci. 11 (1977), no. 1-2, 375--397.
19. Chukwu, Ethelbert N.; Gronski, Jan M. Approximate and complete controllability of nonlinear systems to a convex target set . J. Math. Anal. Appl. 61 (1977), no. 1, 97--112. 93B05
18. Chukwu, Ethelbert N.; Gronski, Jan M. Controllability of nonlinear systems with restrained controls to closed convex sets . Differential games and control theory, II (Proc. 2nd Conf., Univ. Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I., 1976), pp. 295--308. Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math., 30. Dekker, New York, 1977. 93B05
17. Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Complete stability and boundedness of solutions of a nonlinear differential equation of the fifth order . Stability of dynamical systems, theory and applications (Proc. Regional Conf., Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, Miss., 1975), pp. 111--118. Lecture Notes in Pure and Appl. Math., Vol. 28, Dekker, New York, 1977. 34D05 (93D05)
16. Chukwu, E. N.; Silliman, S. D. Complete controllability to a closed target set . J. Optimization Theory Appl. 21 (1977), no. 3, 369--383. 49E15
15. Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche On the controllability to closed sets of nonlinear and related linear systems . Nonlinear Anal. 1 (1976/77), no. 4, 429--441.
14. Dynamical systems . Vol. I. Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Brown University, Providence, R.I., August 12--16, 1974. Edited by Lamberto Cesari, Jack K. Hale and Joseph P. LaSalle. Academic Press, Inc. [Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers], New York-London, 1976. xxviii+338 pp. ISBN: 0-12-164901-6 34-06 (58-06)
Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Symmetries and identification of non-autonomous control systems . Differential games and control theory (Proc. NFS-CBMS Regional Res. Conf., Univ. Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I., 1973), pp. 277--290. Lecture Notes in Pure Appl. Math., Vol. 10, Dekker, New York, 1974. 93C99 (90D25)
Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Controllability to a target set of linear disturbed systems . IEEE Trans. Automatic Control AC-22 (1977), no. 4, 653--654. 93B05
Chukwu, E. N. On the controllability of non-linear control process satisfying a third order differential equation . Nigerian J. Sci. 7 (1973), no. 2, 119--133. 93B05
Chukwu, E. N. On the boundedness and stability of solutions of some differential equations of the fifth order . SIAM J. Math. Anal. 7 (1976), no. 2, 176--194.
Chukwu, Ethelbert N. Finite time controllability of nonlinear control processes . SIAM J. Control 13 (1975), 807--816.
Chukwu, E. N. On the boundedness and stability properties of solutions of some differential equations of the fifth order . Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 106 (1975), 245--258.
Chukwu, Ethelbert N. On the reachable sets of non-autonomous linear control systems . Portugal. Math. 34 (1975), no. 1-2, 91--103.
Chukwu, E. N. On the boundedness of a certain fourth-order differential equation . J. London Math. Soc. (2) 11 (1975), no. 3, 313--324.
Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche On the boundedness of solutions of third order differential equations . Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 104 (1975), 123--149.
Chukwu, Ethelbert Nwakuche Symmetries of autonomous linear control systems . SIAM J. Control 12 (1974), 436--448.
Chukwu, E. N. On the stability of a nonhomogeneous differential equation of the fourth order . Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 92 (1972), 1--11.
Chukwu, E. N. Mathematical controllability theory of the growth of wealth of nations . World Congress of Nonlinear Analysts '92, Vol. I--IV (Tampa, FL, 1992), 2459--2470, de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996.
Chukwu, E. N. Global behaviour of retarded functional-differential equations . Differential equations and applications, Vol. I, II (Columbus, OH, 1988), 176--180, Ohio Univ. Press, Athens, OH, 1989.

lolzzzz:
so waec lied? You wish you could change the figures.

No,WAEC did not lie but we all know that this was gotten through miracle centres because these people are dull in education compared to the Yorubas.Kudos..if that is what you want

lolzzzz:
this news pain you ooo

Just look at this.The best in the world...lol


The Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday in Abuja honoured Dr Victor Olalusi who scored [b]5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) [/b]in Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow (RNRMU) in 2013, arguably[b] the first in the world.[/b]

Yorubas are not local champions only...

lolzzzz:
this news pain you ooo

Yes pip,it pains when people lie and believe their lies.So you as a learned person breaks their lie with facts

Ndyoo:
You tend to expose your ignorant by trolling online seeking attention. I am a product from the east. Am I sound? Yes...Did I cheat to be sound? No...A greater majority of us are sane enough not to be dragged into an ethnic war online just because you felt we didn't merit what we got. You're not the first and You will not be the last but then it doesn't stop us from still leading...If you feel like we are cheating to be there, why not try and outsmart us because I think it's only smart ones are intelligent enough to cheat. And we have registered far more records than a 26 year old with a PhD that's why we have names like Charles soludo, Dora Akunyili, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala...I just mentioned a few.

YOU ARE A REAL JOKER FOR NAMING ALL THOSE SMALL RATS WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE LIKE:
ELIAS WHO WAS A PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD COURT COMPARED TO OKONJO IWEALA (AND DORA AKUNYILI) WHO ARE JUST BOMBOYS(WE HAVE 24 BOMBOYS LIKE THEM UNDER WORLD BANK...google is your gf)THEY ARE NOT EVEN UP TO THE SENIOR VPS UNDER WORLD BANK TALKLESS OF BEING AT PAR WITH THE PRESIDENT OF Afdb.. Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

2.PROF AJIBOLA WHO ONCE HEADED THE UNO..

AND WHAT ABOUT THE ENIGMATIC GREAT MAN WHO YOU LOVE TO HATE BUT SPITS IN YOUR FACES,
3.OBASANJO...LEADING THE PACK OF WORLD FORMER RULERS AS WE BLINK OUR EYES..lol.

and many more.

I am not blabbing but if you talk about education,home and abroad,Yoruba towers above the Igbos lalasticlalaly...lol

We have greatest numbers of:
DOCTORS.
LAWYERS.
PROFESSORS.
UNIVERSITIES.ETC
IN FACT WE EDUCATED YOU AND WE ARE PROUD OF THAT.


The Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday in Abuja honoured Dr Victor Olalusi who scored [b]5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) [/b]in Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow (RNRMU) in 2013, arguably the first in the world.

Olalusi, who was the best graduating student in the whole Russian Federation in 2013, studied in RNRMU under the Russia-Nigeria Bilateral Education Agreement.

Speaking at the event, Dr MacJohn Nwaobiala, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry said a lot of Nigerian students were brilliant but Olalusi was a genius.

He said Olalusi had become an ambassador not only to the ministry but to Nigeria and Russia.

“We have to search the Guinness Book of Records for anybody who has achieved 5.0 in a university. It is curious and strange that all those that evaluated his performance could not find reason to reduce a point from him.

“You should be the ambassador of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ministry of Education, Nigeria and the Russian Federation.

“I look forward to the day you will stand before the President to receive your honour. We have recommendations to that effect, ’’ Nwaobiala said.

He then urged Olalusi to continue to be a role model to young Nigerians and also called on him to explore opportunities in post graduate research.

In her speech, Mrs Ifeoma Agunwa, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, said Olalusi made 5.0 GPA in all the courses he took in the seven years he studied Medicine in Russia.

She said “Olalusi never had a 4.99 GPA. Even in the Russian language class, he did not fall below 5.0.”

In her citation on Olalusi, Agunwa said he ranked as one of the best students in the faculty which handed him a place in RNRMU’s Hall of fame for academic excellence.

She said that Olalusi had registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and had the compulsory one-year housemanship training at State Specialist Hospital, Akure, Ondo State.

According to her, he is presently going through the compulsory National Youth Service scheme in Rivers.

Mr Artem Romanov, who represented the Russian Embassy, said that Olalusi’s feat was very significant for everybody in Russia.

Romanov said “Nigeria is blessed with abundant human potential which is officially acknowledged in Russia.

“It has been acknowledged in the Russian Ministry of Education that Nigerians have a lot of exceptional talents. Genetically, Nigerians grasp knowledge easily.

“Olalusi is a hardworking person. It is not easy to achieve such in Russia; it goes with talent and hard work.

“I urge you to engage your knowledge in the development of your father land.”

While showing his appreciation, Olalusi thanked God for his rare feat and also commended the Federal Government and the Scholarship Board for the opportunity given to young Nigerians to distinguish themselves.

Mr Olarewaju Olalusi, the father of Olalusi, said that his son’s achievement was as a result of hard work.

Olalusi said his son did not attend high class schools but normal public schools which spoke volumes of the standard of education in Nigeria.

He then urged parents to monitor their wards closely and make sure they were not distracted from their studies.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/07/29/nigerian-sets-record-scores-5-0-gpa-in-russia/

Asiri1991:
Never will an eastern state go beyond tenth position. The truth is that easterners are good in whatever thing they do. Aregbe please, help our education in the Osun.

Miracle centre educated pip spotted

Ariani:
Lol! This is your comeback? Hahaha! Individual awards? Bwahaha!

Didn't an Igbo man just win a science Award at AU conference in Ethiopia?

Lol! You want us to flood this thread with individual awards? Lol!


You are pathetic. We are talking of percentages here, group average performance and a supposedly educated person like you is using a few Yoruba high flyers who are easily cancelled out by Igbo high flyers to console yourself.
Ndo.

You are the pathetic one here because you compare authentic widely educated people with your miracle centres peolple and say they are educated when everything genuine happenings home and abroad signifies that Yorubas are more educated than the Igbos.
And for your information,individuals beget a nation...
I WANT YOU TO BRING OUT YOURS AND WE WOULD ALWAYS DWARF WHATEVER YOU BRING AUTHENTICALLY.

LOOK AT THIS...EXCERPTS:



Mathematicians of the 1990s:

Seven mathematicians of the 1990s, Adebisi Agboola, Jonathan Farley, Wilfrid Gangbo, Abba Gumel, Trachette Jackson, Katherine Okikiolu, and Arlie Petters show extraordinary promise, "should be" (but are not necessarily) located at the very best institutions, and may be the Fields medal candidates of the future.













Petters: Belize born American citizen Arlie Petters, the most senior of the group is a member of Duke University's Bass Fellows. He is Full Professor of Mathematics and of Physics (their first tenured Black professor in the sciences - congratulations Duke). He is chiefly interested in the mathematical theory of gravitational lensing and related areas (differential geometry, singularity theory, general relativity, Astrophysics). Though Petters received his Ph.D. about ten years ago, he has published 30 papers and a book, chiefly in the area Gravitational Lensing. Petters's book on Gravitational Lensing is considered a tour de force in mathematical physics. In 1998, Petters was awarded the most prestigious award for "young" mathematicians, the three year Sloan Research Fellowship. In 2002, he was recipient of the first Blackwell-Tapia Prize.

K. Okikiolu: Born to Nigerian and British parents, but educated in the U.S., Katherine Okikiolu (was once on Princeton's faculty) received special distinction in 1997 when she was the first Black to win a Sloan Research Fellowship. Later in 1997, she won the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers for "Innovative research in geometric analysis, particularly the determinant of the Laplacian under smooth perturbations, and developing student workshops and mathematics curricula for inner-city children." This particular award is worth $500,000 and is only granted 60 scientists and engineers in the U.S. per year. Okikiolu's work on elliptical differential operators is considered a major contribution, going well beyond what experts had considered feasible, given the current state of knowledge. Her 2001 publication Critical metrics for the determinant of the Laplacian in odd dimensions in the Annals of Mathematics, is receiving high acclaim. She is Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of California at San Diego.

Farley: Born in an extremely successful academic family of Rochester, New York, Jonathan Farley, graduated second in his class with an A.B. from Harvard University and obtained a mathematics Ph.D. from Oxford University where he was awarded the Senior Mathematical Prize and Johnson Prize for his research. During a two year visit to the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute [MSRI] in 1996, Farley solved very important old problems in the Theory of Ordered Sets. He also works in Lattice Theory. He is currently publishing at an average of more than three papers a year, and in 2003 was a Distinguished Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University in England. Currently is Visiting Professor of Mathematics at Massachusettes Institute of Technology.

Gangbo: In just nine years from a Ph.D. to a Full Professor - this is incredible. Wilfrid Gangbo was born in Benin and in 1992 earned a Ph.D. from Swiss Federale Institute of Technology. Among his twelve papers is his 1996 The geometry of optimal transportation remains the single publication by a Black in the Mittag-Leffler Institute's Acta Mathematica, one of the world's strongest mathematics journals. In 2001 he was appointed Full Professor by Georgia Institute of Technology.

Agboola: In mathematics, one does not always know of young persons working in fields outside their own, and it is a great honor to the individual if the case is otherwise. Adebisi Agboola's work in Number Theory and Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry has been mentioned to me as very good by Kevin Corlette and two of my non-Black colleagues whose area of research is mutually exclusive with Agboola, Corlette, and each other. Agboola is Full Professor of Mathematics at the University of California at Santa Barbara

Gumel: Born in Nigeria, Ph.D. in England. Abba Gumel is an extremely prolific in the areas Mathematical Biology, Non-linear Dynamical Systems, and Computational Mathematics. Currently he is a Full Professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada.

Jackson: American Trachette Jackson was a mathematics major at Arizona State in Tempe. Four years later she earned a Ph.D. in Mathematical Biology. Five years later she had ten articles under her belt and a Sloan Fellowship. Currently, Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics University of Michigan

Johnson: British born Mathematical Physicist Clifford V. Johnson has over 60 publications since his 1992 Ph.D. Since that time he has immersed himself within String Theory (also see Sylvester James Gates) with papers and books. He is currently on leave at USC.


http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/madgreatest.html

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Are you new to Nairaland?
Best public primary and secondary school in Nigeria.
Then the Singapore and Croatia competition.
Best maths teacher award.
Use the search button on google

Yorubas are the greatest black mathematicians in the WORLD and much more...


http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/madgreatest.html

EXCERPTS:
Who is [or was] the most important Black Mathematician?

I believe the answer is vaguely fathomable? Assuming "importance" refers to impact upon the community. Do we mean on mathematics, on the world community in general, or just in the African Diaspora community? In the first case, we discussed individuals in the masters above. In the last case the answer might be the first Black Math Ph.D., a mathematician influential with governement (as Percy A. Pierre), a great teacher (such as Etta Falconer or Clarence Stephens), a research mathematician, or some part or combination of the four (like Adegoke Olubummo or Raymond Johnson). You must decide; to learn more click on the underlined words.



Who are the young mathematicians whose careers exhibit extraordinary promise?

Mathematicians of the 21st Century

I had anticipated delaying this section until 2007 and young folks had begun to publish. However, as a winner of the AMU/ICMS 2003 Young African in Mathematics Medals, one individual has changed my mind.

Oguntuase: Currently in Italy, Nigerian born and soley Nigerian trained, James Adedayo Oguntuase earned his Ph.D. in 2001, but has published 18 papers in mathematics since 1998. This promises to be a stelar career.

It is not easy to have the youngest PHD HOLDERS in Africa,4 YORUBA GREAT MINDS,back to back..
Where do you see miracle centers people in this kind of set up?

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Deal with it.
South east rocks year in year out.
From waec to debate.

Why are your own teachers not preparing you? Laziness

We do the real thing.We hate fakey.That is why we lead in the authentic education section back to back,Nigeria,Africa,World.We are not local champions,we rule the world with our great thinkers in education etc.

Philistine:
debate! u no get shame o! we are talking of brain tasking competitions u are talking of debate! smh!

lol...those people are a funny lot.

Odunharry:
Na wah o.. Yorubas and Igbos again

It is good for the health and development if we do it rightly..

SonOfEl:
PentiumPro please I don't want you to die of Lassa fever, I want you die of heart attack caused by envy...dey shine teeth like masquerade...

It is a well known FACT,so nobody recognizes the Igbos when you talk about education.HOME AND ABROAD...EDUCATION HAS BECOME THE BIRTHMARK OF THE YORUBAS.
MIRACLE CENTRES THING AND YOU ARE HAPPY.SMH...
Look at the real thing.

EVEN ABROAD..


The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, UP, says Romola Adeola is its youngest doctoral graduate. In a statement on its website, the centre said: “Romola Adeola, 26, has set a record in being the youngest person to obtain a Doctor of Laws degree (LLD) in the 30-year history of the Centre for Human Rights.

Furthermore, she is only the 2nd youngest person to achieve this in the Faculty of Law, UP, since its establishment 107 years ago. She distinguished herself by completing the LLD in under 3 years. During her undergraduate years at Lagos State University (LASU), she was the Best Student in International Law.

Romola’s relationship with the Centre for Human Rights began from her participation in the 2008 African Human Rights Moot Court Competition. In 2012, she was selected as a DAAD scholar to study for the LLM/MPhil degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa.

She graduated cum laude, earning two awards: the Kéba M’Baye award for the overall Best Dissertation and the Victor Dankwa prize for the Best Performance in the module: Human Rights in Africa. Her excellent record earned her admission to the Centre’s doctoral programme in 2013.

In her PhD thesis, she analyzed the obligation in article 10 of the African Union Convention in relation to the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. She has given interviews, presented papers at international conferences and been the voice of the Centre on issues of internally displaced persons, migrants and refugees. .

During her time here, she led the Disability Rights Clinic and served as Alumni Coordinator. In this latter capacity, she led a campaign calling for the release of prominent Swazi human rights activist – Thulani Maseko, and raised funding to support his family.

She attributes her success to her supportive parents, personal discipline, perseverance and prayer. In her words, ‘be faithful to God, be true to yourself and be of service to humanity.’ She also holds two diplomas from Åbo Akademi University.”
http://www.trezzyblog.com/2016/02/26-year-old-lasu-alumnus-emerges.html

moneybag100:
HH

Am sure you are older than her, instead of you to think, reason that your mates are making a difference and stop opening your legs around. you are mentioning someone else glory...is Pat Utomi related to your family?
Fuc.ckin Bigot.

She was just pulling your legs...lol.

Patrick Utomi was born in Kaduna, Kaduna State. He is a descent of Igbuzo in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. He had his primary education at St. Thomas, Kano 1960-62; Our Lady of Fatima, Gusau 1962-1966; Christ the King College, Onitsha and Loyola College, Ibadan,finishing his secondary education at the age of 15. The entry age for university education was 17, so he enrolled at the Federal School of Arts and Science in the interim. He later got admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1973 to study Mass Communication. Patrick utomi graduated from university of Nigeria Nsuka in 1977, He attended Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, where he got his Ph.D. MPA, MA. Appointed professor of the Social and Political Economy Environment of Business and Pioneer Entrepreneurship Teacher at Lagos Business School in 2003. he has been a scholar-in-residence at the Harvard Business School and the American University in Washington, D.C.

wisesoul:
E no possible for naija because some lecturer go frustrate the babe until she grace their beds.

YOU LIED...
WE HAVE HAD:
Dr Olabisi Adeyemi (Age: 26)

This young intellectual earned her PhD in Botany from the University of Lagos. Though she had maintained a track record of academic success right from her secondary school, she acknowledged that having a PhD at her age, and the record of being the best graduating PhD student, did not come easy.

Born in Lagos Island local government of Lagos state, Dr. Adeyemi attended Girls’ Academy, L/Island where she was the best student in WAEC, with seven distinctions. She proceeded to University of Lagos and graduated with a first class degree in botany in 2006. She completed her PhD in record time in 2012.

Dr Opeyemi Shodipe (Age: 25)

This young Nigerian scholar received her bachelor’s degree at 19, from Babcock University. After the mandatory NYSC programme, she entered for a masters at University of Ibadan, graduating best in her department. She capped it with a well-deserved doctorate degree in information science from her alma mater, Babcock University when she was 25.
AND THE YOUNGEST PHD HOLDER IN AFRICA:
Dr Olaoluwa Hallowed Oluwadara (Age: 24)

Acclaimed as one of Africa’s youngest PhD holders, Olaoluwa is a spectacular Nigerian intellectual and scholar, because of his achievements. He entered university for a bachelor’s degree at 15. He earned two B.Sc degrees in mathematics and physics, from University of Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), run simultaneously. He received his master’s degree from the same university.

He crowned it with a PhD in mathematics at the University of Lagos, Akoka, where he was the best graduating PhD student. Dr. Olaoluwa H. Oluwadara won University of Bangui’s all-time best student award from the department of mathematics, best BSc student award in physics, 2007 and best MSc awards in physics and mathematics respectively in 2008. He currently is a research fellow of the Mathematical Analysis and Optimisation Research Group.

funkybully:
Must be a yolo-ube woman with wicked tiger scratch mark.

Jumping from man to man. Wickedness at it's peak!

So you are still bitter,vampire face,factory baby.I have not finished cleansing you,you do know that...cann.funkybully...lol.

A FEW YEARS AGO...



It is always wonderful to hear news of Nigerians
doing great things in the diaspora. That is why we are very proud of Olu Onemola,
a Nigerian graduate at the Lehman College, the City
University of New York (CUNY), United States of
America who received seven awards at the
university’s 2012 graduation ceremony.



He received the awards during the graduation
ceremony held on Saturday in New York.
Olu is the son of Bukun-olu Onemola, Nigeria’s
Deputy Ambassador at the United Nations in New
York.
Olu studied Polititical Science at Lehman and
received the distinguished “Golden Key’’ award,
otherwise referred to as International Honour
Society which is an academic honour society for
high-achieving scholars.



Other awards are the Pi Sigma Alpha, National
Honour Society in Political Science , and The Jacob
Hammer Memorial Prize in English which is
awarded to a student leading in theatre
performance.


He also won the Edgar Dawson Prize in Political
and Legal Theory which is an award to the
outstanding Political Science graduate with the
strongest portfolio of political and legal essays.
Onemola also received the CUNY Vice-Chancellor’s
Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Cum
Laude Award .



This is a Latin term that signifies “With Honours”,
a distinction bestowed on graduates that fall within
a 3.4 to a 3.59 GPA on a four-point scale.
Speaking on the awards, the elated Onemola said
they had inspired him to continue to thrive in all
his endeavours, regardless of any obstacles that
might stand on his way.



“My impression is that hard work definitely pays
off. Being able to achieve such feats, while serving
as the President of the Student Government, is a
testament to hard work,’’ he said.
Well done Olu.

CONTD...



“It is planned to be a compact campus. That’s the
trend you find abroad. And there is really no
intelligent reason to have many grandiose
buildings that will be difficult to maintain when you
are just taking off. Nigerians have a style of
wastage; higher education is all about quality
learning and knowledge dissemination. Of course,
there is room for expansion. Behind what you see
is a vast expanse of land that we intend to make
use of as we grow.”



According to him, a whole floor in one of the
buildings has been dedicated to Information
Communication Technology training, while every
student will be expected to have a laptop
configured and connected to a virtual library
system that the university hoped to run.



Agoro, was, however, not forthcoming on specific
details on staffing arrangement, beyond saying that
faculty members would be drawn from the United
Kingdom and some Nigerian universities. Although
he claimed to have applied for the operating
licence with a fee of N5 million since 2007, it was
gathered that the university has been tied down by
a concert of conspiring factors. Not much longer
after construction started, work was reportedly
ordered stopped by the NUC on the strength of a
petition by a section of the town led by a rival
traditional ruler now deceased, Elerinmo of Erinmo
Ijesa, Oba Taiwo Adeniyi, alleging dispute over
Agoro’s right over the land.


Adeniyi and Agoro,
both cousins had been locked in a protracted
chieftaincy supremacy tussle with the latter
claiming to be the overlord of the former.
The case which had resulted in an epic legal battle
arose over the Owa Itapa’s, (Agoro’s traditional
title) refusal to subordinate himself to the Elerinmo,
who claimed to supercede the former in the
hierarchy of the town made up of about five clans-
Igbajo, Ooye Ekun, Erinmo, Itapa and Omo.
Sources in the Elerinmo’s court alleged that the
Owa Itapa was a “mere” chief of the paramount
ruler of Ijesaland, the Owa of Ijesaland,



However, the Loyin of Itapa Ijesa, Chief Oluwole
Oguntola, described the claim as a distortion of
history and tradition. He told Daily Sun that the
Owa of Itapa was the founder and the first to settle
in the land, where he was late r joined by Oloja of
Igbajo, Ooye Ekun, Erinmo and Olomo of Omo in
that successive order .



He said the heads of the rest four clans al l used
to meet at the old palace of the Owa Itapa , whom
they acknowledged as their landlord and primus
interpares. Accordingly, the Loyin said, they could
only bear the sub-title of Baale, as they were
allegedly tenants.



Trouble was said to have arisen, however, when
the Owa of Itapa travelled to the United States. In
his long absence, the then Elerinmo, said to be
enormously wealthy and installed in 1992,
allegedly sought official recognition and class
upgrade from the Osun State Government. On the
Owa’s return, the Elerinmo refused to subordinate
himself.



The development sparked off a crisis that
snowballed into a protracted legal battle. But, the
Elerinmo, mysteriously drowned in a well at the
back of his house, on the date judgment was to be
delivered in 2010. However, there has been no
love between the two feuding royal households, as
the late monarch’s successor inherited the old
animosity.
The town was polarized along the loyalists of the
two royal families. This was discovered in the
course of interviewing the townsfolk who spoke
with enthusiastic passion and gall against the
university project, depending on which faction they
belonged.


Attempts to interview some of the
residents on the proposed university met with
either hostile and rebuff or cold refusal in some
quarters, while others spoke glowingly of it and
lauded its promoter. They were upbeat about the
prospects of social and economic development the
tertiary institution would usher into the town.



An elder and member of the Elerinmo’s cabinet,
Chief Michael Atofarati, the Lafosan of Erinmo Ijesa,
said the establishment of the university in the town
was a noble, worthy and commendable cause by
Agoro, noting that it should ordinarily be welcomed
by all indigenes:
“Even if it was a gesture from a stranger ,it will
have our support, how much more our own , a
prominent son of this land.” However, he said
many of the townsfolk were indiferent to it, because
Agoro “went about it in the wrong way.”



He alleged that the people were not happy with the
Owa for arrogating himself to the status of a
monarch and thus disrespecting and challenging
the authority of the “ruler of the town” , the
Elerinmo. To this end, Atofarati said Agoro did not
enjoy the support of the town: “We just watch
him.”
A middle-aged man, who refused to give his name,
mocked the project: “You call that a university? Is
it up to a grammar school or even polytechnic?
They have been saying officials were coming from
Abuja to open it. First they gave a date in
September it did not materialise , later, they said
October 4, yet, we saw nobody. We don’t know if
they are serious about it, or i f it’s just a
gimmick.”


But Chief Oguntomilola debunked the insinuation
that the project lacked popular support: “We are all
in support, the town is behind it. O f course, you
have a handful of people who are motivated by
malice and jealousy.
But, certainly not the majority
of the people, who are going to benefit when the
university starts.”


Interestingly, even before it opens to students, a
mini market has already formed round the
university campus, where a crowd of traders and
hawkers sell fruits, snacks, palm oil, food items ,
soft drinks and bottled water among a range of
wares. Mrs. Grace Akosile, the market leader said

it developed in anticipation of the influx of students
into the town. She, however, lamented that she and
her colleagues were weary with waiting for the
school to open:
“Even prospective students and their parents have
been coming here to ask about admission. But we
were told that approval is being delayed because
government officials from Abuja to give Baba the
nod to start it, kept rescheduling the dates they
were to come and inspect the school. For instance,
we were told they would be coming in September;
we got ready.


We sewed Aso ebi (traditional
uniform) – women groups, youths and
associations. They did not come. Again, it was
shifted to last month (October), still, they failed to
come. We are appealing to the government to
speed up action on the university, because of its
abundant potentials to benefit our town.”



Secretary to the traders, Mrs. Toyin Adelu and Mrs.
Funlola Adeniyi, who sells bean cakes to motorists
and commuters, in a traffic caused by speed
breakers erected in front of the campus site,
reiterated the plea. They debunked alleged
opposition or rejection of the university, which they
noted would promote the glory of the town. Adelu
said,
“We beg government to come to our aid. You
know that the university would bring more visitors
into our town and enhance our buying and selling
business, more money will flow as people will
need to rent houses. But more importantly, our
unemployed youths can get jobs. What Baba
(Agoro) has done for this town, no one in his right
senses will be against it.”



She said although she is from an Erinmo
compound, the fact that she, like several others
came to trade in front of the campus site, proved
the popular support for the university project.
Agoro shared the anxiety of the people on the
stalled project.


He said inspection visit by a team
from the Standing Committee on Private
Universities (SCOPU), NUC, billed for September
was cancelled twice (September 13 and 29) only
for him to receive a text message from the body’s
Secretary, one Pascal Eruaga, about 15.49pm on
September 28, rescheduling the exercise for
between October 4 and 7:
“I wasn’t even notified in writing, just a phone text
message. The NUC’s cancellation of the event was
at a terrible cost. We incurred losses because our
expatriates from UK had to go back . To assemble
those in Nigeria again is not easy. So, I had to tell
them to give me 30-day notice next time they
want it. What of my people? They were all gaily
dressed; they had prepared food and danced in
celebration, only for the NUC people not to show
up!



“I don’t want to make any accusation, because we
have gone past that. There was a time when we
first started that some people tried to disturb the
project and wrote the NUC. The NUC without
consulting or hearing from me, without even
visiting or investigating, stopped the project in
2008, after I’d spent millions of naira. But, they
later asked us to continue. So, I don’t know what
could be happening again now.”



Efforts to reach the Executive Secretary of NUC,
Prof. Julius Okogie, for comments on the matter
failed. However, sources in the commission said
the university could not yet be licensed simply
because the promoter was yet to satisfy the 14-
step coemic briefs-outlining the
contents of the programmes/courses to be run to
ensure they conform with universal standard; ndition required to be in place to qualify. ndition required to be in place to qualify.
According to one of them, OABU has only reached
the seventh step of the criteria ladder. The next
stage, he said involved physical verification of the
resources/facilities
According to one of them, OABU has only reached
the seventh step of the criteria ladder. The next
stage, he said involved physical verification of the
resources/facilities
staffing arrangement involving 20 per cent
professors, 35 per cent associate professors/
readers/lecturers and 45 per cent masters degree
holders as well as assessment and certification of
the qualifications of staff.


Then the university must show evidence of having
enough capital in the bank accounts to pay staff,
offset overhead costs and run on auto-pilot. A NUC

official disclosed: “NUC insists on this because we
don’t want a situation in which the students would
be stranded along the way after entering the
university just because the school can no longer
sustain itself.A lso, the idea of having an
independent board of trustees is to avoid a
situation in which the students are asked to pay
fees into the proprietor’s private accounts,” and
then such money disappears or is mismanaged.
NUC sources said the failure of the SCOPU team to
keep the May 29 appointments, was regrettable,
but explained that it was put off because it clashed
with another crucial official activity involving the
commission.



Another source absolved the commission of
alleged bias and stalling of the university project.
Although he said he needed time to investigate
actual cause of the purported suspension of work
on the project at the initial stage, he explained that
this could have been caused by a possible dispute
on the land on which the campus was sited: “Any
encumbrance on the property on which the
university is to be sited such as ownership
dispute or controversy is a sure ground for
disqualification. You won’t be licensed.



The NUC official said there was nothing wrong with
the modest site of OABU campus, which, according
to the school’s claims had reached 70 per cent
completion: “Of course you can have a modest
temporary site to take off, but there must be a
permanent site of at least 200 acres. On either of
these, however, there must be no clash of
interests.”
As the NUC team plans to visit the proposed
private university, observers have stressed the
need for rival factions in the town to unite and
embrace the project, which, they observed, could
only bring prosperity to the town and transform it
from an undecipherable dot on the national map to
a landmark feature on the global map .

BICKERINGS...BICKERINGS...BICKERINGS... WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET IT RIGHT?
‘Africa’s first business varsity’ can’t take off 7 years after.
Over N200m assets rot away.
From YINKA OLUDAYISI FABOWALE, Abeokuta.

IT looked no more than one of the mushrooms institutions of higher learning dubiously fleecing unwary students and their parents in the name of providing tertiary education. Its unusual name, simple, ordinary appearance and location in an obscure remote rural corner of Ijesa land in Osun State reinforce the suspicion and skepticism of observers and travellers who pass by it on the Itapa/Erinmo/Ijesa-Efon Alaye Road, shortly after forking off the busy Akure–Ile-Ife Road in the state of the Living Spring.


Olapade Agoro Business University (OABU), the red letterings proclaim on the white-coated walls shielding a set of the two-storey buildings that welcomes visitors into Itapa/Erinmo-Ijesa. A small-sized disc signboard besides the building complements this advertisement with similar message.

Interestingly, since about seven years that this structure, supposedly to serve as campus of a proposed private university has been standing on this site, there has been no sign of any academic activity going on there. In fact, the entrance gates are permanently shut like that of the imposing palace of the Owa of Itapa, Ijesa, Dr .(Bishop) Olapade Agoro, the traditional ruler of the host town and proprietor of the proposed institution, lying adjacent to it. The gates are only opened occasionally, when Agoro, who is partly based in Ibadan, Oyo State, paid the small town periodic visits.


However, the association of Agoro is what makes it difficult to dismiss the credibility of the institution with a wave of hand. Besides being the traditional ruler, a prominent religious leader and an entrepreneur with a group of schools, Agoro is a politician who not only contested presidential election as candidate of the National Action Council (NAC), later axed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for unimpressive showing at the 2011 polls, but also served as national chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP). Is OABU, therefore for real? If so, why is it neve r in session?


Investigations revealed that local political discord, rivalry and intrigues may be partly responsible for preventing the college, conceived as a specialist university offering business management science courses in 2007, getting of ground. Agoro said the university was meant to be a tribute to and galvanizer of the abundant legendary business acumen and talent for which the Ijesa people are known, besides helping to spur socio- economic development of his community: “I dreamt and started building it in 2007 as a tribute to the Osomalo (enterprising) spirit of my people and to further develop this trait. There is nothing like it yet in the whole o f Africa.

You can only get the type in the United States and Japan and perhaps in U.K. I found our tertiary educational institutions lacked the business orientation and focus in the various disciplines they offered. And that’s our problem in Nigeria, that’s why there is unemployment, that’s why companies are run at a loss, that’ swhy the economy is in shambles and that’s why we are underdeveloped.

“OABU, as a specialist university, is set up to correct all this by giving specialized and quality training in the business management sciences- entrepreneurship, accounting, banking and finance, marketing, Information Technology management and business administration. It’s also meant to be a silicon valley creating businesses.”


The educationist disclosed that he had applied for an operating license from the National Universities Commission (NUC) but regretted that the regulatory body was yet to grant the approval. Could this be due to the modest physical appearance of the campus site which observers on a first look, may be tempted to dismiss as even hardly fitting for a modern secondary school?


The school promoter objected: “In terms of facilities, what we have are more than what we require to get certified.” He listed these to include 11 three-storey buildings comprising lecture rooms and administrative offices, a 200-seater multi-purpose hall, a chapel, clinic, 50-seater eatery, library that can sit 100 readers at a time, male and female hostels that can accommodate 100 students each, shopping mall and municipal facilities like water and electricity. In addition, Agoro said he has begun constructing a stadium for sporting events by the students. In all, the proprietor claimed he had so far spen t N220 million on providing the infrastructure.


As it were, Daily Sun had no privilege of verifying these claims as the gates of the campus were always firmly under lock and key during its visits. However, Agoro offered to order it opened and organize a facility tour, should the reporter be willing to return to the town.

He blamed a spiteful description of the proposed tertiary institution by an indigene interviewed during a recent visit to the town, as “fake and a mere caricature of a university”, citing its small size, on ignorance and malice. He explained that the modest size of the campus suited and has capacity for the academic programmes it was meant to run:

TO BE CONTD...

CONTD...


However,as has been explained above, this is a title of unknown exigencies because once partisan politics resumes, the profile and role of the holder is muted. Nonetheless, one thing must be borne in mind always; partisan politics or not, the Yoruba, discerning and fastidious as ever, are eminently adept at differentiating and separating the chaff from the substance.



They know who is in politics in search of lucre, position and patronage, personal aggrandizement, hence not every politician can even remotely be considered let alone be chosen to hold this title .

For the foreseeable future, as far as the eyes can see, the only known feature of the Nigerian federation is the unknown.

Hence this title and its utility under the extant dispensation, cannot be assailed. It is to the eternal credit of Obafemi Awolowo, that the benchmark by which any holder of the title would be assessed was established by him.

mignone:
e dakun arakunrin mi, obirin ni mi o

Ema binu.Idahun yin kun fun lakaye pupo.A se ohun ti okunrin le se,won ni obinrin tun peregede,my lovely sister...

CONTD...

To buttress this point, the Yoruba have only come up with this title when there is a need for a Leader to speak for and articulate the political line of the Yoruba nation [like in 1966] or when they are under siege like during the reign of terror of the late happily departed depraved slowpoke.
Hence Adekunle Ajasin filled that role and after his passing, the Apamaku Aderibigbe Adesanya was also so elected. All the three men who have held this title earned it strictly on personal merit and in recognition of service to and defence of the cause of the Yoruba nation. Obafemi Awolowo himself was only fifty-seven years old when the title was conferred on him and there were people who were far older than him at the assembly.
So, age which is revered among the Yoruba is not necessarily a major criterion. The integrity, extra-ordinary courage and personal merit of the holder of this title is evident to all regardless of political partisanship. Here is Adeyinka Adebayo, former military governor of Western region and a leader of the NPN in the second republic, [Vanguard Dec 19th, 201], on Awolowo, ’we lost our bearings since Chief Obafemi Awolowo left western region premiership to contest the seat at the federal house of representatives……if Chief Awolowo had stayed as premier of western region…..the Yoruba would not have been relegated to the background in the country’ Chief Ayotunde Rosiji, the General- secretary of the Action Group, [later deputy leader to Chief S.L Akintola in the Nigerian National Democratic party [NNDP] [ who was removed from his position at the unforgettable Jos congress of the party in 1962 that precipitated the crisis that eventually led to the January 1966 coup d’etat, expressed the same views about Awolowo as contained in his biography by Nina Mba [1992], ‘Rosiji regrets that the AG did not win more seats in the 1959 elections so that Awolowo might have been made prime minister. Of all the leaders he was the most qualified by education, by intellect, and by organizational ability.


Had he been prime minister and Azikiwe governor- general, Rosiji feels they would have made an unbeatable team for Azikiwe’s charisma and humaness would have have complemented Awolowo’s single-minded dedication and thoroughness’ OsuOlale Akinjide, easily one of the most inveterate and implacable critic and political opponent of Awolowo told Nigerians in [ThisDay, 2001] that his regret in Nigerian politics was that he was not able to be ‘in the same political party with Chief Obafemi Awolowo’. Adekunle Ajasin was already in his eighties when he took on Sani Abacha and remained unbought and unbowed till the end of his life.

Aderibigbe Adesanya earned the sobriquet ‘The Apamaku’ [the one who refused to die] when he faced down the murderous goons of Sani Abacha as testified to by the leader of the assasination squad himself Sergeant Barnabas Jabila Msheila [a.k.a. Sergeant Rogers] on the street of Lagos, and by the grace of God, walked out of his bullet- riddled car unscathed.

Sergeant Msheila was led to Adesanya’s home by Lateef Sofolahan, the Abacha spy and informant who was masquerading as an assistant to Kudirat Abiola and was in her employ. We have gone this length to explain the extra-ordinary circumstances that threw up this title and pedigree of its holders. Indeed, one cannot but wince in disappointment on reading the works of some Nigerian commentators and writers who characterize the politics of the Yoruba as inward-looking or ‘tribal’.

These writers betray a gross ignorance of Nigerian political history. What Awolowo and his followers have reaped from 1979 till date, are the fruits of their revolution of 1952-59; when children in western region [comprising today of Oyo,Ondo,Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, including much of what is Lagos state today] had free medical service from birth to the age of eighteen and free primary education. It was the beneficiaries and products of these schemes in their millions and their children now, whose lives had been transformed by the meticulous planning and social engineering of Awolowo’s government that made him the paramount leader of the Yoruba, partisan politics or not..

For their parents though, Awolowo had to prove himself and this he did by dint of hard work and unflinching commitment to the welfare of the people of western region when he was the premier. Awo did not believe that you come into public service to ‘come and eat’; for him, a political party is made of ideological compatibles who share same ideas about the role and place of government in people’s life, have come up with a political platform about what they intend to do with the power they are seeking through the vote of the people. Hence, they have a covenant with people who had voted for them and have to deliver what had been promised during electioneering campaign.


Thus, he would say that one should not enjoy in government what one could not provide for oneself in private life, so you would not develop a sit-tight syndrome. He also believed in the supremacy of the party where all ideas are fiercely debated before a decision is reached. As premier, his party faced fierce and unrelenting opposition in critical divisions of western region; Ijesha, Ibadan and even in Ife whose monarch Oba Adesoji Aderemi, the late Ooni was the governor.


The Action Group was the government in power but every vote was contested and there was no place for complacency. The National Council of Nigerian Citizens [NCNC] was strong in western region and infact won the election of 1956. In 1952, Awolowo as leader of government business and later as premier faced a hostile colonial government that viewed him with suspicion and his party’s program with scorn and derision; worse, he faced a skeptical people to whom he had to prove himself and earn their trust.

Untested, this was the advent of self-government in Nigeria; could he really lead his party to make ‘life more abundant’for the people of this region? To the extent that he did, and was acknowledged to have done so by friends and foes alike, was testified to on August 12 1966, nine days after he was released from gaol, the Yoruba people turned to him to lead them as they faced an uncertain future in a convulsing Nigeria.

How Obafemi Awolowo became the Leader of the Yoruba and its lesson for today. By Dr. Ibiyinka Solarin

A simmering undercurrent of disaffection is brewing within the Yoruba polity, blown open and exacerbated by the assassination of Chief Ajibola Idowu Ige. This undercurrent was there when Ige was alive.
This article is an attempt to offer some suggestions as to how it can be resolved so we [the Yoruba] do not end up in mutual recrimination and socio-political cannibalism. We owe it a duty to our common and much cherished patrimony, the Nigerian commonwealth and the world at large to cultivate, promote and sustain a culture of decent and civil contention and disputation in our politics.

Each nationality that make up the Nigerian federation must have peace in its own domain before it can contribute meaningfully in resolving the contradictions of the federal republic. It behooves us all as stakeholders to do all we can to promote peace and concord within our nationalities and the Nigerian family at large.

The choice of the topic is deliberate because the problem centers around the role and place of the holder of the title of the ‘Asiwaju of the Yoruba’ in political partisanship in ‘peace time’ Nigeria. The title, Asiwaju, [the one in front, the Leader ] is an exigency of ‘war times’, ‘abnormal times’ or ‘crisis times’ in the Nigerian federation, when the Yoruba, fearing discordant voices, lest others took advantage of their history of fierce political contestation, elected to speak with one voice. All chroniclers of human events and affairs, suggest that the study of a social phenomenon begins with the study of its history , thus to the source, we must go.

Before August 12, 1966, the only universally- acclaimed Leader of the Yoruba was Oduduwa, their venerated progenitor. No Alafin or Ooni commanded universal acceptance; the Yoruba were engaged in ruinous self-destructive wars, [the Ijesas, Ibadan, Ijebu, Oyo], pitting brother against brother, leading to betrayal and loss of territory [like in Ilorin]. even during the slave trade until the British colonialists came.
The Yorubaland had, incrementally beginning with Lagos in 1861, been incorporated into what ultimately became the British colony of Nigeria in 1914. Whatever the British might have designed the Nigerian federation [ a forced amalgam of disparate peoples] to be, events came to a head on January 15th 1966. Of the events of this day, and others deriving therefrom, there is not much dispute, though to this day, the motives, speculations and opinions are fiercely contested.
A seismic rupture had occurred. Two of the biggest nationalities of Nigeria, the Igbo and the Hausa in tandem with their Fulani overlords were at each others throat, the future of the Nigerian federation looked grim, dim and precarious indeed. This is not the place to do a rehash of the events of Jan 15 1966, for which the aggrieved staged a revenge in July of the same year.
On July 29th 1966, elements of northern Nigerians in the army led by Yakubu Danjuma had surrounded the government house in Ibadan, the political capital of the Yoruba, murdered Adekunle Fajuyi, the military governor and his guest, the head of state, J T U Aguiyi- Ironsi. For two harrowing days, Nigerians did not know who was in charge. Nobody knew what could happen.

The Yoruba were in disarray, their military governor murdered, their kinsman Babafemi Ogundipe, a Brigadier who ordinarily ought to take command of the army on the assassination of Ironsi, fled when confronted with the murderous reality of the mutineers in Lagos, led by Murtala Mohammed. The Nigerian army has become the armed wing of the northern political establishment with a thirty- two year old Lt.-Colonel [Yakubu Gowon] calling himself the Supreme Commander, when there were Brigadiers, Colonels and even Lt-Colonels who were his superior officers.
Political and military power over the Nigerian federation was now in their hands. Northern troops were in Yorubaland, supremely confident. If they turned on the Yoruba, as they did on the Igbo in May, who would speak for them? What weighty voice was there to give people hope, in case of anything untoward, indeed any eventuality?.
The original plan of the northern establishment in July 1966, was to secede from Nigeria once they exacted their pound of flesh in what Yakubu Danjuma called their ‘revenge coup’. Once their British mentors pointed out to them the folly and bankruptcy of this position, [land-locked and the most economically backward region of Nigeria] they made a dramatic volte face. Yakubu Gowon released Obafemi Awolowo from incarceration and told him ‘we will need your experience’at their very first meeting. The Leaders of Thought of the four regions, northern, eastern, mid-western and western began to meet preparatory to a national conference.
And the Yoruba gathered at Western Hall in Ibadan on August 12, 1966, summoned by the new military governor of the region, Adeyinka Adebayo. Now in such a volatile and unpredictable climate that Nigeria has found itself, and looking more and more like ‘To thy tents Oh Israel’, who would speak for the Yoruba? In attendance were the Obas and leaders of all the defunct political parties and different shades of opinion in western region [the Yorubaland].
If Nigeria were to suffer an implosion, the fate of the Yoruba would be in the hands of those that are assembled here, but who is THE LEADER sans partisan politics? Adebayo gave an opening address and left.
By acclamation Obafemi Awolowo was selected to preside over their deliberation. The question of the Leader of the Yoruba immediately came up which Awolowo ruled out of order but members persisted., many of these were his former political adversaries in the National Council of Nigerian Citiizens [the NCNC] and the Nigerian National Democratic Party [the NNDP].
A motion was moved, seconded by cheering acclamation and Obafemi Oyeniyi Awolowo was unanimously elected the Leader of the Yoruba. Whatever moral imprimatur and authority deriving from this title, no one, least of all Awolowo himself, was ever under any illusion that this position can be sustained once partisan politics is resumed under any guise. This was a title for extra-ordinary times when the Yoruba are rudderless or under siege.
And Awolowo himself made that clear to his colleagues. Thus the profile of the Leader of the Yoruba, in peace time Nigeria, becomes mute where partisan politics flourishes, as the Yoruba like any free citizen of Nigeria can seek affiliation and membership with and in any political party of his or her choice.
Thus, in 1978, once partisan politics commenced, leading Yoruba personalities like AMA Akinloye, OsuOlale Akinjide, Toye Coker, Adeleke Adedoyin and MKO Abiola were in the National Party of Nigeria [the NPN], Adeniran Ogunsanya, TOS Benson, AreOye Oyebola were in the Nigerian Peoples Party [the NPP] while Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasain, and J.A.O Odebiyi were in the Unity Party of Nigeria [the UPN]

mignone:
e ku deedé ìwòyí oo gbogbo omo-olú-ìwà-bí. orí mi n wú bí mo se n ka àwon ohun ìjìnlè wònyí lati owó àwon t'èmi.
to the question, I think 'omoluabi'- "offspring of distinct virtues" depicting that which d Yoruba culture&tradition represents; IMO

You are also right...my adorable,brother.It depicts goodness...

THE OLADAPO STORY


Remarkable achievements by Nigerians
who reside in overseas countries are
difficult to identify in light of the
widespread view that our citizens are
mostly involved in inappropriate
behaviour, regardless of where they live.


Not only is that view highly exaggerated,
it also tends to diminish the notable
accomplishments of many Nigerians, who
contribute in various ways to the
development of their fatherland.

So, when I received on Sunday, August 9,
this year, an email from Mr. Adebayo
Oladapo about a new digitised Nigerian
food recipe application applications
(apps) he created to make it easy for
anyone, including children, adults and
young people to cook our traditional
foods, I decided that must be one
outstanding achievement that deserves to
be acknowledged and publicised.


Oladapo is the director of a private
enterprise, TalkaSoft Pty Ltd in Brisbane,
Australia.
The applications (apps)- Digitised Nigerian
Food Recipe and Shopping List app-
provide step-by-step guide to food
preparation.
It also contains an ingredient list that can
be converted to a shopping list, which
could be used at the shops or ordered
online.


The applications are available on Google
App Store and is expected to be available
on the Apple platform.
Anyone who has experienced the negative
image associated with Nigeria would
understand why I was delighted to find in
Oladapo’s innovation a reason to crow
about something that would help Nigeria
and its citizens to begin to redeem their
tattered image.


On Tuesday, September 15, this year, I
settled down in my office to interview
Oladapo on his latest and previous
technological innovations.
I asked what he intended to accomplish
through the development and his
response was as detailed and clinical as
you can expect from a man with a
humble background.


Oladapo said: “The app is intended to
modernise and at the same time preserve
one of the greatest exports of Nigerian
culture- our food. Every Nigerian
understands this.
“Our food has unified our people and our
cultures for many years and it deserves to
be preserved for future generations.
“Many people may wonder why and what
is so special about this app, after all, we
have many Nigerian cookbooks and other
apps that illustrate Nigerian foods.


“My response to such queries is that this
new app provides the recipe in a digitised
format, which means you can change the
attributes of the recipe (such as
ingredient quantity, unit costs and also
add more ingredients and link the recipe
to a shopping list, so that you can get
everything you need when shopping).”
He elaborated further: “The digitised
format enables you to calculate the
quantity and number of people who will
eat the food, thereby reducing waste and
ensuring the food maintains its taste and
comes out perfectly at all times, whether
you are cooking for two or 20 people.


“The format also allows the user to video
each cooking step and/or take pictures to
graphically explain the cooking processes.
“This provides an opportunity for
mothers, aunties and uncles and other
relatives to record their special recipes as
a legacy for their children.
“These functions are not available even in
the best cookbooks and other Nigerian
food apps currently in the market.”


The key features of the app, he said, are
that it can create new recipes for your
favourite dishes; use the best of Nigerian
food recipes already packaged with the
app; create your own preferred recipe
ingredients’ list; create your recipe
preparation process; create your recipe
cooking instructions; add recipe
ingredients to your shopping list; enter
each ingredient’s cost to have an idea
about the cost of the recipe; and add
extra number of people for whom the
food is intended. This will trigger the app
to automatically update the ingredient
quantities accordingly.


In addition, it enable you to know how
much the extra people will cost; get
phone alert for next cooking steps, so you
don’t miss a step, helping new starters to
cook perfect meals at all times; record
recipe ingredients with pictures and
videos and cooking instructions with
pictures and videos; share your recipes
with family and friends via SMS and
emails.


The second function allows you to create
ad-hoc shopping list, for example, save
and re-use your weekly shopping list;
know the amount your shopping will cost
you; create your shopping list as a daily,
weekly, monthly or ad-hoc shopping list;
recall shopping list items by speaking to
the app; use items barcode to insert the
app on your shopping list; and create
Favourite shopping list.


It is refreshing to note that something
remarkably groundbreaking could emerge
from our fellow citizen.
Through the app, Oladapo has
demonstrated a rare application of his
technological skills to the benefit of
humanity, not only in Nigeria and Africa,
but also across the world.
Oladapo was born in Osun State and grew
up in Lagos.


He graduated as a production engineer
from the University of Benin and worked
at the Federal Institute of Industrial
Research (FIIRO), Oshodi, Lagos, before
travelling to Adelaide, Australia to
undertake a postgraduate in Mechanical
Engineering at the University of South
Australia, specialising in Computer Aided
Design.
He subsequently worked for three years
as a research engineer for an agricultural
machinery company in Adelaide, but
following an observation about the
growing interest in Information
Technology (IT) in the early 1990s, he
changed occupation to focus on IT and
has worked in this area for the past 23
years.
Oladapo, who has lived in Australia for 26
years, currently works as a Principal
Consultant in Enterprise Documents and
Records Management Systems (eDRMS),
an IT company in Brisbane and doubles as
the director of his own firm, TalkaSoft Pty
Limited.
What could have motivated him to
develop the app? He said: “As a Nigerian
who has lived overseas for most of my
life, I was concerned that my children and
other Nigerian children born overseas
may not feel confident to continue
upholding our culture or preparing/
cooking Nigerian foods or sharing this
wonderful culture with their own family
when their parents have departed.
“The fear of what will happen to my
children in foreign land when I am gone
is the main motivation.
“Our legacy is mostly illustrated in our
language and our food. I promised myself
to do my very best, as an IT consultant/
developer, to use the technology at my
disposal to preserve our legacy and make
this more accessible to young Nigerians at
home and in the Diaspora and also to
preserve and expose them to other
African cultures.”
He added: “This is why I developed in
2007 my first application, Soro Nigeria,
which translated over 1,000 words and
phrases in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa
languages to English, and Speak Ghana,
for translating Akan (Twi) and Ga
languages to English.”
These applications run on Windows 7, 8.1
and 10 operating systems and come with
their own language translation engine as
well.
Oladapo would appreciate support from
the Nigerian governments to develop
other apps.
He replied: “I would like to cover many of
the Nigerian languages, at least the main
ones, and also digitise many other
Nigerian food recipes. So, I would like to
work with the Nigerian government for
assistance and support.
“Our languages are so important to
preserve and it would appear that more
people are speaking English than our
dialects in Nigeria.
“This concerns me and I am ready to
work with federal, state and local
governments to translate their languages
or dialects and digitise their foods for
posterity.
“I see this as a further uniting factor for
our great country, knowing that if you
can speak other people’s languages or
cook their food, it makes it very difficult
to be one another’s enemies.”
Oladapo is an active member of the
Nigerian community in Queensland,
Australia and was a former president of
the association, during which he initiated
new ways of assisting Nigerian
community.
Through his apps, Oladapo guides users
on how to make their food choices,
including the ingredients required in
preparing the food, as well as the quantity
of ingredients required, the cost of
feeding a certain number of people and
time required to prepare the food.
Users are guided systematically on how to
access the ingredients, how to prepare the
foods and indeed how to shop for the
ingredients.
Oladapo said his apps are targeted at all
Nigerians and those who love Nigerian
foods, regardless of whether they reside
in Nigeria or overseas.
“I also want people from other cultures
who love technology and foreign foods to
have an app that can help them to
experience delicious foods from the
largest African country, Nigeria.
“This will also be developed for other
African countries,” he said.
On acceptability of his apps, Oladapo
revealed the total downloads of all his
apps is now close to 70,000, mostly by
people in the United States (US) and other
European countries, thereby
achieving his goal of reaching Nigerians
in foreign countries.
He has close to 25,000 downloads of the
Ghanaian Akan (Twi) language, also
mostly from the US and Europe.
“This is evidence that the apps are being
harnessed and are having impact.
“The apps have made a major difference
by simplifying Nigerian foods, as well as
some Nigerian and Ghanaian languages.
“I strongly recommend the apps to
everyone,” he noted.
Asked his greatest challenges in
developing his apps, Oladapo said: “Time
has been my greatest challenge. Having to
work fulltime as a Principal IT consultant,
it takes a lot of motivation to develop all
these apps using my own free time.
“I get through this by reminding myself of
the reason why I am doing this, which is,
to leave a legacy and preserve our culture
in the way that I know best.
Young men and women who are
grappling with knowledge of how to
prepare Nigerian foods, including the
ingredients required for preparing the
foods, will find the apps veritable tool to
practice and improve their cooking skills.
“The apps are easy to understand and
apply. They are available to men and
women, boys and girls, the young and the
old, Nigerians and non-Nigerians, as well
as people of other cultural backgrounds.
“The apps are tailored to suit the needs of
people in rural, remote and urban
locations. It does not matter where you
reside or what your socioeconomic status
might be.”
He attributes his accomplishments to his
perseverance, tenacity and incomparable
determination to succeed where other
people might have encountered
difficulties.
Oladapo is a self-made man. Despite the
successes he achieved through his apps,
he remains unpretentious, polished,
unassuming, amiable and courteous.
To young Nigerian students aspiring to
achieve success with new technology, he
said: “I have dedicated most of my time in
engaging with young Nigerian students. I
always encourage them to know what
they are capable of and be determined to
work hard to achieve their goals against
all odds.
“I impress it on them to be motivated and
to believe in their strength and to stay
focused in achieving their objectives.”
Nigerians in the Diaspora are often
described in offensive terms, such as
“economic refugees” in the countries in
which they reside.
As Oladapo has shown through his apps,
Nigerians in the Diaspora make valuable
contributions to Nigeria’s economic and
political development in different ways.
And they do these from their overseas
locations based on their hard-earned and
legitimate incomes, as well as their
professional skills.

The Yoruba nation was and will always be one of the greatest nations in the world.But in recent times one would be forced to ask if our politicians in Yorubaland do not remember that this world is transient...
Yes,this would happen to you and I:




“It was the case of one wealthy(politician) man whose word was law and whose influence spread far and wide.
He had everything: money, power, fame, position,
wives, children, and all that money and affluence
could buy. He lived a life of extraordinary
opulence.


“Death knocked on his door and told him time was
up. The big man was startled and rattled. He
fretted and fidgeted. Beads of sweats streamed
down his rotund cheeks.

His heart beat jumped to
300 per minute. He almost collapsed. Quickly he
gathered his breath, flung himself in prostration
and begged Death to spare his life and give him
more years to enjoy his hard earned stupendous
wealth. I still have young children. The current set
of my children, 17 of them are under 5 years of
age. I beg you,” the man of means shivered as he
held tightly to Death’s feet.
“That is not my business or concern,” Death
retorted.

“I beg sir. God will spare your own life and even
grant you eternity. I beg you,” Mr Richman
continued his plea with obvious agitated voice.
“You are wasting my time. Okay. In the next twenty
seconds I shall order your eyes closed and your
lungs shut down,” Death roared.


In a miraculous turn of events, Death told the
frightened man that he would spare his life, but the
man must watch out for the signals that would
herald his next call, and on that day it would be
final.
Richman was very happy. He sprang to his feet,
wiped tears off his face and cried Allah Akbar!

Death never gives a notice. When Death says it is
over, it is over. And this is why people say that
nobody can predict the day he will die, where he
will die. How he will die. And what hammer shall
snuff life out of his nostrils.
“One year passed. Death did not show up. Two
years, three years, four years, five years, ten years,
fifteen years, and twenty years passed, Death did
not come to keep his date.
At exactly twenty five years after the first dreaded
visit, and with the Big man completely oblivious
that Death might ever come again, forgot himself
and planned an elaborate twenty-one in one where
he was to give out 21 daughters in marriage.
Death roared his entry. “Now pack up. Time is up.
In the next five minutes Assarahelu will escort you
to heaven.”
“But sir,” Richman father of the brides stammered,
“But you said, you said, you, you would give me
notice notice.”
“Of course, my friend, I gave you not only a notice
but quantum notices, signals and signposts.”
“No sir. I did not receive any. If I had received any
I would not have fixed these elaborate weddings
for today. Look at all the dignitaries; our President,
our Prime Minister, our Ministers, Justices, Veteran
journalists, our Obas, Obis, Obongs, Emirs and
Sultans. Wait let me give you 100 billion Naira.”
Death roared in laughter. “You think I am a
Nigerian? Come on, here you go.”
“For the records, I did send you notices. When I
first called here, how many teeth did you have in
your mouth? “ Death asked.
“Thirty–two sir,” Father of the brides trembled.
“How many do you have now?”
“ I have only four original teeth left sir, the 28
others are artificial,” Richman answered.
“The last time I came you recognised me clearly.
On this occasion you requested your children to
identify who I was because your sight was blurry,”
Death demanded an answer.
“You had no arthritis when I first came here. Your
hearing was excellent. You had no rheumatism, no
backache, no prostrate…” Death rolled out several
health and ageing challenges the big man had
encountered.
“How many heaps can you now cultivate? How
many heaps…and you said I did not warn you I
was coming. You had more notices that were
required.”
“The rich man slumped and Death disappeared.”
YES,DEATH WILL COME SOONER OR LATER BUT HOW PREPARED ARE YOU?

When I read the news about Aregbesola saying that Osun state got a paltry sum from the Central govt,I remember this from Fun...

LORD we thank you for life. We thank you for how
far you have brought us. These past months, you
have shown us great and many troubles. You
more than once proved that you are the giver of
life and the taker of it. We saw fire, we saw blood
and death in the holy of holies. Yet you kept us till
this moment, this hour.


At some point, it looked like we were going under,
like this is a hopeless nation. But you kept us.
What broke others made us stronger. So we bring
thanks in spite of our many struggles. We are glad
to be here, on the threshold of another brand new
year. It has been a long year, a year of ups and
downs. This is year you exposed the rump of
many chickens and demystified those we thought
were infallible. You preserved the masses even
when they were served poisons right from January
1.


You encouraged flood victims when those who
were supposed to give them succor stole from
them. You gave them strength when those who
were well arrayed left them in the cold. You kept
this nation together in spite of every threat and
prediction of breakup. For these and many bless­
ings we are grateful. However, we need to report
ourselves to you before our leaders make their
new year resolutions. Considering what they did to
us this year, we need to hand them over to you
before they make new plans and execute us. Yes,
execute us. Dear Lord, you really have to help us
out here.


We are poor, needy and in distress but we are
many. We can pray. We can shout louder than our
oppressors and you said if your people that are
called by your name return to you, you will heal
their land. You said you are our present help in
time of distress. What is more, our leaders have
everything, great mansions, sleek jets and bullet-
proof automobiles. We have nothing but our
distress. Please don’t let them rob us blind in as
we approach a new year. With everything that
makes you God, stop them whichever way you can
from making our lives miserable in the coming
year. We cannot take their comforts from them but
you can.


If they dip their hands in our tiny pockets to
further stuff their overflowing ones, take away their
comforts. We know you are a merciful God, forgive
their past sins if you want, but don’t let them get
away with fresh thieving. These leaders, not all of
them are leading. Many are raiders. Bless those
who bless us and curse those who are causing us
to live like a cursed nation. Those who wake up
every day determined to make money to further
impoverish us, let them see the side of you that
makes you the Terrible One and Lord of hosts.
We know you know all of them, including those
who pretend to be on our side.

Those who take money meant for our roads and pocket them and
those who see them doing it and turn their eyes
away. Those who profit from untimely death of
helpless Nigerians. Those who bring in outdated,
dead hospital equipment just because they can
afford treatment abroad. Those who occupy critical
offices in critical sectors of the economy but watch
the nation go to waste, you know them. They are
the eaters of our flesh and the drinkers of our
blood.


You know what you promised to do to such
people. Hear the voices, the groans of millions of
youths in Nigeria who have no jobs because the
raiders have eaten both profit and capital of this
project called Nigeria. For 430 years, the Israelites
were under their task masters in Egypt, labouring
under heavy yokes until you heard their groaning
and decided to do something about their tears. In
the new year, shame the Pharaohs and deliver us
from bondage.


I know you know that Pharaoh and his horses and
their riders all perished in the sea. We, all 170
million Nigerians minus the raiders, are asking with
faith that you show up as the Mighty Man in Battle.
Because Lord, we are really at the shore of the Red
Sea and we do not know how to cross to safety.
We are desperate. We are afraid. We have no
weapons. Our raiders have everything. We can’t
even sue them successfully. You need to show up,
let them know that you made the foundations of
the world.


I can tell you this, these people are drinking
champagne and cognac straight from the bottle
and are so drunk they are beginning to think they
created themselves. Will you let them get away
with thinking that you, God, does not exist? Will
you? We know that taking what belongs to us has
become second nature to our raiders. They
probably can’t stop stealing but we need them to
increase ‘our allocation’. We know they will want
to buy more jets, more houses while more roads
fall apart and our children fail more examinations.
Touch their hearts to do what is right otherwise
you can smite them on the cheeks…
We have suffered great losses this year. We have
had many burials. Both young and old trees have
fallen. We cannot query you. We can only beg you
to grant them eternal rest. Our fathers also taught
us to thank you in every situation. So, we thank
you.


Now,dear Raiders of the Federal Republic (RFR),
you need to repent now, before the arrival of the
seven plagues of Egypt at your doorsteps. For the
avoidance of confusion, these are the qualities of
RFR. They profit while the nation looses. They
make money off the sweat on the bent backs of the
masses. They take money meant for improving
education.


They celebrate their wealth at every available
opportunity. They are the reasons there is daily
carnage on our roads. They deploy bureaucracy to
ensure the lives of Nigerians are difficult. They take
bribes to deliver judgement. They hoard PHCN
metres. They hide files in Ministries. They cook
the books and share unspent funds from their
budgets between 27th and midnight of December
31 every year. They inflate budgets and spend
money meant for healthcare on travel allowances.
They let national robbers get away with national
robbery.



They make Nigeria unliveable, our lives
unbearable.RFR join hands and conspire to make
us all live in poverty surrounded by wealth. They
make carrying a green passport a shame. They
make us a laughing stock while they stack up
wealth for their unborn great grand children.
May I remind them that nothing lasts forever and
that no matter what they think; they WILL reap
what they have sown.

IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE RAIDERS OR RELATED TO A RAIDER, REMEMBER THAT KARMA IS A ...

Aregbesola laments paltry federal allocation
The Governor of Osun, State, Ogbeni Rauf Areg­ besola has said that states of the federation must look inward for survival as funds coming to them from the federation account can no longer support their development projects. Aregbesola said with Osun’s receipt of N55 million for the month of September, the message was clear that all avenues hitherto untapped must now be examined in order to sustain development initiatives. The Governor stated this at the commencement of the reconstruction of Orita-Olaiya-Ita- Olokan Road at Olaiya Junction to commemorate the 5th year of the Aregbesola-led government. The project is part of the designs to ensure smooth transportation within the state capital, Osogbo. He pointed out that money coming from the Federation Account has dipped badly hence the need for people of the state to look inward in advancing the course of the state by returning to Agriculture. He said, “We must at this point tell ourselves the truth, there is no money coming from the federa­ tion account, 34 million barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil are on the sea without buyers. “Money coming from the Federation Account has dipped seriously and our hope for survival is in our hands, what our forefathers lived on was agriculture. “We must now go back to the farms and work. We also need to pay our taxes so that government can meet its responsibilities. For September, our state got N55.8 million. The money we received cannot pay for the power supply by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) that we use at the state Secretariat monthly”. The governor told people at the programme. Advising people to adhere to town planning rules, Aregbesola also added that the issue of separating houses during road constructions and expansions could have been avoided if there had been strict adherence to town planning rules in the past. He emphasised that his government regrets and offer sincere sympathy to those that will be affected by the construction of the road which his administration is embarking on. The Governor admonished those affected to see it as their own sacrifice to the present administration’s effort to enhance the status of the state for better living conditions of the generality of the people. Aregbesola stated that Messrs RATCON Construction Company Limited will be undertaking the reconstruction of the road at the cost of N985,115, 410.78. He said, “The expansion of the road and the need to have a reasonable setback unfortunately mean that some buildings are already standing in the way and have to be separated. This could have been avoided if there had been strict adherence to town planning rules in the past. “We regret this and offer sincere sympathy to those affected. They should see this as their own sacrifice in our efforts to beautify our city and develop a decent human environment.”
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/aregbesola-laments-paltry-federal-allocation/

PROUDLY YORUBA...

I’m Proud Of My Yoruba Background – Actress, Adunni

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY A MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE ARE PROUD TO BE YORUBA?


Actress, Adunni Adewale aka Adunni Ade, the ‘White girl’ of the Nigerian movie industry says she’s proud of her Yoruba background.



Adunni a Yoruba-born of a Nigerian father and an American mother is the lady behind Date Gone Bad, a new comedy skit making waves online.

Adunni Ade is starting the New Year on a bright note. Her video skit, Date Gone Bad, released on Youtube about 10 days ago, has attracted so much attention that it has recorded over 100,000 hits.

That sounds very cool for an actress to entrench herself in aiming the Nigeria’s star-studded movie industry.

Adunni who is very surprised at the turnout of the comedy skit says “I must say I am shocked at the kind of attention the skit has got,” “I knew it would be good, but I did not imagine it would get up to this level.”

Adunni first attracted attention when she featured in Saidi Balogun’s movie, You or I, Fred Idika’s Behind the Cloud (a TV series), Dereck Obasi’s Babatunde Diaries and a new film by Desmond Elliot – Rosemary Roses. Besides, the graduate of Accounting from the University of Kentucky, USA, also featured in Sound Sultan’s music video, Kokose, while she did same for Ice Prince last September.

Born in New York, USA, she grew up in Lagos where she attended Chrisland Schools and The Bells Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State. It was after her secondary education that she went to study at Kentucky, only to return to Nigeria a couple of months ago. She has no intention to practise accounting.

She says, “Entertainment has always been part of me. Even when I was young, I would stand in the front of a mirror, acting out the fashion part of me. I never wanted to be a lawyer or anything. God blessed me with a lot of talents.”

She adds that though her Lagos-based father, who she describes as a ‘big and well successful businessman’ inspired her to study Accounting, neither he nor her (Adunni’s) mum has any problem with her love for show business.

“My father supports me 100 per cent. My mum is very proud of me. Americans don’t care about this kind of thing. They support their children in whatever they choose to do. So, I have no problem building a dream in the entertainment industry. The fact is that I have never been a copycat. I am not looking for the fastest way to limelight. Rather, I want to express myself. My ambition is to be recognised worldwide. But I want to be known for what I have done. I want to be successful through hard work.”

While Adunni says she does not give attention to men when they make suggestive moves to her – say, on location – she enthuses that everyone welcomes her at work. But when asked emphatically if men have been making all kinds of advances to her, she says, “Obviously!”

On how she became fluent in Yoruba, Adunni explains that from day one, she has always been a fan of culture.

“I believe you must embrace who you are. I don’t understand why anybody will want to say, ‘I try to run away from who I am’. You have to be yourself. You have to be proud of yourself. That is why I want to speak Yoruba at every opportunity I have – even when I am in the US.”

https://www.naij.com/57882.html

BRIEF HISTORY OF OKUN PEOPLE

Okun people are Yoruba descendants in Kogi state. Kogi is a multi ethnic state and Okun people are up to 20% of its population, smaller than the other two major completely different tribes, Igala and Ebira. Okun people spread across six local government areas in Kogi State, known as Kabba-Bunu, Yagba-West, Yagba-East, Mopa-Muro, Ìjùmú and Lokoja local government Areas.

They speak varied dialects…Owé, Ìyàgbà, Ìjùmú, Bùnú and Oworo, but their language is generally called Okun, Okun has become a form of greeting among them.

They understand one another to a greater extent and large numbers of them speak Yoruba. Their dialects are influenced by various factors. Such factor is that Kogi state shares boundaries with Kwara, Ondo, Ekiti, Niger, Benue, Nassarawa, Anambra, Enugu, Edo and Abuja. Also, The Nupe wars of the 19th century and interaction with the Hausas due to geographical zoning left an indelible mark on the Okun people and their dialects.

According to oral source, Okun people migrated from Ile Ife when Yorubas were spreading to occupy more lands, before spreading out, each and everyone was instructed to report to Ile Ife for a yearly meeting. The man, that led group of young people to a location (now called YAGBA) in Kogi state did not return over a long period of time.

When eventually returned and explained that he lost larger part of his acquired land to some other migrants. He was blamed for the loss and said in yoruba, ''ÌYÀ ÀGBÀ LÓ JEMÍ'' meaning that invasion of his acqured land was due to lack of having elderly people with him. Since then, they started mocking him at Ile Ife, calling him Iya agba . They associated this name with him whenever they wanted to send messages across to him after returning to his occupied area, now called Yagba.

Okun people faced lots of challenges, ranging from Geo political zoning, marginlisation and problem of identity. Their problem started during the colonial era when they were politically ceded to the Northern protectorate by Lord Lugard, the Governor-General of Nigeria. The abolition of the provincial and regional administrative units in 1967 led to their merging with Ilorin to form old Kwara state. Then, Igala was merged with old Benue State. However, on 27th of august 1991, Okun people was removed again and merged with Ebira, Igala from Benue state and some other tribes to form Kogi state.

Okun indigenes moved against merging them with completely different tribes but they were forced into this marriage. Since then, Igala and Ebira have used high population to marginalise Okun people politically and in resource allocation. When an Igala man tells you ‘Omi na kaye, ma joje ma mu du’, he is telling you he would consume whatever available in his surrounding. And that is exactly what is presently happening to in their resource allocation. Their efforts to break away and form Okun State, which could make it possible for them to be more closer to their Kiths and Kins in the South West, failed to materialise.

Concerning Identity problem, The Yorubas in South West are trying to link the identity of Okun people to their Kiths and Kins in South West going by history and shared traits but their counterparts who want Okun people to remain a minority tribe in the entity called Nigeria, claimed that Okun people are not Yorubas and Yoruba is only trying to expand their Kingdom. Okun people bear Yoruba names like Edo people, lots of them speak Yoruba and many of their settlements are named in Yoruba language such as Kajola, Egbeda, Egbeda Ega, Okedayo, Odo Ere, Odo Eri, Ife, Iyamoye, Agbaja, Igbo Nla and Obajana. Even, groups that make up Bunu people of Okun are Okemeta, Okemesan, Akumerindinlogun and Kiri groups.