Izuu's Turn

It is a new year already in so many countries of the east In a couple of hours it will be our turn While the wishes are trooping in, Let me take the time to wish you A prosperous 2014 Whether you have seen the new year Or you are waiting to see it It will bring us great joy That's my wish and prayer for you and yours God bless you!

One recent statement I heard which makes so much sense to me, is that of a person who said that when she gets to the Judgment seat, she will hold a Nigerian flag to show that she has been to hell already. And I think, if it is possible, I will hold two of such flags to, one, show that I've already been to hell, and two, to remind the Creator that He possibly didn't like us that much. You ask me, how? And I ask you: "If you were God, will you judge people ruled by IBB, Abacha and OBJ twice the same way you will judge those ruled by Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Bill Clinton? What is annoying about this country is not that there is poverty. It is just that there is so much wealth and a few kleptomaniac opportunists have kept everything to themselves and their unborn children while feeding their people with lies and subterfuge. Can you imagine this? One spends a whole month in Europe and experiences no pothole, no power failure, no unnecessarily pr

Don't get me wrong I love Christmas because of what it reminds me The restoration of humankind to God The coming of Christ means hope, peace, joy, life everlasting I don't want to be dragged into the argument of whether he was Born on the 25th of December Or Middle of September Or the 29th of February in a non-leap year Or any other date that may have fallen off the Roman calendar What matters is that He came and what His coming has done for me Now, what I don't like is telling me "Merry Xmas" I have always been careful not to use the letter "X" whenever am referring to Christ Today, I decided to do a little research and here's what I found: Here’s a holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide. Do you find the word “Xmas,” as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do. You won’t find Xmas in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards. Xmas is popularly associated with a trend towards materialism, and s

I started this write-up with laughter. Pity you did not see it! Why did I laugh? It is because pompous foolishness often sees itself as extreme wisdom! OBJ wrote a letter to GEJ accusing him of myriad misdemeanour which, in my opinion, are childplay compared to what OBJ did to Nigerians when he was Head of State. Then Iyabo comes up with a defence of her stewardship at the senate. Some people have chosen to see it as her vitriolic against her father OBJ. But methinks her letter is more of a show of her anger against Nigerians for treating her the same way her father caused others to be treated. My take on both letters: they are both self-serving! Reason is that those letters have no business being public knowledge if their authors had any selfless intention. For instance, OBJ could have sought audience with GEJ and then give him a piece of his mind. In the same vein, Iyabo could have called her father on the phone to tell him off. We do not need to be further insu

I just read a presidential adviser's tweets on the memorial service for Madiba at Aso Chapel. And I started wondering whether the man has been buried without the knowledge of the press. How does one conduct a memorial service when the good old man hasn't even been buried? What is the haste? And what direct impact did the life and death of Mandela have on us as a nation? Everyone is shouting, weeping and mourning the loss of Madiba. Both those who know so much about him and others who know next to nothing about him. Both members of his immediate family and country people as well as strangers in government in my country who see his demise as an opportunity to loot. I make bold to ask those who now love Mandela more than his own kith and kin: WHAT IS MANDELA TO YOU? WHO IS HE TO YOU? AND WHAT ABOUT HIS 95-YEAR LONG LIFE AFFECTS YOUR LIFE MOST? These questions have become pertinent because we seem to be crying more than the bereaved here! Let's not hide

Pius Adesanmi wrote: A friend just asked me if Madiba's passing would have any impact on Nigeria. I said no, his passing will not but his funeral will. His funeral will have a serious impact on the Nigerian treasury and cause a logistical nightmare for the South African authorities. I foresee all ten jumbo jets in the Nigerian presidential fleet heading out to Johannesburg with the largest official delegation to the funeral. And that is not counting the convoy of private jets of uninvited Nigerian state governors that will head out to Johannesburg for the obligatory I-was-also-there ritual. And that is not counting the chartered flights that will convey half the National Assembly to Johannesburg. And there could be private jets of opposition leaders claiming to have been invitedto the funeral by Jacob Zuma the way they were invited by Barack Obama to the democratic convention. Anesh Maistry , my diplomat brother, knows one or two things about the size of Nigerian

It is the nature of humans that once they pass a difficult stage in life They forget everything about it Most importantly, they forget to have compassion for those Who are still grappling with difficulties they once had. It is no longer news that Oga Oshiomhole told a poor widow to go and die In spite of the poor woman's plea for compassion from her governor It is also no longer news that following multitudinous condemnation That Governor Oshiomhole has done the one thing that is impossible For the Nigerian variant of politician -- to acknowledge wrong and apologise For me, this is a very honourable path For the Governor to invite her to tea at the Government House (Note that the house did not collapse) And allowed her to drink from the official teacup of Edo State (Note that she didn't die from receiving such honour) And then the Governor gave her son scholarship And gave her; wait for it, TWO MILLION NAIRA! Hmmm! While we commend Oshiomhole for his chang

It was yesterday that I saw a post on FB which really jolted me to cognisance of this matter. In the recent past, it has become a norm to have special untrained "pastors" running the length and breadth of our nation, speaking to Christians. These folks have a new message ostensibly from God. They are, by their own comments, recent returnees from heaven and hell fire! Not satisfied with their visits, these folks have started distributing VCDs of their messages free of charge to some. Others are charging money to disseminate their messages of damnation and destruction of the world. This has adopted a dimension that rivals Nollywood - with innumerable video recordings of the narratives of visitors to hell. I watched one. The lady is from Sierra Leone. In the narrative, the hell returnee's sister gave an hour-long introduction stating how "Jesus" entered into her sister. These ladies fearlessly tell their fantastical tale without fear or reverence. Then the hell re

So nPDP, G7 or whatever you can call it, has finally ported to APC? Someone aptly asked: "So the (self-professed) progressives have joined the retrogressives?" Another person suggested that a Cross-Carpeting Commission be set up To take care of the incessant inter-party mobility of Nigerian politicians. And they announced it so unashamedly, after all the grandstanding. It is normal for me because of my distrust of the Nigerian politician They are jobless, greedy, self-serving and above all shameless Their only ideology is how to steal the national treasury blind Tell me, if they have shame, with what mouth will they shout APC slogan now? With which hand will they hold brooms now After holding umbrellas since the dawn of the fourth republic? Just imagine Kwakwanso and Shekarau in the same party Rotimi and Buhari Babangida Aliyu and Tinubu Can you see the sham called politicians in Nigeria? They are in APC not because their new hosts have a better ideology

The much-awaited Anambra election has come and gone The aftermath is a trail of lies, accusations and double-speak Lying underneath are greed, treachery and betrayal The APGA candidate: he has nothing to say Having won 16 of the 21 LGAs, it is just a matter of time Before he is declared winner by INEC The LP billionaire-candidate: he has so much to say For him he won hands down in his LGA, Nnewi North And because of that his LGA is the only place That voting was free and fair His major demand: INEC should cancel the entire thing And, wait for it, REFUND his expenses... As if anyone forced him to start sharing his wealth The APC senator-candidate: he is furious He has been "rigged" out by people who hate Anambra As such, the entire election should be cancelled Notwithstanding that his initial stance was that Elections should be re-scheduled in Idemili North alone Now, INEC has to cancel the entire thing or else The PDP godson-candidate: he is singing a

I have resisted the urge to write on the FG-ASUU impasse which is disgracefully in its fifth month now, with the hope that either of the parties will do something patriotic and I will write a commendation note. But as the days turned to weeks, and weeks into months, that dream continued to be a mirage. In time past, I write about a nation without shame. It is very regrettable that shame is gone out of our national life and people are wont to live, eat and swim in open sewers and yet they perpetually grin from ear to ear as if their abode is superior to God's paradise. Now, I am no longer concerned about all the hearsay about what ASUU said to FG and vice versa, I am rather peeved by the recent developments which culminated in the tragic death of Prof. Festus Iyayi at the hand of a governor's convoy killer-squad. Not being a witness to the incident means I am not qualified to adjudge which of the versions of the tale making the rounds is true. One is however astounded at th

I watched with horror yesterday as a group of women protested against ASUU in Abuja! Their leader came out with condemning words about: One, unmentioned things about what ASUU does with their year-one daughters Two, how state universities lecturers want to earn the same pay as federal universities lecturers. And like the FG she says, "That's impossible!" Three, they gave a two-week ultimatum that if the strike isn't called off they will chase out lecturers and replace them with jobless Nigerians. Having seen this show of shame on national TV, I wept. I wept, not for Nigeria (a venture I've long given up on) but because of people who for want of shame, have forgotten who their oppressors really are. This show of shame is so one-sided that one doesn't need a soothsayer to know who paid the piper! A show of shame that is against everything good thing that denotes African womanhood. Let's look at their comments one by one. One, lecturers

I haven't read anything as factual and sensible as this in a while. You will love it, I assure you! - Izuu If you want to get rich quick, here is the Nigerian blueprint. But please, don't tell anyone I "wiki-leaked"this highly-classified national secret to you. With only some 50 years of independent national existence, Nigeria is a country reeking with "new money." The overwhelming proportion of the millionaires and billionaires in the country are "nouveau-riche;" they became rich literally "overnight." We are talking of people whose wealth does not go beyond a generation. Indeed, the fantastic wealth of Nigerian billionaires like Femi Otedola scarcely goes beyond ten/fifteen years. Not only does Nigeria's wealthy few have a short history, they often have a short future as well. The money comes "miraculously" and goes just as "miraculously." In my youth, S.B. Bakare was the celebrated Nigeri

I have thought of a better response to the alleged sexcapades of Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA Ministries and have not been able to stir up any. Reading this piece by Agwuna Samuel Sopuluchukwu, I found my thoughts couched in better language and grasp of God's word. So I share it with you here. Feel free to add your comments. Starts here: I was going to be silent on this sad, pathetic but true (in many shades) allegation against Pastor B and his popular and trendy ministry. My silence was borne out of respect for the kingdom of God and things that pertain to God. But all this changed when I heard the horrific tales of people who had been through the mess of this blind man, and the fact that he had no moral motivation to deny or accept the allegation; all he showed on Sunday was a demented swagger and perverse talk. My sole purpose in writing this piece is to open the eyes of the world and believers to the hypocrisy and nonsense behind the pulpit, and to plea t

Right of Reply: NO! PASTOR ADEBOYE, YOUR APPROACH IS WRONG SIR…. By Soji Adeola Last week was the 61st Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). Though I do not worship at RCCG, I had planned to attend the Holy ghost Service on Friday, but changed my mind at the last minute. I assumed that the place would be jammed due to the holiday and I checked online to know the status of things at the RCCG Camp. Immediately, I realized that my premonition was right based on the online report that there was traffic even right inside the RCCG Camp! So I decided against going for the Holy Ghost Service. By Sunday evening, I heard about the ambitious project of building a new 3Km by 3Km auditorium, by Pastor Adeboye, and shortly afterwards, there was a barrage of criticism of the project and the man of God several on social media. A particular article written by one Peniel Plus is worth reading. Amongst several issues raised, a comparison was made between buildi

Just read this and thought it makes sense. It's written by our own Pius Adesanmi. Enjoy the reading! I suspect there is a reason God – or whichever higher force you believe in – has denied Nigeria any statesman worthy of assembly with towering global statesmen and world leaders in much of my adult life. Sometimes the creator sees a man and says to himself, "kai, if I grant riches unto this guy and make him a multi-billionaire, he'd buy up the world's supply of oxygen and keep it in a tank in his basement. His countrymen and the world would know no peace. He'd become that self-righteous Pharisee who justified himself before me, pointing contemptuously at his poor countryman who prayed quietly at the back of the temple. He'd denge pose endlessly. Let me kuku retain him as a poor church rat. It is better for him and for humanity that he remains poor". I wager that's why it has not pleased God to bless us with a statesman of Nelson Mande

One of my friends has had "APC Alhamdulillah" on her BBM status message for sometime now. Though I haven't broached the topic with her, I've hitherto kept my cynicism to myself. I used "cynicism" in case APC turns out to prove me wrong ... and I so wish they do, for the collective good of Nigerians. PDP, according to most people, has failed. APC tells us PDP hasn't done anything good in 14 years. And claim that APC will do better in their first 4 years. I simply laugh because the only thing new about APC is their acronym, nothing else. This is because within their ranks I see the following: I) The same tired old faces, some of whom may not have been in PDP, but were surely part of the military governments that permanently ruined the country or part of earlier republics. II) The same desperation to grab power at all costs which has made PDP one of the greatest assembly of strange bed fellows. III) The same firebrand speeches which

I read this. It says it all. Just wanted to share it here or you go to the original site and read it: http://mobile.saharareporters.com/article/lagbaja-responds-okey-ndibe- "mumudom" Lágbájá Reponds to Okey Ndibe ... By Lágbájá Dear Okey Ndibe: Thank you for soun ding the alarm in a way that should make us reflect deeper. Mumu is not a condition I proudly proclaim. It was with a heavy heart that I came to this shocking realization that we are indeed a country of mumus. Harsh as it might sound, no other explanation would suffice. It is apparent that the "leaders" know that they would always get away with whatever incredible schemes they concoct because, amongst other reasons, (a) the mumu people they "lead" are no different from their mumu "leaders" in character (b) the mumu people are gullible, superstitious and naive (c) there are no consequences for criminal acts if you belong to the right group (d) these mumus