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...