Sunday, 10 April 2016
US, stay in your lane please.
The US should stop interfering in the affairs of Nigeria and Africa as a whole. US isn't an agent of change rather she has always been an agent of destruction. Wherever she goes, she leaves in her trail chaos, death and destruction. The people of Iraq can attest to this fact. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was one of the best countries in the middle east. The US all in the name of their invasion policy invaded the country and toppled the government. Right now,Iraq is a shadow of her former self. Under Gaddafi,Libya was better than Nigeria, the people of Libya were living in paradise. The Whites called Gaddafi a dictator and a ruthless leader because he was against The West(He is the first African Leader to attack The US). Rebel Fighters backed by the US and NATO forces killed him in the name of liberating Libya. Right now,Libya is in crises, it doesn't have a recognised government since most parts of the country are controlled by rebels and local militias (is this what you call liberation?). The US has always prided itself as "The Police Of The World", they should know that "power when abused will always lead to destruction and downfall". It pains me eachtime I see headlines like "Hundreds of ISIS/ISIL Militants killed by The US Navy Seal" on CNN and BBC, rather it should be "Hundreds of US soldiers killed by friendly fire in Syria". Its a well known fact that The US funded groups like Al-queda and Isis before they turned against them. The US should take their aids and shove it inside their stinking ass. The sovereignty of our country has to be respected! We are to big to be bossed and bullied around! How I wish all African leaders have balls lke Mandela and Gaddafi! 9ja our country will survive! God Bless Africa!
African Mentality
A post I made on Facebook in 2014. I felt like posting here again.
"Why didn't you give me an English name?",I asked my dad at the age of 7. He looked at me and laughed.
"Nwa m, your name is 'Ukpai Ifeanyichukwu Ulu', you are an Ohafian and that makes you an African. I will only give my children English names when the the whites start giving theirs African Names. "
At that tender age, I didn't fully understand what he meant by that statement because I'v always believed that we African have to submit to the whites and behave like them since they colonized us, I thought he was just trying to act arrogant and tough. Being the Inquisitive Ify, I asked him whether a white man can pronouce my name.
"If he can't pronounce it, then you teach him how to do it. They taught us how to pronouce theirs, so you can as well teach him how to pronounce yours" he replied.
I remembered this our conversation and smile filled my face.
Africa would have been a better place if all Africans thought like him. We Africans don't believe in ourselves, our mentality is too poor. An average African believes that the whites are better than us. Its a pity that Africans who are professionals in their fields of study leave the shores of Africa inorder to become morticians abroad.
Intelligence isn't measured by the colour of your skin or accent, rather it depends on what you have upstairs. The whites told us that God is "Fair" in complexion while the devil is "Dark" and we all believed. Ever since I started reading the bible, I haven't seen where its written that the devil is dark. This mentality has to change, its high time we Africans stopped seeing ourselves as second class citizens of the world.
The African leaders need to stop depending on the white men for guidance. When the likes of Late Mobutu Sese Seko, Robert Mugabe, Hussini Mubarak, Late Gaddafi, Late Mandela and Late Ojukwu fought against Western Domination, we all criticized them and called them "Dictators". Right now Egypt, Libya and Tunisia are in disarray. The statement "Civilization started from Africa now looks like an irony. Egypt is now a shadow of its former self. We Africans have to belief in ourselves, we have to belief that we can do it. We have to trust ourselves. During the World War 1 and World War 2, Britain came to Africa and took Africans as bullet shields for the war, they don't care about us.
We've been called all sort of names from Monkeys to Third world and underdeveloped countries. It isn't a crime to be called such names, rather its a crime to see yourself as one. Africa is seen as a jungle where its inhabitants live like bushmen.I haven't seen a foreign movie where the African City lifestyle is been shown. Eachtime a white man is visiting Africa in a movie, we will always see him in a forest. When did Africa become a jungle? We have to stand up for ourselves. It's high time we stopped training our kids with English Language. Train him with your local dialect. My mum told me she wanted to train me with English Language before my dad cautioned her.Thats an African man that knows himself. Our help comes within us and not from Abroad! We have to learn how to survive without foreign aids.We have to stand on our beliefs without being afraid of sanctions from the so called super powers. Homosexuality isn't part of us. It pains me to know that Francophone countries still pay dues to France. All these stuffs has to stop. We have to stand up for ourselves and change Africa. Countries like Ethiopia, Libya and Egypt existed before The US, where are they now? Put the words "poor kids" and "malnourished kids" on google image search and pictures of African kids will pop up. We all have to change Africa and this change starts with our mentality.
God bless Africa!
God bless Nigeria!
God bless Ohafia!
God bless me! ^_-
"Why didn't you give me an English name?",I asked my dad at the age of 7. He looked at me and laughed.
"Nwa m, your name is 'Ukpai Ifeanyichukwu Ulu', you are an Ohafian and that makes you an African. I will only give my children English names when the the whites start giving theirs African Names. "
At that tender age, I didn't fully understand what he meant by that statement because I'v always believed that we African have to submit to the whites and behave like them since they colonized us, I thought he was just trying to act arrogant and tough. Being the Inquisitive Ify, I asked him whether a white man can pronouce my name.
"If he can't pronounce it, then you teach him how to do it. They taught us how to pronouce theirs, so you can as well teach him how to pronounce yours" he replied.
I remembered this our conversation and smile filled my face.
Africa would have been a better place if all Africans thought like him. We Africans don't believe in ourselves, our mentality is too poor. An average African believes that the whites are better than us. Its a pity that Africans who are professionals in their fields of study leave the shores of Africa inorder to become morticians abroad.
Intelligence isn't measured by the colour of your skin or accent, rather it depends on what you have upstairs. The whites told us that God is "Fair" in complexion while the devil is "Dark" and we all believed. Ever since I started reading the bible, I haven't seen where its written that the devil is dark. This mentality has to change, its high time we Africans stopped seeing ourselves as second class citizens of the world.
The African leaders need to stop depending on the white men for guidance. When the likes of Late Mobutu Sese Seko, Robert Mugabe, Hussini Mubarak, Late Gaddafi, Late Mandela and Late Ojukwu fought against Western Domination, we all criticized them and called them "Dictators". Right now Egypt, Libya and Tunisia are in disarray. The statement "Civilization started from Africa now looks like an irony. Egypt is now a shadow of its former self. We Africans have to belief in ourselves, we have to belief that we can do it. We have to trust ourselves. During the World War 1 and World War 2, Britain came to Africa and took Africans as bullet shields for the war, they don't care about us.
We've been called all sort of names from Monkeys to Third world and underdeveloped countries. It isn't a crime to be called such names, rather its a crime to see yourself as one. Africa is seen as a jungle where its inhabitants live like bushmen.I haven't seen a foreign movie where the African City lifestyle is been shown. Eachtime a white man is visiting Africa in a movie, we will always see him in a forest. When did Africa become a jungle? We have to stand up for ourselves. It's high time we stopped training our kids with English Language. Train him with your local dialect. My mum told me she wanted to train me with English Language before my dad cautioned her.Thats an African man that knows himself. Our help comes within us and not from Abroad! We have to learn how to survive without foreign aids.We have to stand on our beliefs without being afraid of sanctions from the so called super powers. Homosexuality isn't part of us. It pains me to know that Francophone countries still pay dues to France. All these stuffs has to stop. We have to stand up for ourselves and change Africa. Countries like Ethiopia, Libya and Egypt existed before The US, where are they now? Put the words "poor kids" and "malnourished kids" on google image search and pictures of African kids will pop up. We all have to change Africa and this change starts with our mentality.
God bless Africa!
God bless Nigeria!
God bless Ohafia!
God bless me! ^_-
Sunday, 3 April 2016
"O Nuru Ube Nwanne..."
After playing 2pac and Ross' songs for over 2 hours, I decided to go back to my root by playing some vintage Igbo traditional songs. People think I have a poor taste in music, how e take concern them, Ukpai nwa Augustine doesn't know. Chuks has always been trying to know why I prefer Paulson Kalu and Bright Chimezie to the likes of Osadebe, Oliver and Emeka Morocco. To him, I'm missing out on the real deal by listening to amateur singers (that's what he calls them). The truth is that I have tried to listen to Osadebe and co's musics but I delete them from my phone after a day or two.
I fell in love with Bright Chimezie after listening to his song "O nuru ube nwanne a gbala oso". The song touched my heart, in the song, he talked about people that are only willing to help you when you're dead, people that are willing to give you a nice burial when you're dead but will leave you to suffer when you are alive. "O mgbe nwanne gi nwuru gi e nyere ya aka?" - B. Chimezie.
All my life, I have never been the type of person to shy away from helping people. At the age of 5, I learnt how to help my fellow kids cross the road, I helped my neighbors to fetch water and other stuffs. I believe that most of the favours I receive from people today is because of the good things I did for people as a kid.
Life has a way of working, some people are blessed with wealth while some are poor. Some people can't eat twice a day while the dogs of some people eat 5 times a day. The only time some people eat meat is when they attend burial or wedding ceremonies while the dogs of some people eat chicken everyday. At times I wonder why some dogs should look more well fed than some humans? Nature is a partial judge I swear.
Why should some people be born into rich homes while other will be born into abject poverty? What did an innocent child in the womb do to deserve a life of hawking under the sun while his mates are studying? What crime did the children that are roaming about the streets commit? Why are some people destined to suffer in life while some find it easy? Nature! Nature!! Nature!!! only you can answer those questions.
Each time I see sachet water sellers here in Calabar, tears do full my eyes, they are hawking while their mates are studying. At times I do give them #50, buy one sachet of water and ask them to keep the change. Everytime I do this, they thank me and worship me as if I've solved all the problems they have.
I'm not rich but at least I try my best to help those that I'm better than. This world will become a better place whenever the rich men decide to help the poor instead of spending the money on useless things.
All of us should try our best to put smiles on the face of anybody we come across. This world is a small village, a good act you do for a helpless boy right now might go a long way in securing the future of your kids. Nobody knows tomorrow, that homeless boy you see now may become the president of Nigeria in future, the poor boy you see now may become the doctor that will save your life in future.
Last year December, Chinomso a friend of mine called me on phone and told me of his plan to celebrate Christmas at the orphanage with the motherless. I asked him whether he had the money to do so, he told me he managed to save #5000 and asked me to support him with whatever I could. I was surprised that he could do such a thing because most of our friends were planning on how they will waste their lives with alcohol on that day. I praised for him for bringing up the idea and we agreed to make it a yearly stuff.
Try and touch a life today, put smile on the faces of people, the world moves in circles. What goes around, comes around.
"Heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race...." -MJ
PS: I also like Bright Chimezie because of his constant shouts of "Zigima", the word "zigima" sounds like the pet name of a special friend of mine "Zizi". Lol
I fell in love with Bright Chimezie after listening to his song "O nuru ube nwanne a gbala oso". The song touched my heart, in the song, he talked about people that are only willing to help you when you're dead, people that are willing to give you a nice burial when you're dead but will leave you to suffer when you are alive. "O mgbe nwanne gi nwuru gi e nyere ya aka?" - B. Chimezie.
All my life, I have never been the type of person to shy away from helping people. At the age of 5, I learnt how to help my fellow kids cross the road, I helped my neighbors to fetch water and other stuffs. I believe that most of the favours I receive from people today is because of the good things I did for people as a kid.
Life has a way of working, some people are blessed with wealth while some are poor. Some people can't eat twice a day while the dogs of some people eat 5 times a day. The only time some people eat meat is when they attend burial or wedding ceremonies while the dogs of some people eat chicken everyday. At times I wonder why some dogs should look more well fed than some humans? Nature is a partial judge I swear.
Why should some people be born into rich homes while other will be born into abject poverty? What did an innocent child in the womb do to deserve a life of hawking under the sun while his mates are studying? What crime did the children that are roaming about the streets commit? Why are some people destined to suffer in life while some find it easy? Nature! Nature!! Nature!!! only you can answer those questions.
Each time I see sachet water sellers here in Calabar, tears do full my eyes, they are hawking while their mates are studying. At times I do give them #50, buy one sachet of water and ask them to keep the change. Everytime I do this, they thank me and worship me as if I've solved all the problems they have.
I'm not rich but at least I try my best to help those that I'm better than. This world will become a better place whenever the rich men decide to help the poor instead of spending the money on useless things.
All of us should try our best to put smiles on the face of anybody we come across. This world is a small village, a good act you do for a helpless boy right now might go a long way in securing the future of your kids. Nobody knows tomorrow, that homeless boy you see now may become the president of Nigeria in future, the poor boy you see now may become the doctor that will save your life in future.
Last year December, Chinomso a friend of mine called me on phone and told me of his plan to celebrate Christmas at the orphanage with the motherless. I asked him whether he had the money to do so, he told me he managed to save #5000 and asked me to support him with whatever I could. I was surprised that he could do such a thing because most of our friends were planning on how they will waste their lives with alcohol on that day. I praised for him for bringing up the idea and we agreed to make it a yearly stuff.
Try and touch a life today, put smile on the faces of people, the world moves in circles. What goes around, comes around.
"Heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race...." -MJ
PS: I also like Bright Chimezie because of his constant shouts of "Zigima", the word "zigima" sounds like the pet name of a special friend of mine "Zizi". Lol
Friday, 25 March 2016
Good Friday: Lessons Learnt
Good Friday, the day when man showed his true nature, his hypocritical and betrayal nature. The day when man stabbed himself with a double edged sword, the day when man crucified his saviour, the day when the voice of the people prevailed upon the voice of the leaders albeit for the wrong reasons.
Is today really that good? Our saviour was disgraced and sentenced to death today by mere mortals. What really makes today a Good Friday? Is it the bloodshed and the death or the punishment meted out to our saviour?
It's a Good Friday because we made peace with God today, because we received the grace to get forgiveness without laying our hands on a sheep.
This holy week has been a period of reflection for me, and this has opened my eyes to the true nature of man.
*Betrayal, a word I hate with passion. Apart from hearing that Zizi is sad or sick, one of the stuffs thst pisses me off in been betrayed. Who would have believed that the people that welcomed him to Jerusalem will be the ones to crucify him? They shouted "all hail the son of David" in front of the Jerusalem gate, they danced, spread their clothes on the ground for him and adored him. The same people were the ones to shout crucify him, crucify him, crucify him before Pontius Pilate. They condemned him to death like a criminal, they sentenced a man with no history of crime to death. Be mindful of men, not everybody that laughs with you wishes you good, everybody is not your friend. I'm not saying that you should be suspicious of your friends, all I'm saying is that you should expect anything from anybody. Man can betray, go and ask Ceasar about Brutus, ask Jesus about Judas, ask Shaka Zulu about his cousins. *As a leader, you have stand by your word, don't by swayed by people's opinions when you know you're right. Pilate's decision to hand Jesus over to the Jews affected his life till the end, he lived a life of regret and committed suicide afterwards. Being controlled by people's opinion can have a devastating effect on one's life, do whatever you think is right for yourself and shun the bad advices.
*The brain of man is highly efficient when properly used, the response the people gave when asked about Jesus' offense shows that man is an intellectual being. When Pilate asked of Jesus' offense, the people replied "We caught this man misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the messiah, a king". Their response is a very efficient one, I'm still amazed as to how they were able to come up with such a thing. They wanted to entangle Pilate with the response, had it been he released Jesus, they would have called him an enemy of Ceaser, saying that he was in support of the establishment of another government. The Jews were highly critical of the Roman administration but were willing to use it to achieve their selfish goal. This is a wake-up call to the sleeping brains out there, the ones that think they can't do anything with their brain, your brain is too powerful bro, you have to make use of it. THINK!
Is today really that good? Our saviour was disgraced and sentenced to death today by mere mortals. What really makes today a Good Friday? Is it the bloodshed and the death or the punishment meted out to our saviour?
It's a Good Friday because we made peace with God today, because we received the grace to get forgiveness without laying our hands on a sheep.
This holy week has been a period of reflection for me, and this has opened my eyes to the true nature of man.
*Betrayal, a word I hate with passion. Apart from hearing that Zizi is sad or sick, one of the stuffs thst pisses me off in been betrayed. Who would have believed that the people that welcomed him to Jerusalem will be the ones to crucify him? They shouted "all hail the son of David" in front of the Jerusalem gate, they danced, spread their clothes on the ground for him and adored him. The same people were the ones to shout crucify him, crucify him, crucify him before Pontius Pilate. They condemned him to death like a criminal, they sentenced a man with no history of crime to death. Be mindful of men, not everybody that laughs with you wishes you good, everybody is not your friend. I'm not saying that you should be suspicious of your friends, all I'm saying is that you should expect anything from anybody. Man can betray, go and ask Ceasar about Brutus, ask Jesus about Judas, ask Shaka Zulu about his cousins. *As a leader, you have stand by your word, don't by swayed by people's opinions when you know you're right. Pilate's decision to hand Jesus over to the Jews affected his life till the end, he lived a life of regret and committed suicide afterwards. Being controlled by people's opinion can have a devastating effect on one's life, do whatever you think is right for yourself and shun the bad advices.
*The brain of man is highly efficient when properly used, the response the people gave when asked about Jesus' offense shows that man is an intellectual being. When Pilate asked of Jesus' offense, the people replied "We caught this man misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the messiah, a king". Their response is a very efficient one, I'm still amazed as to how they were able to come up with such a thing. They wanted to entangle Pilate with the response, had it been he released Jesus, they would have called him an enemy of Ceaser, saying that he was in support of the establishment of another government. The Jews were highly critical of the Roman administration but were willing to use it to achieve their selfish goal. This is a wake-up call to the sleeping brains out there, the ones that think they can't do anything with their brain, your brain is too powerful bro, you have to make use of it. THINK!
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Servant Leadership
Robert Robert Greenleaf in his essay "The Servant As A Leader" made an excellent contribution to the act of leadership with this point “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves theaccumulation and exercise of power by one at the 'top of the pyramid,' servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible."
I'm sure Mr Robert's line of thought was influenced by the book of John 3:12-17, in that passage of the Bible, our Lord Jesus Christ outlined the qualities of a good leader. Someone that's willing to serve and not to be served.
The world will become a better place when our leaders decide to prioritize the needs of the people over their own selfish needs. The black race(Nigeria in particular) has suffered a lot because of the selfish and egocentric leaders that have held sway in that part of the world. The highest money laudering cases in the world involve African leaders like Gen. Sani Abacha, James Ibori, Alison Quattara(?), Mobutu Seko, Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe etc, people that have sucked their country dry all in the name of storing treasures for their children up to the 10th generation.
A leader should take part in the suffering of his people, he shouldn't be happy whenever they are mourning. The well being of his people should be his primary concern. A servant-leader must be willing to listen to the voice of his people, he shouldn't try to impose his views on them.
A servant-leader must be humble like Jesus Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples (remember that the feet are one of the dirtiest part of the body since dusts and other dirty particles tend to stick to it after a lond day trekking) even though he is the one that created them.
A servant-leader should be easily accessible to his people, he shouldn't surround himself with soldiers and give a shoot on site order for anybody that comes near him.
The poor leadership been seen in Nigeria is a sign that we've lost our traditional values. In The Western and Northern Nigeria where there was a centralised system of government in the early 30s, the emirs and obas saw the people as their own children, they treated them same way as their own children. In the Eastern Nigeria where there was a decentralized system of government, the elders of the land made sure that the poor and the weak weren't affected by the rules of the land.
In the present day Nigeria, the reverse is the case, we have abandoned the good qualities that held our ancient communities together for a selfish attitude that will only increase the gap between the rulers ( not leaders) and their slaves. This is why power is concentrated on the hands of a few individuals. You can't become a leader without the approval of OBJ, IBB, Tinubu, etc. Our rulers tend to serve their god fathers instead of the people.
As a country, we have to go back to the basics, we have to teach our students that the blessings that come from serving the populace outweigh the joy that comes from stockpiling money, that the curses from the people can ruin ones life.
May God give Africa another Thomas Sankara and Nelson Mandela.
I'm sure Mr Robert's line of thought was influenced by the book of John 3:12-17, in that passage of the Bible, our Lord Jesus Christ outlined the qualities of a good leader. Someone that's willing to serve and not to be served.
The world will become a better place when our leaders decide to prioritize the needs of the people over their own selfish needs. The black race(Nigeria in particular) has suffered a lot because of the selfish and egocentric leaders that have held sway in that part of the world. The highest money laudering cases in the world involve African leaders like Gen. Sani Abacha, James Ibori, Alison Quattara(?), Mobutu Seko, Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe etc, people that have sucked their country dry all in the name of storing treasures for their children up to the 10th generation.
A leader should take part in the suffering of his people, he shouldn't be happy whenever they are mourning. The well being of his people should be his primary concern. A servant-leader must be willing to listen to the voice of his people, he shouldn't try to impose his views on them.
A servant-leader must be humble like Jesus Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples (remember that the feet are one of the dirtiest part of the body since dusts and other dirty particles tend to stick to it after a lond day trekking) even though he is the one that created them.
A servant-leader should be easily accessible to his people, he shouldn't surround himself with soldiers and give a shoot on site order for anybody that comes near him.
The poor leadership been seen in Nigeria is a sign that we've lost our traditional values. In The Western and Northern Nigeria where there was a centralised system of government in the early 30s, the emirs and obas saw the people as their own children, they treated them same way as their own children. In the Eastern Nigeria where there was a decentralized system of government, the elders of the land made sure that the poor and the weak weren't affected by the rules of the land.
In the present day Nigeria, the reverse is the case, we have abandoned the good qualities that held our ancient communities together for a selfish attitude that will only increase the gap between the rulers ( not leaders) and their slaves. This is why power is concentrated on the hands of a few individuals. You can't become a leader without the approval of OBJ, IBB, Tinubu, etc. Our rulers tend to serve their god fathers instead of the people.
As a country, we have to go back to the basics, we have to teach our students that the blessings that come from serving the populace outweigh the joy that comes from stockpiling money, that the curses from the people can ruin ones life.
May God give Africa another Thomas Sankara and Nelson Mandela.
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