Gists in Nigeria

Nothing can make you feel better other than the New Year messages, sent by your near and dear ones on the New Year eve. New Year messages can be sent as New Year SMS or you can glue them with your New Year gifts. However, you can be creative enough to make your heart speak for wishing your near and dear ones, but if you want some readymade solutions, online sites are at your service. There are a number of popular New Year messages, which you can find on the internet.
New Year Messages 2011

* New Year count down is about to begin. Here's sending my choicest blessing of cheers and joys galore and wishing you a wonderful year 2011.

* New Year promises fresh start and fill every heart with hopes and aspirations. Here's sending my wishes of love and laughter this day and forever.

* New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.

* As the old year comes to meet the New Year, sending you my greetings of bliss and good health. Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

* As the new year takes the flying start, may it brings peace of heaven to your house and fills your heart with grace and glory. Wishing you 365 days of unstoppable
laughter and good cheers.

So Laurent Gbagbo, the so-called president of Ivory Coast has refused to let go his illegitimate seat, despite threat and counter-threat from every quarters? Regrettable and horrible, but not surprising, if you consider that it's Africa where politics is practiced with high degree of rancour.
We claim to follow the Western world, yet our greed would not allow us go over the next level.
While we are busy vilifying Gbagbo, one thing you cannot blame him for is this - he is in Africa, where everything goes. The case of Mugabe and Tsvangirai (Gawd,I hope I spelt it right) is still fresh in our memory.
This is Africa, where politics is a do-or-die affair (a la OBJ),where rigging is the order of the day, where politics of 'chop-I-chop' isn't bad,where only money matters in politics(what else would we say,when one leaves a more respected seat as a senator,to become a Governor so as to control resources), where out of power,souls are sold to the devil...I could go on and on.
Gbagbo's case can be seen amongst even Village Heads. So while leaders in Africa try to criticize Gbagbo,they should tarry a while and check what happens in their own country.
While Gbagbo's attitude is condemnable,let us also push a bit of the blame to the society that produced him.
One thing is sure. More of these would happen,if we in Africa do not change the kind of politics we play. My hunch tells me it would take a long while before it happens,simply meaning we have yet many Gbagbos to tackle!!

Now,check out the news coming from Jos again...

"At least 32 people were killed in suspected bomb blasts yesterday in the central Nigerian city of Jos, where violence between Christians and Muslims has left hundreds dead this year, Police said.

More than 50 people were injured in the explosions, Abdulrahaman Akanno, Plateau state Commissioner of Police, told journalists in Jos today.

The casualty figures were earlier given as 20 dead, and more than 60 wounded, by Gregory Yenlong, a spokesman for Plateau state, who spoke in a phone interview from Jos today. The blasts took place at about 7 p.m. local time at three different locations, he said.

“For the past two weeks there have been threats to disrupt Christmas celebrations in Jos,” Yenlong said in a text message today. “We know the people and the security agencies know them. We are still investigating.”

The attackers placed the explosive devices “by the roadsides where they expected a high concentration of people,” Manasseh Panpe, Plateau Branch Secretary of the Red Cross, said by phone today from Jos.

At the Jos University Teaching Hospital, one of the places where the wounded were taken, “I saw 50 or so of them,” Panpe said. “Some of them have their lower limbs completely destroyed, and if they survive, their legs might not be useful to them again,” he said.

Act of Terrorism

The Nigerian military will enhance its intelligence operations to prevent further bombings in Africa’s most populous nation, Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika said today. The Jos bombing was an act of terrorism, Ihejirika said in the southern town of Port Harcourt, during a visit to sites of recent clashes between government forces and militants in the Niger Delta region.

Twin car-bomb blasts in the capital, Abuja, on Oct.1, left at least 12 people dead and several others wounded. The blasts occurred close to the venue of celebrations marking Nigeria’s 50 years of independence from Britain.

At least 492 people were killed in an attack on a predominantly Christian village by Muslim Fulani herders near Jos on March 7, Civil Rights Congress, a local rights group, said. Estimates for the number of people killed in sectarian clashes that broke out in Jos in mid-January ranged from 326 by the police to more than 400 by the Civil Rights Congress"


Now,my question is,how do we stop this?Knowing Jos well,it is a very nice place to be,both in location and weather.The indigenes are asking what they have done to deserve such problems. The answer of course is nothing.
The time has come to act.The earlier the better.No more 'we will get to the bottom of this' without trying.We are waiting.There is no better time for our president to prove those who doubt him wrong,than now!!!

As Rafael Benitez celebrates Christmas at home on the Wirral peninsula following his exit from Inter Milan, an unlikely theory is formulating in the minds of some Liverpool supporters.

It is a theory that may even formulate in the mind of Benitez himself - namely that a departure laced with acrimony after only six months at the San Siro might actually be a road that leads him back to Anfield.

For all the turmoil and mediocrity of Benitez's final season at Liverpool, there is no question one of the game's most complex and divisive characters still holds a section, however small, of the club's support in his thrall.

However, if Benitez and his admirers retain some distant hope that the Spaniard could some day reclaim his old job, it might be best if they think again.



Benitez's availability will alert clubs around Europe despite damage done to his reputation in the last 18 months, encompassing his decline at Liverpool and a swift demise at Inter.

And given he has retained his home across the Mersey from Liverpool, where he sought refuge as his reign at the San Siro reached its contentious conclusion, there may well be suitors in the Premier League should he linger on the market long enough.

Yet, while he retains a special affection for Liverpool's fans, even giving them a namecheck after Inter won the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in what turned out to be his final game in charge of the Serie A club, it is unlikely his flight from Italy to England will attract more than a passing glance in Anfield's boardroom.

Firstly, Liverpool have a manager in Roy Hodgson, admittedly one who is struggling to impose himself but nevertheless one who still retains the support of new owner John W Henry and his NESV cohorts from Boston.

Liverpool also have a director of football strategy in Damien Comolli, appointed by Henry. In Benitez's managerial world - and he is not alone here - there can be only one director of football strategy. And that is Benitez himself.

Finally, and rather significantly, a large part of the Liverpool executive team who lived through the final turbulent months of the Benitez regime have fresh memories.

There is also still a feeling inside Anfield, voiced by Hodgson although aggressively challenged by his predecessor, that Liverpool had been left with an environment overpopulated by poor players and expensive Benitez failures.
Hodgson unfazed by talk of an Anfield return for Benitez

Benitez, who left Anfield with a reported £6m pay-off, has demonstrated acumen that will still make him an attractive commodity on the market - if only he could keep his distance from the compulsive politicking that has characterised his career.

For someone many regard as a warm and engaging personality, he also appears to have an insatiable desire for conflict, a love of creating chaos out of calm. Such a track record will be studied as closely as his footballing pedigree by potential employers.

A man of contradictions, Benitez was perceived as ruthless and only too willing to freeze out those who did not buy into his methods yet generous enough to donate £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group after leaving Liverpool.

He craves absolute control and yet too often wants to deflect the blame in the direction of others when matters veer off course. He demands full responsibility and yet appears reluctant to take it when times get tough.

Those contradictions also apply to opinions as to his standing as a coach. Very few are neutrals on the subject of Rafael Benitez.

He did an outstanding job at Valencia in succession to Hector Cuper, bringing two La Liga titles and the Uefa Cup to the Mestalla before leaving for Liverpool. Benitez, in what was to become his trademark, fell out with Valencia director of sport Jesus Garcia Pitarch, famously complaining about lack of control over transfers with the words: "I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade."

At Liverpool, he will deservedly have a special place in the club's history for the miracle of Istanbul and the Champions League final win against AC Milan in 2005. However it became apparent there were fractured relationships with the club's hierarchy, notably former chief executive Rick Parry, former owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, plus ex-managing director Christian Purslow.


Even against this backdrop, Benitez won the FA Cup against West Ham in 2006 and reached another Champions League final, this time losing to AC Milan, the following year.

But he has stumbled badly since steering Liverpool to a second-place finish in the 2008/09 Premier League, only four points behind champions Manchester United.

In this campaign, Benitez produced a side that could play blistering, high-speed attacking football of a calibre that saw off Real Madrid on a magical Anfield night in the Champions League and also brought a stunning 4-1 win at Old Trafford inside four days.

In amongst the criticism of Benitez's behaviour, the bickering with owners and the pointless and ultimately self-defeating attack on Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson when Liverpool sat top of the table in early 2009, there must also be credit for much of the work the Spaniard did before his reign slid to a miserable conclusion.

Such was my own conviction that Benitez had got things right at Liverpool that I felt confident enough to predict a title triumph last season - only to err by the margin of seven places and the small matter of 23 points.

Benitez's penchant for confrontation was repeated at Inter, when his invitation to Massimo Moratti to "back me or sack me" after beating Congolese side TP Mazembe to win the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi was accepted with alacrity - and not in Benitez's favour - by the all-powerful Inter president.

No table. No lampshade. Just a door and how to make his way through it.

This challenge to authority was made from a position of weakness as Benitez has struggled badly to match the feats of old adversary and Inter predecessor Jose Mourinho, who won Serie A, the Italian Cup and the Champions League last season.

It was almost as if he walked into a booby trap of Mourinho's making. How could Benitez improve on the feats of "The Special One"? He was sipping from a poisoned chalice.

Benitez hoped to do this with a more attractive style but was not helped by injuries to key players and a reluctance on Moratti's part to loosen the purse strings. Then, for someone seemingly only too willing to pick a fight, Benitez chose one he could not win.

When linked with Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt earlier this season, he said: "I am the coach and I cannot sign players. That is for the technical director and the chairman. I am fine like this. I can focus on my work on the pitch and that is all. I am the coach not the manager."

It seems logical to presume that, from Benitez's desire to maintain roots on Merseyside, he is only too happy to work once again in the Premier League.

Geographically, Blackburn Rovers might suit his purposes but it is hard to see any other way in which they would be a comfortable fit for Benitez. Steve Kean has been told he is in charge until the end of the season and Benitez, in any event, may not regard them as illustrious enough to satisfy his ambitions.

Also, the abrupt manner in which the club's new Indian owners dispensed with manager Sam Allardyce shortly after taking over suggests the two parties might not be a perfect match either.

West Ham? Like Liverpool, they have a manager in place in Avram Grant. Not only that, a relegation fight in the capital would not appear to be Benitez's natural territory.

A return to La Liga is a possibility, where his achievement in breaking up the cartel of Real Madrid and Barcelona with Valencia ensures his stock remains high. However, he may have to move down some rungs on the ladder to resume that fight once more.

Wherever Benitez turns up next, those same contradictions and confrontations seem sure to follow him, ensuring he remains one of football's most intriguing figures

Culled from Phil M
cnulty

Loyalty, many would say, entails being faithful to someone or something, and supporting him or her/it at the same time. That is the clearest definition, but there is none better to match it than the name Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, the governor of Kaduna State. He defines loyalty in every sense.
Nigerian politics stands miles apart with loyalty. We need no proof, but in case we do, check the number of Deputy Governors impeached so far since 1999 (three, in my State Abia), check the number of politicians that have switched political parties since 1999, and the number of times they have done that(four times, for my governor) and check the extent of back-biting that goes on among politicians(so much, in my state). But the reverse has been the case in Kaduna, presently.
Born in 1948, the governor has had lots of achievements before he was made the Deputy Governor by Ahmed Markarfi. Due to his unflinching support and loyalty, he was also retained by Makarfi’s successor Namadi Sambo. Not a few people dismissed him as lacking ambition, being a coward and being too cool. Why? He didn’t want to aim higher and be the governor. Three years on, what is he?
If Nigerian politicians do not believe in loyalty, which they do not, they have been taught a lesson, which they wouldn’t learn anyway. But the issue remains that Yakowa’s position is as a result of loyalty. What makes it more wonderful for him and Kaduna people is that he has continued from where his boss left. The new Government House being built by his predecessor has been completed and he still retains his boss’ structure. What goes best for him is that he has put the best people around him, who would always tell him the right things. I say this bearing the Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief A.G Haruna, in mind. The Magajin Geri Adara is not just a popular figure in the State because of his title, but the former Transition Chairman of Kachia Local Government is a big philanthropist.
One thing is sure, with this attitude by Yakowa, he would continue to be the governor after the next election, and that is no more than Nigerian politics need, even if it doesn’t deserve it. I hope other politicians would learn!

Ever wondered what has been keeping this screen queen out of the movies for long?
Well,the dark-complexioned Owerri,Imo State born actress who specializes in 'wicked' roles was out for a good reason.Hear one of Osuofia's screen wives

"I would be back soon. I gave birth to a baby girl"
Here is wishing the highlife musician the best,and also reminding her that her fans are waiting!

Abia State is full of surprises. People keep wondering why. Is it because it habours arguably the largest market in Nigeria? That cannot be the case. Or because it is an oil producing state? Of course not. Afterall there are states that produce more. Must it be because it is the abode of home movie marketers? Lagos and Anambra states also have. Is it a result of the fact they are called Japan of Africa, produce the highest number of tailors in the country, serve as an important border state, produce a lot of shoes and shoemakers, produce cocoa and palm oil in quantity, are the highest shelter of fabrics, are a home of almost the whole tribes in the country, have the second largest transport system in Eastern-Nigeria after Anambra state, have the largest number of Igbos with dialectal differences, boast almost the highest number of private schools amongst other states, are the most religious, and as a result have churches scattered on every nook and cranny of the state? Those achievements cannot be the reasons!
The reason is just one. The state is united, yet divided. And the centre of the division? Chief T.A Orji, the Governor of the state. Until now, people are yet to decide on his future – do they vote him in next year or not? Yes and no, according to well-meaning Abians. Never in life has opinion been so divided like the two parallel lines, as this.
It is a clear fact that the governor’s three year reign so far has been nothing short of catastrophic. This opinion is objective, not subjective. Abia State has seriously turned from hero to zero, from grace to grass, from success to failure, and all it needs is redemption. The problem is that Abians are yet to know whom they want as a redeemer. Ordinarily, a bad first term deserves a holiday out of the Government House permanently, but the Abia case seems different.
The governor has succeeded in giving himself a nickname ‘The Liberator’. The reason, we all know. But the issue is, the dummy sold was never bought by everybody. Those who believed are drumming their support for him while those who do not, have accused him of speaking from both sides of the mouth.
Yet there are still some who do not care whether he got liberated or not. All they want is action. Listen to a political analyst
“Whether he was ever controlled by anyone or not is a case for another day. The problem is that this mantra is fast becoming a hymn to him, one used as a defence each time his non-performance is highlighted.”
The ex-deputy governor Chris Akomas was even clearer
“You see, when a man cannot do his job, he will say he is in bondage. When he fails, he will say that someone was collecting the state money or he will say that he is not getting funds like other states…”
Despite all the criticisms, almost every community in the state has endorsed him to run and his popularity, both positive and negative, is never in doubt.
The picture needs to be painted so we get the mess Abia is in. First, our roads are the worst in the country, and this is certainly no exaggeration, the streets have turned to a dumping ground, especially in the very developed Aba,the infrastructural development is at a standstill, there are no jobs in the state, all companies in the state have either packed up due to poor security or closed down as a result of neglect, pensioners are being owed, workers are sad, the buildings in the various state Ministries are an embarrassment, touts have invaded the state to give motorists hell on the road in the name of levy collection, the state schools, especially the legendary Government College Umuahia are in chaos and then we have the wrongest Commissioner for Information!!!
Chief Anthony Agbazuere sees the opposite in every similarity. When one fails, to him, it’s success. To him, one must always respond to every irrelevancies, even if it has nothing to do with one. That has always been him, too hyperactive and talkative. Such position, I dare say, should be for the level-headed and intelligent(you don’t need Cambridge certificate to be intelligent)!!
The governor clearly would do much better with the right kind of people around him. People like his wife, who has done better as a first lady than the husband.It is more likely he has a lot of work to do just to win over those who do not like him. That would ensure change and make things better for him, and all Abians. Abia must return to its former glory, but the work would be tough. The governor has a lot to do.
On what seems like a clear proof of this opinion, an area in ‘Ama Mmon’, arguably the most decrepit part of Aba, bears a tag no less sympathetic than true, yet instructive “Do not patch this road. Please plaster!” Oh dear.

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE UMUAHIA – STILL CRYING FOR REDEMPTION
This is authoritative – a certain Robert Fisher is turning in his grave! A child he gave birth to about 81 years ago ,is on the verge of dying. If it were just the fact that his beloved child was on the verge of extinction, it would have been easily digested. But considering his near-death was, or is, meant to be easily avoided, then you get the clear picture.
I grew up to not only respect, but revere, any graduate of the legendary and prestigious Government College Umuahia (G.C.U). My joy could then be imagined when I got admission into that school. Putting on the pink and brown uniform on its own was meant to be an honour, a great one. It signified one thing in, not just Abia State, but I believe Nigeria – FAVOUR!  The same cannot be said at the moment.
That school which produced almost every professionals in the country ­– doctors, lawyers, engineers, artistes, journalists,etc-, that school that depicted discipline and morals that every other school should follow, that school that had the best teachers the state could offer(and believe me, they are the best everywhere),that school that always earned rave review for the students’ level-headedness, that school that made primary school pupils buckle up is gradually going down the drain.
While not getting emotional, let me quickly add that the influx of private schools in the state has taken its toll on the development of government schools. In my estimation, the state could boast not less than a thousand private schools (exaggeration? Then visit the state). But I had expected the already great government schools like G.C.U, Ovom Girls’ High School Aba and Girls’ Secondary School Umuahia to set the pace, rather than falter when faced with such stiff challenges.
Who were you as a student of G.C.U to ever move in the school compound or even your mothers’ kitchen with your uniform not properly tucked in? We always felt the teachers could see us wherever we were, so we always dressed properly, respected our seniors, read regularly, and even did our chores. Presently, any day that passes without me washing any of my clothes, I feel empty and filthy. That’s what G.C.U put into you then. I cannot say the same about now. I always practically bled inside each time I went to Umuahia and saw the attitude of the students.  I therefore resolved to avoid the city, for fear of seeing worse things.
From the moment I gained admission into G.C.U and until I left, I had unforgettable experiences. Academically, we were up there with the best. The secret was our involvement in extra-curricular activities that mattered. In sports, we were there. We were the best in debate. In drama, we were never found wanting (I should know- I was the best French actor in the state in 2001). Teachers never bothered writing dramas for students to act for any competition. The students did everything themselves (as the president of the dramatic club, I wrote and directed dramas and debate for two years). All they needed do was give the students the freedom to act. Everybody knew we were the best in cultural dancing. Let us not even go into music. All these made every graduating student get filled with nostalgia.
Yes, everybody  blames the government of the state for abandoning the government schools. Once beautiful buildings in G.C.U are fast becoming shadows of their former selves. Had the buildings not been erected by Europeans, maybe the students would be learning in an open field. The only reason I do not blame the government is because we never expected them to do anything anyway. If they never did anything in the cities in the state, would they now do anything close to a mustard seed in a school their kids, who are obviously out of the country, have no business with? I doubt.
The fact is this, the time has come for old boys of the school, who always have the interest of the school at heart, to act before things get worse. I know a lot of people who can lose a finger to salvage the situation. Odds are, there would be blood. But that is what true sacrifice entails. We can no more fold our hands and watch the situation go worse. The works of Robert Fisher, of Erekosima, of Cozens, of Wareham, of Simpson and others would never go in vain. The foundation had been laid 81 years ago, we have to keep building on it. The dreams of our heroes past MUST NEVER be ignored.
G.C.U must return to its past glories. It must keep producing heroes and legends like the late Cyprian Ekwensi, the iconic Chinua Achebe, the sweet voiced Laz Ekwueme, the talented Chukwuemeka Ike, the quiet-yet-glorious A.N.C Aniebo,the popular politicians like Orji Uzor Kalu and Achike Udenwa, musician 2short and…well,the truthful Kelechi Udensi!

CHINYERE WILFRED – THE WISDOM IN ADVERSITY
Now, apologies to Mr. Chris Wilfred, but I think I’m in love with his wife. No, not that kind of love you feel, but one that is borne out of respect for personality, nay, achievement.
In the early 90s, what would today be known as Nollywood was born by the hard-working but introverted Paul Ogunjiofor (Jide Kosoko may have something to say about that), and with it stars were also given birth to. While the audience started picking who they felt they loved then (you could hear names like Bob Manuel Udokwu, KOK, Kenneth Okonkwo, Tobechukwu Anadi, Ngozi Nwosu and Ngozi Nwaneto, Barbara Udoh, Nnenna Nwabueze, Ann Ohume, Rita Nzelu, etc), a certain young and innocent face invaded our screen (at least, mine). Tall for her age, pretty in a different way, fair just like an Igbo girl, she was never going to be unnoticed. There and then, even as a boy yet to clock ten, I knew a star had been born. I immediately decided to be a fan of this lady who had run me crazy – Chinyere Wilfred. Recent events have proved I made the right choice.
Married almost immediately she did her first movie Taboo, she has not looked back since then. In an industry where divorce has become a favourite past time, she has managed to hold on to hers, and the sky has been her limit. Favoured not to be one of the stereotyped actors (she has interpreted lots of diverse roles), she has used it in her favour.
Now, these qualities aren’t new. She isn’t the first actress to possess them (and definitely wouldn’t be the last). But there is one thing ‘Sister Caro’ has that her colleagues don’t – Humility. In an era where actresses use the media to make themselves known, she has managed to avoid the press and the attendant scandals that follow. Even in the peak of her career in 1999(when she took part in more than twenty five movies), she never made herself heard.
But there is definitely one thing that has made her my permanent heroine. In 2003, the then 33-year old Chinyere was blackmailed by a fellow colleague and former closest friend Florence Onuma. Threats were made, nude pictures were flashed, the police got involved and The Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN) waded in. At the end, the case was resolved. She knew there and then that her scandal-free status, which she had struggled to protect, was gone. Rather than run to the pages of the newspaper to call names and absolve self of blame like her then opponent did, she quietly left the scene. People talked, questions were asked and nobody got the answers. Soon, when everyone had forgotten there was ever such scandal, not to talk of her, she quietly resurfaced. And, with a bang!!!
Her first movie after the saga was The Legend, and that was the first of many she ever wrote and co-produced. And the movie was a sell-out. She even did a hilarious comedy, Baby Boy, to show the funny side of the scandal. There and then, she won plaudits, and with them, more fans. And she has not looked back ever since. These days, she travels to and fro the United Kingdom, either to produce, direct or shoot a movie or to receive an award or the other. That is what re-packaging entails, and she sure is giving it a new meaning.
Now, we hear the next for this Anambra-born actress is politics. Whether it would benefit her or not, whether she is cut out for it or not, is a case for another day. The most important thing is that her Imo State-born hubby is sure proud of her. Her boys (as she calls them) Chukwudi, Nonso and Emeka are.  And we, the onlookers, are too. And Nollywood should be.
Finally, this should be a lesson to our nollywood stars. Do not hope on the pages of the papers to do you justice. Do not backbite, and avoid being backbitten. But, if unfortunately you are, borrow a leaf from your colleague and be proud of her. Ride on ‘Sis Caro’. I am your number one fan.