Life Changing!

There are always paths that lead to the different places where people may want to be at any particular time. There is no place or destination that does not have its own route, whether wide or narrow, popular or unpopular, on the maps or not. Even the apian ways and so-called 'shortcuts' end somewhere. A stranger in a new environment can only move freely with the help of a reliable human compass or a detailed easy-to-use map. Without any of these, such a fellow becomes a wanderer and a potential victim of harassment or trespass. Only 'luck' will be able to bring safely, such alien to where he/she is heading to. Evidently, any pilgrim on a journey has the desire to arrive safely via the simplest possible means. Somehow, we'll always meet people who may want to offer some help in difficult moments. Some may come up with 'strange' options in their bid to helping out while others will come up with uncommon options that are actually what we may only need. In any

Unarguably, the decisions we make each moment of our lives have a way of making or destroying us- it can either make us better or worse. Again, our actions, to a great extent dramatise our decisions. The truth remains that our decisions, thoughts and actions cannot be separated, they work together to determine our choices and relevance; the nature of our relationship with people and all-round influence on our society. Once in a while, we make up our minds to act in ways that leave us regretting at the long run. Though some people consciously decide to commit crime, giving themselves biased and selfish reasons for their actions ,in some others, the consciences is still potent in its regulatory role and ability to sharply differentiate between good and evil. God must have seen that evil shall abound and that people will have to decide what to do with life's numerous 'presents', before creating and giving everyone of us the abstract regulator in the form of conscience.

Having miraculously come to be the governor through one of the easiest and rarest circumstances, one would have expected a better performance from Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim(IGO), the governor that was recently ousted from office in Imo State. Having been privileged to see the limelight, though from a humble background, Ohakim carelessly managed and made a mess of the rare opportunity given to him to write his name, like Mbakwe, in the annals of Imo history. The 2007 elections in Imo came with enough tussle and confusion, desperation and war, paving way for the emergence of IGO on the platform of Progressive Peoples Alliance(PPA), an unpopular party floated by Orji Uzor Kalu(OUK). The likes of Ararume, Agbaso and other popular candidates were technically deprived of the number one spot or position in the Eastern Heartland, probably due to the sentiments, bags of money and other underground 'political games' played by OUK and his allies. Imolites may have accepted him, thinking

PDP once said that they will rule this nation for a minimum of 60years, making us susceptible to a gradual departure from true democracy to the realm of political anarchy. One is made to ponder whether the one party system(only PDP)will be democracy or disguised dictatorship. The thought of the possible future puts fear in the hearts of well meaning Nigerians. The hold of PDP on this nation looks so strong and spells doom for us all. Its reversal is almost unthinkable, considering the sequence of events. Peoples Democratic Party, the nation's ruling party consists of political heavyweights with a commanding influence on the nation's polity. This influence cuts across national, state, council and even ward levels. There appears to be an impossibility of the absence of a PDP loyalist in any matter of national concern . There is also a conscious and enthusiastic desire for members of the party to dominate wherever they find themselves. This domineering tendency is sometimes unchec

The inability of religion to keep mute in some sensitive political matters of the nation has become the bane of our modern-day democracy. Taking a look at our political arena, religion seems to be playing a pivotal role in the sequencing of our political events, including the unfavourable ones and at the same time serving as a compass for navigating the nation's political ship. The political divide between the northern and southern regions of the country is not just because of tribal, language or cultural differences but has more to do with religious beliefs. As majority of the northerners are muslims that embraced the islamic religion, the south mainly houses the christians. These major religions give little or no recognition for other existing religions. The political tug of war existing between the north and south is a clear indication of the religious sentiments and reflection of the supremacy tussle among different religious groups. Suprisingly, within the larger religious gro

The tricks played on people on April Fool's day can't be more than the one played on unsuspecting Nigerians on April 2 with an issue as serious as our elections. Just as the seemingly careful ones among us exercised our shrewdness and thought that we have manoeuvred any possibility of becoming victims of this year's version, ours came in a bigger, more surprising and unfortunate package -election cancellation and deferment. Reminiscing about the event, I had no choice than to give my voice to the same issue Nigerians complained about. ' Shocking!' looks like an understatement for describing the news of the cancellation and deferment of the NASS elections slated for April 2, owing to the seeminly serious preparations, legislative and financial demands of the Jega-led INEC, not to talk of the vast human resource available to them. Nigerians questioned again, Jega's radicalism and the preparedness of INEC in giving Nigerians the much anticipated credible 2011 ele

Alot has actually gone wrong in the hospital that almost all students are angry with the whole thing. A six year course is now studied for up to eleven years and no one cares. The worst of it all is that the students are expected to pay the fees of these wasted years. They are also expected to pay the newly inflated school fees and carter for their house rents, and other necessities of life. People, who are privileged and opportuned to travel abroad for their studies have refused to remain here, because no one knows when all these will end. Uncertainty of the future or end of ones time of study has gripped every student in Imo's teaching hospital. We have made nigerians to develop apathy for anything nigerian. Ukraine has suddenly become a hot-cake for those who desire to study medicine and other related courses abroad. Students can afford to step down or even start afresh, just because they know that once they start, there is no form of delay. Families can afford to sell precious

Activities in Imo State University Teaching Hospital(IMSUTH),recently christened Evan Enwerem University Teaching Hospital(EEUTH),Orlu is gradually coming to a standstill, thanks to the gross negligence and the obvious lackadaisical attitude of the Ohakim-led administration towards the establishment of needed structures, completion of the already existing ones, caring properly for the staff and so on. The hospital,together with the medical college and the nursing department of the state's university are in a comatose situation. The comatoseness has become so bad that urgent intervention is needed to avoid possible death. Recently, we heard that the hospital is open and running while it was placed under lock and key. This opened a new vista into the plight of the citizens of the state whose health and general interest should be the leadership's primary concern and assignment. It also questioned the authenticity of the information delivered to the poor masses. It dawned on us tha

Who are they? Where are they? What do they actually mean by that? What are they standing for? I just hope that this is not one of the latest and/or last signs of the end of days! We really need to be more commited with watching and praying, for the days are more dangerous than we initially thought. Sometime last year, I went to visit a friend of mine and on reaching his house, I met two other people who came to visit him. They claimed to be 'hiphop christians'.During the course of the discussion that ensued, I came to know, for the first time, that there are a group of people known as the hiphop christians. From their explanations and arguements, they tried classifying christians based on their personal criteria. From my little knowledge of the bible, I know that a christian is a christian and there is no classification, no sentiments, no dilution, no consideration, neither is there any personal opinion attached to it. Just as I have always said and will always say, just as

Elections are at the corner with party campaigns heating up, politicians are making their interests known to the public. Carefully concocted manifestos are being paraded, INEC compiling the names of party representatives and support sought from individuals and people groups. The great wind of elections is sweeping across the country and many become victims of assassinations and kidnaps, others end up mishaving due to much excitement. With the good, the bad and the ugly poised to lock horns in the April polls, the electorates are left with much work to do in the voting process. Politics in Nigeria has been regarded by people as the quickest and easiest way to get rich and amass wealth for themselves and unborn generations, at the expense of other legitimate citizens. This poor mentality has even been bequeathed to the younger generation, who are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow, the future of Nigeria, our hope of escaping possible extinction of our nascent democracy and the hop

To start with, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are those special but spiritual abilities that manifest in a believer after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereas the fruit of the Holy Spirit is a conglomeration of all the expected and distinguishing virtues or characters imputed into a believer during the first work of the Holy Spirit in his/her life at salvation. Actually, the gifts of the Spirit speak more of the power given to christians to be able to do the work of God, ministry-wise. On the other hand, the fruit of the spirit speaks more of the character and behaviour of a christian and serves as a distinguishing factor between the believer and an unbeliever. It is what others see in you, i.e the true reflection of your salvaged personality. Though the gifts and fruit are both important in a christian's life, the latter is better for continuous usage at any point in time. I'll have to marshal out my points to prove this. First, it was the fruit of the Spirit that m

"Though (I) was unable to believe (this) because it was not imagined, I spoke with her sister few minutes past and she confirmed it. Sister Chika Okoro is dead!", read the text message I received from Bro. Samuel, the President of the Scripture Union Campus Fellowship located in Evan Enwerem University(EEU), former Imo State University(IMSU) at 04:25:29p.m. on Sunday, the 28th day of November, 2010 as I was fraternising with a good friend of mine. Though the news of the sudden and untimely demise of Chika may long have been deleted from the minds of many, even those very close to her, the ugly incident continually reminds me of our ephemeral lives. 'Shocking!' is evidently an understatement as I lack words to describe the irreplaceable loss. As I cogitatively reminisce on her great exploits and the impact on the teachable remnant privileged to be living, I only pause to ponder and ask- why so soon? I actually don't expect any response from anyone because I know

What appears to be working elsewhere in the world has become a thorn in the flesh of Nigerian job seekers. The pains and sufferings accompanying ones resolve to acquire a university, polytechnic or any other related degree, after four to six years of sleepless nights with endured patience seems to be the beginning of ones woes and troubles. In a quest to settle down, live comfortably and enjoy ones who-knows-how-long life on earth,many found themselves in our citadels of higher learning, either through due process or via the backdoor,by hook or by crook. The processes involved in gaining admission into our higher institutions per se is a vast topic for another day and can take a good chunk of time to discuss. The intricacies and rigorous processes (ranging from taking exams like SSCE, JAMB UTME,Aptitude Test and even Viva Voce; payment of the ever increasing tuition fees,exorbitant house rents and the purchase of costly but low quality pamphlets etc) involved in seeking admission into