THE BEAUTY OF NIGERIA

I look around me, and I see my country's endowments. It dawns on me and I couldnt help but say: "Nigeria is beautiful! I ain't lying. You may say beauty is in eyes of the beholder (to my eyes only) and you might just be right. But just before your verdict, overlook the shortcomings - which of course you will see same or some everywhere else in this our imperfect world. Then and only then will you see the beautiful Nigeria that I see already.

Nigeria is really beautiful, if you consider that the percentage of scammers to non-scammers is 1:1000 (Lol! not bad is it?); that the second ratio (nonscammers) are those of us who do other things. You may ask where the corrupt government officials fall(They are about 1 percent of the remaining ratio (non scammers: mathematically)); that in the second ratio are the truly-Nigerians who aspire to see that the Nigeria persona is espoused. A few good men, but too enough to make a huge impact.

The wind of change is blowing and thats the beauty of Nigeria. The beauty of the Change is what i see. Time will tell if history will repeat itself as it has always been. Take Our "Nacent" (an adjective of Nigerian politicians) democracy for example. Gradually it is become more of what democracy should be. I know... but we will get there sooner than our detractors expect.

Nigeria is beautiful. Look around you and see that even for one thing God loves us enough to keep us away from the total destruction and set back that war can cause. We Nigerians would see how our leaders queue up and deceive us one after the other. Instead of taking up arms we take up our Bibles, Korans, Chaplets, Chesbies and other religious paramphenelia and turn to God.

I believe that even though our motto is Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, in our hearts it is "In God we trust". Thats the beauty of Nigeria.

WHEN I GROW UP I WOULD LIKE TO BE THE PRESIDENT

Sometime in 1985, my primary school teacher asked me. "What would you like to be when you grow up"? Looking back at that time I could not give any answer then, I drew a blank for 8 seconds, then I looked up and saw a poster of the then Nigeria Military Leader General Buhari that has been hanging in my class I answered: "The President". She gave me a smile and said: "Very good". Being the first person to be asked, I realised every other person in my class was saying they wanted to be doctors, lawyers, engineers and so on. That made me feel very stupid, I was the odd one out! Now at that age you can imagine what it means to be the odd one out. Immediately I raised by hand and called out "Aunty" (that's for teacher in Naija), "I want to be a doctor", trying to save face for the playground.

Looking back at that day after so many years I realize I was right! I want to be the President of Nigeria. LOL!. I really do. I am sure you will support my mandate when you here me out.

Nigeria is like a big company. Being the president of a company, it should be my sole responsibility to run my company the way I find fit and beneficial to me, my family and I. Well thats actually what my mind is telling me: "that every Nigerian President had run the affairs of this company, sorry.. country!!! like his own personal business (business as in personal profit making venture) . Fellow Nigerians, because I have seen presidents and head of states come and go, my first initiative as a president will be innovative.

But before I proceed I would like to say I have a vested interest in the current president. By declaring his assets and other things I have seen and heard him do, I would say lets keep a close watch. Obasanjo gave us an impression of a clean and transparent leadership, but as my people would say "otu awu n'ezi" meaning "once beaten twice shy"...

Yardie is here to stay and from what is going, I hope for a difference. So Yardie, you better run it differently or else...

NIGERIA: INFINITE POTENTIAL II

I must take time to apologize to all my readers for being away for so long. It has been a wild goose chase for me to restore my internet connection. Now that I'm back I would like to thank God Almighty for the way technology is helping us achieve more; faster.

Meanwhile, Has anyone heard about the Welcome2Nigeria Project? I'm sure quite a few or none at all. That's a project I'm involved in as one of the media consultants. I will be using this channel to elucidate more on what Welcome2Nigeria Project is all about in due course.

I started a series on Nigeria which i intend to be one avenue to project Nigeria of now and of our dreams. This new year 2008, I'm going to be doing a lot on the Nigerian Image.

Here is the continuation of Nigeria: Infinite Potential

In Abuja, a city founded in the centre of the country in 1974 and made into its capital in 1991, the population is growing ceaselessly. Besides the activity generated by the Transcorp Hilton, Sheraton and Chelsea and other Hotels, the government is also making efforts to entertain foreign visitors and residents in the city. Last November, the capital celebrated its second carnival, which grouped together several of the country's most famous tourist attraction. Among the most spectacular events were a traditional Atilogwu dance and the scintilating gallop of over eight hundred Durbar Horsemen.

The Durbar festival is traditionally held in the cities of Kano and Katsina twice a year - once after the month of Ramadan, and again during the muslim celebration of Ide-el-Kabir (which commemorates Abraham's sacrifice to God of an animal in place of his own son). During the festival, the Emir receives the tribute of his subjects, who fire their rifles as they let out the reins of their embellished steeds for the gallop.

Nigeria also has several nature reserves, though tourist facilites are yet to approaching top-class. One that stands out is Yankari, in Bauchi. The best time to see wild animals is between November and May, when the dry season parches the vegetation. Another interesting reserve with a lovely landscape of green mountains, radically different from the rest of the country, is Mambilla Plateau on the frontier with Cameroon. It offers relaxing vistas of green tea plantations spreading over gently undulating hills. The neighbouring Gashaka-Gumti reserve contains the highest peak in Nigeria, the 2409-metre Chapal Waddi. This region is inhabited by buffalos, monkeys, hippopotami and even gorillas.

Nigeria is a great country of huge potential, and it is sure to leave an indelible mark on anyone who manages to overcome their fear of the unknown, allowing themselves to be drawn along by the hospitality and enormous cultural variety of its people.

NIGERIA: INFINITE POTENTIAL

Now being a Nigerian and living in Nigeria, my perception of the impact Nigeria would have on a foreigner cannot be rightly placed or imagine. As i read through an article by Carlos A. Dominguez on Nigeria, I realized that the best way to paint the Nigerian Picture is to allow a foreigner give a first experience account of his encounter as he arrived Nigeria. He writes:

Nigeria is a place that boosts the adrenalin. If you are on your way to Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, get ready for a full immersion in what they call 'culture shock'. Its population of more than 120 million will make us forget the very notion of solitude. And there are other things we will quickly have to jettison. While you are staying in Nigeria, any thoughts of anonymity will be pure fantasy. It will prove impossible to go unnoticed, walk along a pavement or look in a shop window. Such things do not exist here.

For most of the expatriate colony, life in Lagos consistsd of going from one air conditioned space to another in the shortest time possible, rather like a game of snakes and ladders. The western community lives mainly on the two of the city's islands, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, where there are large numbers of shopping centres, cinemas, European and American restaurants, clubs and discotheques packed with while people. Without leaving the islands, visitors can attend functions at the French Institute, the Goethe Institute, the Polo Club and other institutions which recall Nigeria's colonial past. The pool at the Federal Palace Hotel and the tennic courts of the EKO Meridien are other popular meeting places where Europeans can find a home from home.

Of course, there are many other things to do, see and fee if there is a whill. A good way to begin a submersion in the local culture is to visit Glendora Bookshop in the Falomo Shopping Centre, located on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi. There, shoppers will find books by Nigeria's most famous authors, such as Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri, Wole Soyinka (the winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature) and Ken Saro Wiwa, or can learn about publications by new writers.

Also on sale are discs by Fela Kuti, the political activist and mythical creator of Afrobeat, as well as by his son Femi (live performances every Sunday at The Shrine in Ikeja) or the masked singer Lagbaja (appearances on the last Friday or every month at Motherlan in Ikeja). Besides Afrobeat, other styles like Juju (King Sunny Ade), High Life and Fuji are sure to delight music lovers. Widespread too are new forms of urban music such as hip-hop and rap.

Nigeria has been consolidating itself in recent years as a great film production centre. Nollywood, as the country's film industry has come to be called, is following the Indian pattern closely, and now produces more than 500 films a year. All are low-budget, but their endlessly twisting plots keep audiences captivated all over the continent.

Nigeria's cultural wealth comes from way back. The country's current territory once lay at the centre of the great African empires, as the terracotta remains of the Nok culture testify. There are 2500-year-old heads to be admired at the National Museum in Onikan, Lagos. The Yoruba bronzes of Ile-Ife, which date from the 7th to 18th centuries, caused stupor and awe when first shown in Europe owing to their superb workmanship, unique in the whole continent.

To be continued...

NEWS FLASH: EMERGENCY ALARM COMMOTION AT THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TODAY

Men Wetin I take ma eyes see this afternoon, I wan laugh die. But true, its not a laughing matter. Our Distinguished Senator Love life no be small.

Make I cool down yarn una as I take see am.

As usual, I went to check on my friend and check out what was happening at the National Assembly Abuja today. As I was approaching the entrance to the new set of buildings (Senate Wing), I saw what I could only interpret as a 100 metre dash. Only that this time the runners are definitely not dress or prepared for the race and they were made up of distinguished Senators, Honourables and other unidentified persons.

In utter confusion, I breaked and watched as herds of men and women were struggling to outrun each other out of the only entrance and exit doors. See as dem dey tear race. Then it occurred to me that these highly placed movers and shakers of Nigeria could only be running for their dear lives. My instincts kicked in, ah! abi na last weeks fight at the House of Reps 624m contract scam don degenerate to a bigger skirmish!

Now I decided to just keep my distance and observe what is up. After a while I noticed they all stopped outside the building and were looking back into the building, bewildered.

To cut a long story short, there was an emergency alarm that went off. Apparently, as the building is new, the Julius Berger technicians were rounding up their work and carrying out some routine tests on the Emergency, and Fire Alarm Systems which is connected to the Public Announcement system. As they tested the automated emergency announcement, all hell let loose. The automated emergency system with a computerized voice triggered: "Attention, this is announcing a code red emergency, evacuate the building. I repeat, evacuate the building"

As they had ran to safety, One Distinguished Senator asked another what it was. I overheard him answer "I think it was a bomb" then another person said: "no i think that was fire". Then over the P.A. system I heard: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Sorry for the inconvenience. That was a false alarm and the fault has been ratified"

Immediately I realised that I was freely moving around and standing beside these mighty men that on a good day, their aides do not allow anyone approach 5 yards closer to them. But now in the midst of fear and uncertainty everyman is equal. Even in a 100metre dash, agbada no be hinderance! That is Naija for U. Honestly am impressed with this state of the art emergency system.