AMAOPUSENIBO Shedrack Fubara Blog

Let me start by welcoming and commending the emergence of a renewed and reinvigorated African Democratic Congress, ADC, as a political party. Since the inception of Coalition for Nigeria Movement, CNM, many of the sixty-eight registered political parties had contacted and consulted with the Movement on coming together and working together. The leadership of the Movement, after detailed examination, wide consultation and bearing in mind the orientation, policies and direction of the Movement, have agreed to adopt ADC as its platform to work with others for bringing about desirable change in the Nigeria polity and governance. I congratulate the leadership of the Movement for their decision and their choice. The emergence of ADC is the beginning of hard work to continue to consolidate our democracy and to make development in all its ramifications real, relevant, accessible, popular and reaching out to all Nigerians wherever they may be. Let me particularly thank and congratulate mi...

Bro Tony Elumelu, Kudos for the powerful and thought provoking presentation. While diligently reading through your lecture, a part of it jumped at me and I quote "So the sad fact is that despite valiant efforts by the government over the last 30 years ‘Austerity’ to the ‘Structural Adjustment Programme’ to ‘MAMSER’ to ‘SURE-P,’ poverty is on the rise in Nigeria". I beg to disagree with your assertion that govt have been ‘’vigilant’’ in their efforts at eradicating poverty over the last 30yrs. As a matter of fact, government has been the problem rather than solution. You cannot continue to give a sick man the same dose of medicine that has not cured him after 30yrs. The various attempts by govt to stamp out poverty have been political, hurriedly thought-out, reactionary and unsustainable hence they yielded no positive results. The question govt and citizens must begin to ask is what has the western world done differently that Nigeria isn't doing? Over the years Nig...

Background: Nigeria is made up of four major tribes namely - Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and Ijaw. The Ijaws dominate the Southern part of Nigeria & in this tribe they have multiple ethnic groups and the prominent group are the Ibani people (Bonny & Opobo) as its known to Westerners. One of the traditional ceremonies recognized in Bonny and Opobo for women is the IRIA ceremony, which symbolizes a "coming of age" time for young girls and is used to launch them into society and proclaim adulthood. Further on in her life her husband may perform the second stage of the ceremony for her called BIBITE. Traditionally an Ibani girl is not allowed to dress in the traditional attire of two wrapper cloths unless she has performed the ceremony and those who do are met with a penalty or fine. The IRIA and BIBITE ceremonies include all three functions of art- ritual, integrative and display of cultural values or aspects unique to that culture. These ceremonies have proved to ...

I have seen the trailer of the movie "Deepwater Horizon" and I am looking forward to seeing the full movie, a Hollywood reenactment by Mark Wahlberg. Reading the reaction by BP and sentiments expressed in some quarters for and against the movie, I am of the opinion that, rather than criticize the movie, BP and indeed the Oil and Gas industry should see the positive side of it which I believe; is to remind industry operators that ours is a volatile high risk environment wherein collateral damage could happen at the snap of the fingers. Much as the movie is a sad reminder to families and loved ones of those who died in that horrible 2010 incident, the telling part and take away is the reminder that Safety and commitment to Safe Work Practice MUST be at the Core of what we do to ensure that we return home to our loved ones at the end of the day’s work. There must not be a repeat of "Deepwater Horizon" other than ...

emotanafricana.com   December 19, 2011 TOLA ADENLE shares her thoughts on the movie,  District 9  that maligns Nigeria LETTERS TO MY NIECE: Yewande, dear, What a nice way to force me to write: “ Auntie, dearest, have you seen District 9…”? ( D9 )     Above title’s explanation, first.  Seeing Oyo PDP’s crass mercantilism as main political goal in ’03, I wrote “Nigerian, Inc.” which I likened to “Murder, Inc” but things have gotten worse.   The Ibori/Aondaka’s (Attorney General) mess made “Happy Lagosian”, a  Sahara Reporters (SR)  blogger ask: “Are they running a nation or a crime syndicate?”  I have no intention of seeing the demeaning movie and it has nothing to do with a sudden love for retd. General Obasanjo (rGO) whose governance style made a political writer of me from 2003; I’m still not sure-footed, though!  He led Nigeria to the slaughter slab where Alhaji Yar Adua (AYA) may be unwittingly administer...

I am a strong unrepentant advocate of the urgent need to restructure Nigeria; if indeed the country must remain "One Nigeria" as forced upon the people by the colonialist in 1914. The fundamental aspect of Nigeria’s national life that must be restructured is the current structure of governance of Nigeria. In looking at the calls and clamor to restructure Nigeria, I cannot but give kudos to one eminent Nigerian (like him or hate him) who has come out and unequivocally lent his voice to this matter of urgent national importance. In a paper he presented at the Late Gen. Usman Katsina Memorial Conference, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Memorial Hall, Murtala Square, Kaduna, on Saturday, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) stated  “Since the various amalgamations that created the entity that we now call Nigeria, different segments of Nigeria’s population have, at different times and sometimes at the same time, expressed feelings of m...