Dear President Yar’Adua,
This writer broke his writing-milk-teeth working with a little-sung icon of the Nigerian press, Christopher Maduaburochukwu Okolie; the young man who dared to import classy full-colour gloss into the realm of Nigerian media (which was hitherto dominated by the “dreary” but popular Spear and Drum magazines) with his revolutionary “NEWBREED” magazine (with the delectable Ms. Gloria Rhodes gracing its debut 1972 cover).
Prince Tonye Princewill is a personable young man that has the ability to charm people even when he is telling them bitter truths, as all other members of President Umoru YarAdua’s Niger Delta Technical Committee, on which he served, learnt…sometimes to their chagrin
The devil can cite scriptures for his purpose”…William Shakespeare
Dear Fellow Nigerians,
At a recently concluded socio-cultural event in Odi, Bayelsa State, Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, who is one of the most trusted, most seasoned and most professional federal civil servants, and who is also a member of the Federal Government Committee on Amnesty and Rehabilitation, was quoted as saying: ‘It is time now for those who have carried arms for whatever reason to drop them and embrace peace, so that real peace and development can come in for our people.
For instance, the Ijaw territory was the center of commerce – renown for its trade in ivory, palm oil, and other natural resources. It was also a center of the African Atlantic slave trade. And for a period in its history, it had an independent diplomatic relations with European powers.
Today, we dedicate our column, POSITIVE LETTERS, to a very gerrmane communication penned by the now renowned Tompolo to President Umaru Yaradua. Shalom
You are probably cursing being born into this nation-space called Nigeria; a land where truth is turned on its head and even ministers of justice are at the forefront of promoting wholesale injustice with impunity…a land of the institutionalization of the twin evils of corruption and violence, even in the supposedly hallowed courts where God is worshipped, as we are daily reminded in the north’s regular orgies of religious violence.
You are probably cursing being born into this nation_space called Nigeria; a land where truth is turned on its head and even ministers of justice are at the forefront of promoting wholesale injustice with impunity…a land of the institutionalization of the twin evils of corruption and violence, even in the supposedly hallowed courts where God is worshipped, as we are daily reminded in the north’s regular orgies of religious violence.
Nobody faults Your Excellency’s chagrin at the Atlas Cove Jetty “affront” and the resultant strong call on the Niger Delta armed groups not to bring “war” into your area of security -jurisdiction. As Chief Security Officer of Lagos State (though this is a mere empty appellation without the concomitant executive powers that you would have in a true federation!) you probably did not see how else you could justify the oath you took to serve the people of Lagos aright.
Yes, we know it suited the ethos and practice of “Rule Britannia” for Britain to intentionally force non-complementary disparate entities together and call it “Nigeria” (thanks to a bored or drunk Mrs. Lugard).
