Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Losing ourselves to the onslaught


Unknown to many an African, there is a world war ongoing. Unlike conventional warfare, this war is being waged in the media and is of an intellectual nature. However, the nature of this war makes it as bloody as conventional warfare, with alliances formed and broken at will; with betrayals, and backstabbing, as commonplace as in the days of the sea pirates whose names are forever etched upon history’s bosom.
Our soul, that thing that makes us unique, is the trophy, for which soldiers do battle now. You might not know it, but the common notion that Africa is a continent of all-round darkness – dark deeds, dark diseases, dark gods, dark people and darker desires – is being challenged by an invention that the world did not reckon with, the Internet.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Jalaa Writers’ Collective releases its first titles


Jalaa Writers’ Collective is a publishing initiative consisting of nine notable Nigerian writers. Members are united by the common purpose of using their collective power to achieve individual writing goals. Read more about JWC at www.jalaawriters.com.

The following books have now been released by JWC:
  §  Pride of the Spider Clan by Odili Ujubuonu
Book description:
398 pages
ISBN 978978125326
Trade paperback
Published April 2011
Praise for the book:
Odili Ujubuonu’s masterful novel about group survival and loyalty to kinship set in pre-colonial Nigeria is enthralling, enriching and awesome…This extraordinary book is one of the best novels I have read in years – Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
About the author:
Odili Ujubuonu’s debut novel, Pregnancy of the Gods was an instant success. Since then, he has published follow-ups, Treasure in the Winds and Pride of the Spider Clan. The three books are woven around a magical instrument – sacred flute – lost and sought in communities around the lower Niger Delta. Pregnancy of the Gods won the 2006 ANA/Jacaranda Prize for Prose while Treasure in the Winds won the 2008 ANA/Chevron Prize on Environmental issues and was also nominated for the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2008. Ujubuonu has practised Advertising since 1991.

 §  Roses and Bullets by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
Book description:
518 pages
ISBN 9789789125302
Trade paperback
Published April 2011
Praise for the book: This is a compelling and riveting narrative, executed in a haunting style. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo writes with the ferocity of a barbed arrow: straight from the quiver of the heart to the target of another heart. The result is a lyrical tale that is experimentally rich and enriching, a veritable mosaic of the human condition. – James tar Tsaaior.
About the author:
Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo is a professor of English at the University of Lagos. She is the author of several novels, poetry collections and children literature. A joint winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature (2007), Adimora-Ezeigbo has, over the years, won numerous literary awards and has undertaken reading tours locally and internationally.

 §  Blackbird by Jude Dibia
Book description:
322 pages
ISBN 9789789125319
Trade paperback
Published April 2011
Praise for the book:
Blackbird is an important modern novel by a contemporary writer. It pushes beyond Walking with Shadows and the prize winning Unbridled into new territory – Independent reviewer.
About the author:
Jude Dibia is the author of two well received novels; Walking with Shadows (2005) and Unbridled (2007). Dibia’s novels have been described as daring and controversial by readers and critics in and out of Africa. Walking with Shadows is said to be the first Nigerian novel that has a gay man as its central character and that treats his experience with great insight, inviting a positive response to his situation. Unbridled, too, stirred some controversy on its publication; a story that tackled the emancipation of its female protagonist who had suffered from incest and abuse from men. Unbridled was awarded the 2007 Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Prose (sponsored by NDDC/ANA) and was a finalist in the 2008 Nigeria Prize for Literature (sponsored by NLNG).

Dibia’s short stories have been featured in the Caine Prize Anthology (2010) and One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories as well as on various online literary journals. Dibia was a recipient of a Commonwealth Highly Commended Award for his short story ‘Somewhere’ in 2010.


 §  The Runaway Hero by Uche Umezurike
Book description:
104 pages
ISBN 9789789142484
Large square paperback
Published April 2011
Praise for the book:
Kachi aka Runaway Hero is the very likeable protagonist of this book. Just when it seems that things can’t get any worse for him, his luck turns, and so does that of the orphanage in which he lives with his best friend, Nomso and other boys his age. Kachi’s adventures provide a thrilling page turner for any child who has ever dreamed. – Chika Unigwe
About the author:
Uche Peter Umez was born in Lagos, but now lives in Owerri, with his charming wife, and their children. His children’s novella, Sam and the Wallet, was winner of the ANA/Funtime Prize for Children’s Fiction, 2006, and runner-up for the 2007 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

For a list of outlets where JWC books are stocked, visit the JWC Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jalaa-Writers-Collective/109002779156435).
All enquiries should be directed to:
Phone: 08181953753

Monday, May 2, 2011

Election results, did Celebrations begin too early?

As citizen’s reports came in via social media after Nigeria’s parliamentary election, a mass euphoria resounded across cyberspace, carried by tweets, facebook posts, blogs and the myriad Nigerian internet sites, clearly buttressing earlier predictions that social media will play a major role in the April elections.

People who are not familiar with the Nigerian situation must have wondered at that much hoopla on account of a parliamentary election results, but the excitement is not misplaced. The celebration was not purely on account of an assumed widespread defeat of the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),but was hinged on the belief that votes, for the first time in a generation’s lifetime was allowed to count, and the hope that years of underdevelopment; high unemployment rate; decayed infrastructure and a general feeling of hopelessness in an otherwise endowed nation, may be at an end.

The celebrations were also an indictment of an under-performing ruling class, who many held responsible for the status quo and who, they feel, had not used 12 years of political dominance to address the rot in the system.

The spread of the celebrations in social media, not just cutting across social status, gender, age and tribe, shows that the longing for change is a common denominator in the country, and that this change is a very welcomed.

However, as time went on to show, the celebrations, largely on account of presumed PDP losses, started too soon. By the evening of Sunday April 10, a day after the election, the euphoria began to fade as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the official results, which showed that the citizen’s reports were not as accurate as many had hoped they would be.

While the citizen’s report remained largely accurate in the south west, they were more farfetched in the North, South South and South East, especially early reports that had the senate President David Mark losing to Lawrence Onoja. In addition, the initial reports that the PDP no longer dominates in the parliament turned out to be not so true after all. The PDP did lose much more than it has ever done in the election, but managed to maintain its dominance of the South South and South East, while posting a very strong showing in the North East and Middle Belt.

Back to the old days

The election results from the South West did not come as a surprise to many keen watchers of the Nigerian political terrain. The zone is not just the current home base of the clearly formidable Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) but has always been known to lean towards political entities on which it could exert some level of control, especially if that entity is progressive minded. The zone also appeared for some time now, to be longing for the days of Alliance for Democracy (AD), which until the 2003 elections controlled the zone.  
However, much credit should be given to youths for the major role they played in helping ACN carry much of the South West in the last election. While the desire of the various youth led groups, most based in Lagos, is primarily to ensure the April election is free and fair, the hype they created is responsible for the extra awareness that prompted many elites and ordinary Nigerians who have never voted before to turn up and vote.

It would also suffice to add here that the South West is the bastion of the traditional media and new media - wielded by millions of passionate and youthful advocates for good governance - as such; incidences of rigging and voter coercion were reduced to the minimal.


Clinging to the old ways

The South East, which have been suffering from culturally entrenched migrations for decades, does not have the luxury of a vibrant youth movement and media presence consist largely of government owned TV stations and moribund newspapers that are more akin to newsletters. As such, the new media influence that played a large role in the South West situation was largely lacking.

Also, a different political structure exists in the south East, and does too in the South South. Perhaps that is why the results of the parliamentary election did not stray very far from the norm in both zones, as did the usual incidents of ballot snatching, before and during the elections.

Presently, from INEC records, states in the zones mentioned; Imo, Delta and Bayelsa, had the highest incident of ballot snatching during last Saturday’s elections.

An intriguing North

While the South West seem to have gone back to the old ways and the South East and South South sticking to their known devils, the North appear to be evolving in a different direction. Perhaps the situation in the North, where no clear political Direction that would have made predictions on the presidential election easier currently exists, is occasioned by the fact that three of the four most prominent presidential aspirants are from the zone. This zone is usually known to collectively back a consensus candidate during presidential elections in the past, not having one in this dispensation may be a sign of a willingness to depart from the part and enter a new era. However, some see this lack of traditional collective will as a blessing in disguise, if not for them, them for the ruling party, which stands to benefit from a divided vote – something it has already done, judging from last Saturday’s results.


Reason enough to celebrate

Though the CPC made very good inroads into areas that PDP used to control, the PDP still came out of the race as overall winner, with more seats in both houses than all the other parties combined. The PDP’s overall count, does not however give it the type of clear majority it used to enjoy, as a combined force of the other parties will dampen its influence on both houses - that is still worth celebrating.

The current standing, as it applies to much of the South West, North West and North East, shows an entrenchment of democratic ideals that Nigerians have prayed for for years, one that allows for people's vote to count. In the South East and South South, one cannot  honestly say this laudable change holds, and this is not because of the wins of the ruling party, but because of the situation on the ground and this is the horror that exists.

If at this moment, when the South East clearly lacks a political leader with national reckon, South Eastern politics is still bedevilled by intrigues like the one between ACN’s Senatorial candidate Chris Ngige and APGA’s Dora Akunyili, then we clearly have much more to do before the celebration really begins.
If in the South South, the politics that holds is like the one whose passing Nigerian celebrated after the parliamentary polls, then we not only celebrated too early, but are not looking at the bigger picture, which should capture the emancipation of every inch of Nigeria.

But then, there are clear cut reasons to celebrate and anyone who placed thumb on paper with a clear conscience on Saturday should celebrate. The walls are crumbling; the people of Nigeria have proven that they are ready to for the present realities of this world. Votes did count, even if not everywhere, but they counted in a greater spread than they have in 12 years, and that is worth hearty “congratulobias”.

Gradually, we are taking our affairs into our own hands and will, in time, prevail, even in those areas that are still lagging behind, especially if we do not forget them.

No, when everything is taken into consideration, we did not celebrate too early.

N/B
this piece was penned right after the parliamentary elections and though unpublished until now, till packs some truth.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

National Census and the question of figures

Controversy have always surrounded Nigeria’s population figure.  This controversy, which questions the reliability of the figures posted by the National Population Commission after each census exercise, is by no means a recent development. In colonial era, when Britain held sway over what eventually became the Nigerian nation, the figures the census conducted by His Majesty’s government attributed to the Northern protectorate generated its own controversy, with many in the south contending that the livestock of the northerners were also counted as people – an allegation that persists to date, even if as usually stated jokingly.


The controversies over Nigeria’s census figure and the finger pointing and refutation that follow every exercise have a lot to do with the peculiarities that is the feature of the Nigerian situation. In Nigeria, the nature of the so-called unitary system of government adopted after the coup of 1966 makes population density one of the criteria for creation of wards and local governments. Since under this system, the numbers of local governments a state has determines not just the number of seats allocated to it in the federal legislature, but also the amount of revenue accruable to it from the federal account. 

It is on account of the above that people have continuously viewed the population figures emanating from the National Population Commission with scepticism. While one would not presume to know more than the experts, the aforementioned peculiarities that is inherent in the Nigerian nation makes these claims very plausible. There is, as they say in court, enough motives for people to inflate census figures, but before we argue – as many are wont these days – about the viability of a state like Kano having more people than a Metropolis such as Lagos state; we have to give ample consideration to the land mass of that state.

Lagos state is almost entirely built up, and many people who are just passing through fall into the fallacy of viewing the vast Sahel landscape of the northern states as being generally uninhabited. While the vastness of the place is not farfetched, the belief that it is uninhabited very much so. The population is only sparse when viewed with density in mind, but when the vast landmass is coupled with the fact that there are thousands of villages off the well-beaten track, an understanding of the figures posted would begin to appear.  

For those who would seek to disbelief this basic fact, a Friday excursion to any local government headquarter in any of the core northern states will serve as an eye-opener. Perhaps, by the time they spend hours, trying to negotiate through streets clogged with uncountable bicycles and motorbikes as Friday prayers wind up, the conviction will come from within. 

Igbo migration factor

Another factor, that many people fail to take into cognisance when arguing against the reality of the recent census figures, is the effect of Igbo migration. The Igbos are singularly unique in their penchant of moving away from their ancestral land in the southeast to abode in other parts of the country. It is because of this penchant of the Igbos that one can state without fear of contraction that, in every state in Nigeria, the Igbos are second only to the indigenes in terms of population figure and in some places, even surpass the indigenes.

Since the Igbos, being traders, are attracted to places where the viability of commerce is most assured, commercial cities such as Kano exerts a strong pull. This is not to say that Lagos is not as viable as Kano, but the latter triumphs based on association; the Igbo have had a much longer association with Kano than they have with Lagos – they even have their own section, the sabon gari.

In addition, Kano, despite having being a centre for commerce for centuries, is more friendly to the pocket that Lagos – and this is true of most northern towns –, and as such has a more established community business relationship, which is one of the things the migrating Igbo consider.

Contrary to what many believe, not many Igbo heeded the call to return home to be counted in the last census and this reflected in the census figures for the southeast. It is true that the southeast is more densely populated than both the southwest and the north, but again landmass plays a very visible role, as does the migration pattern mentioned earlier. Unlike what is obtainable in the north and to a lesser extent in the south west, it is not very possible to drive ten miles without passing a town in the southeast. However, where a house in the southwest and north might be fully occupied, it is very common to find that a ten room house in the southeast is either unoccupied or scantily occupied, this is however truer of the villages.

Lessons from the voter registration figures

The recent voter registration exercise, which many hoped would one and for all show avowed numerical strength of the south over the north, has come and went, and instead of easing the controversy appear to have granted it more impetus.

But this should not have been the case, anyone with a sense of history would, looking at the figure from both the north and south, clearly see a pattern that is in tandem with previous voters registration figures.

This figures, even if they are not to be taken to mean that the north is more populous, clearly proves another age-old maxim, that the north is more politically savvy than the south, and as such could muster more people to undertake the registration process.

The north central – where Kano, which according to the 2006 census has the highest population in the country, is located – posted the highest number of registered voters (19,803,689), followed by the south west (14,296,163), where second placed city Lagos is located. That these figures closely correlate with the percentage difference between the population figures for both areas is glaring and should serve as a justification for the census figures. That it does not satisfy many Nigerians should not read that the census is flawed, but that Nigerians have ample reasons to distrust each other.

While one cannot in fairness admit to the viability of the census figures, one can with all sense of clarity admit that the chances that the north will continue posting higher population figures, even when all the right data is captured, than the south is very high. In addition, the south east, except a reverse orientation is achieved, will continue posting lesser figures each census.

However, one is not prophetic enough to predict an end to the squabbles over population figures, as they are bound to continue, until perhaps we have a foolproof system of recording death and births in this country, but then, we may not need a national head count anymore.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The politics of bombs and voters wooing

It is election season in Nigeria. Surely, everyone – even those not usually concerned about things of that nature – must know that. Constant adverts on TV, Billboards and posters, pasted on buildings and streetlights – which by the way, break the very law politicians swear to uphold – make sure ones attention – no matter how unwilling – is drawn in and held.

Just like Christmas spirit afflicts the very air, election fever chokes the very essence of the country. The main actors, those who have more stake in the scheme of things – those a seasoned writer, whose name is jumbled with hundreds of other names – great and not – in the recess of my mind, called “the political class” – are out in force. Like in the not-too-distance past, they are all jostling for the right to govern our very existence, to impose their will us for another four years – which essentially, is what leadership in these climes entail.

Though the fever is yet to peak, the usual bloodletting, which many had hoped would not play out this time around, has already claimed Nigerian lives. Early March, at a PDP rally in Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria, the culture of indiscriminate bombing – Middle East style – was introduced to the Nigerian political equation.  This new tactic is a very clear departure from the old method of eliminating opponents via assassinations. Opponents, it would seem, are still the target of this new tactic, which appear to be an indirect attempt to scare away potential voters.

In suleja, 10 lives were untimely sent to the greater beyond. For what? Does stopping the election of one man justify the taking of human lives? NO! I say, not by a long shot.

While I do not seek to hold brief for the crop of people that call themselves politicians in Nigeria, who mostly lack a sustainable plan to move even a small local government forward, not to talk of a state or the Nigerian nation, it is imperative that we reassess ourselves. We need to call to mind those core values that used to be our bastion – whatever happened to being our brother’s keeper – and I very much doubt if there is any glory in planting bombs that go off when the perpetrator(s) is too far away to be harmed. That, I believe, is the height of cowardice.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the perpetrator(s) of this and similar heinous crimes against the Nigerian nation need to face hard-hitting justice, at least now we have the anti-terrorism law in effect, some examples need to be set.

This assertion should not read as exonerative to either opposition forces. Violence, it seems, is one thing the Nigerian politicians do not have in short supply. They swagger around during campaigns with a “do or die” mien that signals their intention to take on all comers. They buy thugs indiscriminately and sponsor same to follow them around in motorcades that remind one more of an all-conquering army advancing against enemies, than a peaceful political movement heading to actualise our collective dreams. The bitter truth is, if they devote half the resources they put into seeking for votes and strategising new rigging methods into the job of governance, Nigeria would be a much better place to live in.

The present state of Nigeria calls for us all to not just be onlookers. We should do more than pray for change, we should make change happen. The Nigerian youths have already proven that they have the power to make things work for them in a very oppressive environment, need I point out the growth of the Nigerian Movie, Music, comedy industry, and upcoming, the literary arts. Perhaps it’s time we transfer this ingenuity to the political arena, by not just voting in the right leaders, but constantly snapping at their heels to keep them on the right track thereafter.

first published in www.dailytimesng.com


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