LAURETTA ONOCHIE

It’s a new dawn•*¨*•♫♪, it’s a new day •*¨*•♫♪ it’s a new life•*¨*•♫♪, for Ndi Anioma •*¨*•♫♪ and we’re feeling gooooood! •*¨*•♫♪•*¨*•♫♪ We would like to welcome everyone to this group, Ndi Anioma. A few days ago, as we searched for an encompassing name for this group, Ndi Anioma was the one that came to mind as we believe that, although we have ancestral and cultural links with the Binis, Ibos, Igalas, Yorubas etc, we are now a distinct people, having evolved over time with a unique language and way of life. Emeka Esogbue, Gloria Adagbon and I got to work and the Facebook page was born. We agreed it was an appropriate and an inclusive expression, literally meaning the “Anioma People” or “Anioma Nation”. We were excited. The rest as they say, is history. We want to thank everyone who has called, or emailed to enquire about the seeming lull in our activities with Anioma people. We particularly would rise for Emmanuel Nwokolo who had the audacity to call an erring leadership to ord

I am not usually given to responding to myopic, self-serving and sectional bigots but I thought a line ought to be drawn between those who are casting aspersions on the bold and decisive steps Nigerians are taking to recover their nation from the grips of a bunch of corrupt, insensitive and clueless ‘lootocrats’, headed by our ‘ceremonial’ president, Goodluck Jonathan on one hand and those bold and courageous Nigerians under the umbrella of OccupyNigeria on the other. I would like to draw our attention to the fact that the situation in Nigeria; the poverty, the neglect and the suffering of a people in a nation that boasts so much wealth, cuts across ethnic, religious and sectional divide. Nigerians had hopes that President Jonathan would deliver on his campaign promises of a breath of fresh air. What, and all can bear witness, we have had so far is a stagnant, more pungent and massively polluted air. Nigerians are choking, Nigerians are suffocating, Nigerians are dying daily in

PRESIDENT JONATHAN, A PRODUCT OF AN OUTDATED UPBRINGING Before you think I am being disrespectful to President Jonathan’s mother, let me start by saying that this write up is an indictment on the way Nigerian women raise their children. I am going to try here to let us see the danger of this continued out-of-date practice and if by chance any woman or man for that matter gives a thought as to what I have to say here, they might change the cause of the  future of generations of Nigerians  that would give the rest of us a better lease of life. The ability to express emotions is part of being a live entity. Animals across the world have been depicted and seen to show empathy and concern for other animals and for humans too in addition to having the ability to express fear, anger and apprehension. I cannot forget when a friend came to visit me after the birth of my son many years ago. While escorting this lovely lady back to her car, our family dog leapt at her and viciously attack

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY This is the beauty of the Nigerian State. There are some of us who are not afraid to call a spade by its name, ‘Spade’. They stand on a good moral ground because they hold sacred, those values that were instilled in them as children. They were taught never to take things that belong to others without first asking and to tell the truth at all times. These call themselves, ‘Nigerians’, not northerner, or southerner. They are passionate about their religious beliefs but are also respectful of those who serve God in ways that are different from theirs. – The Good There are a few who are morally bankrupt and have benefitted from the fraud that has its headquarters at Aso Rock, various State capitals and local Government H/Qs. These ones are benefitting from stealing, both of public funds and the peoples’ mandate and are now perpetually lying to us. They eat, drink and live in corruption. Their hired hands lie for them and criticise those who dare to stand up

IT’S ABOUT THE PEOPLE OR ISN'T IT? The problem with Nigeria is that we do not follow through or keep a story going for long. I am going to use Delta state as an example of what I mean. When a news item breaks, everyone is outraged and then within a week, another one breaks and we completely abandon the previous one, all our questions still unanswered, we just move on.  This works well for our leaders as I can picture a novice amongst them panicking at the break of an outrageous occurrence concerning him/her and the old hands saying to him/her, "Calm down, it will blow over in a week or two." It usually does; no answers, just swept under the carpet and forgotten. The Nigerian media is excellent at exposing corruption but are also paid off to kill off the stories. They have learnt, over the years to use this method to enrich themselves. They are no longer the conscience of the people but the people’s sell-out. The exception to this are the online media like the Sahararep

WHERE IS OUR COMMUNITY SPIRIT? Thinking back to when I was a child, growing up in Nigeria, it’s heart-wrenching to see how things have deteriorated in my beloved nation of Nigeria. As children we looked forward to the monthly times of the night when the moon was in full bloom; we went out to play, boys and girls together. Sometimes we had ‘grandma’ Theresa Onwenafa Nkemchor my great uncle’s wife and a prolific folk story teller entertain us with moonlight tales. It was a time when my grandmother did not have to worry that we were out late playing with our female and male cousins and friends. She did not have to worry that we could be raped. It was an era when rape was a taboo and gang-raping not heard of. When young mothers wanted to go to the farm or stream to fetch some water, they made loose sand dunes and sat their babies there and merely informed their neighbours that the babies were outside. These neighbours did not use the babies for rituals; they played with them, washed th

OF POISONED BEANS AND DEATH NUMBERS... Nigeria is in a dire situation. Our leaders, both political and religious have brainwashed us to the point that we can no more differentiate between pranks and reality. Our politicians tell us that our problems are Northerners and Moslems; we swallow it wholesale even though it’s clear for all to see that the average Northerner is worse off than the average Southerner. (This is largely because southern women are freer to access education and participate in trading and industry thereby contributing immensely to the education of their children, an opportunity the average Northern woman lacks). So they tell us what the solution would be. A southern Christian President! We all swallowed it whole forgetting that each time a northerner had been in power, he had had the active participation and collaboration of, wait a minute, yes, Southern Christians! The only difference between North and south, in my humble and myopic opinion is that while northern