THE WRITING WORLD OF SAMUEL OKONKWO

Enough chronicles and tales have already been written on the amazing role that the social media played in bringing about the watershed that was the Arab spring. In those months of revolutions in the Arab world, conventions were defied, technology attained a new status and an intriguing precedent was set. Occupy wall street became the theme in the United States, shortly after, and just when many thought that the Nigerian mind was too backward and nasty to accomodate this wind of change, Occupy Nigeria was the answer. It will merely be emphazing the obvious to unequivocally say that we are in a century where secrets have learnt to go viral and indeed, the globe has become a spying camera in itself. The fuel subsidy removal impasse that threw the country into a quagmire underlined the fact that Nigerians have fully grasped the magic of the social media. Rallies and protests were conceived on the pages of Blackberry messenger, twitter, youtube and facebook. The awakening was unbelievable.…

At times, fate has a way of presenting you with chances to etch your name in gold. However, not too many grab the subtle and rare chance. The fairytale story of the political sojourn of Goodluck Jonathan is one that does not require a rehash. Some version of the story has it that his stroke of luck began while he was in secondary school, where he succeeded in disposing the head boy. Which ever version you choose to believe, it cannot be gainsayed that Goodluck Jonathan rode his luck to become the president, at least at this time. The recent fuel subsidy removal imbriglio could well have soiled a reputation that was firmly built on luck and sentiments. Hitherto this recent brouhaha, Jonathan was perceived as a form of 'fresh air', a break away from the old, and a beginning of a new dawn. But, the recent impasse with the majority of the citizenry has dainted that image. While some might have seen Jonathan's removal of subsidy as a form of brevity, the truth remains that turn…

Afam was wounded by the obvious pain in the eyes of his children. He cursed the day their mother decided to attend that church service. It was to be her last service, at least in the human flesh, as the Boko Haram mayhem claimed her fledgling body. Afam could see the trauma in his four kids. Their tears freely flowed. Their hearts panted in anguish and their bodies had the frame of mourners. He couldn't stand the tormenting sight any more. He left the sitting room to the verenda, hoping that the soothing breeze of the night will ease his plethora of sorrows. Afam helped his body into a chair. He tilted his head in a way that exudes frustation. He gazed at the stars with an angry smile, that made the stars quiver. Then, his thoughts ran the show. 'My country has really been unfair to me', he muttered. He remembered how he gruesomely lost his parent to one of the many Jos crises. He recollected how he was cruelly dismissed from the civil service for refusing to engage in a c…

Who saw this coming? Shocking does not aptly gague the feelings of countless Nigerians at the moment. What was initially percieved as a hoax and an unthinkable dream by the powers that be, has hit us all like an hurricane. Subsidy on petroleum has finally been removed, and the petrification of purchasing a litre of fuel for 150 naira, has been validated into reality. Just when we were ushering in a 2012, that in all truism, looks bleak for our political future, the Fresh air presidency has pulled out a shocker like a bolt from the blue. Befuddled and cruel, the Goodluck Jonathan administration has finally incited a citizenry that was already pushed to the wall. It decries reason to unequivocally say that the Federal Government promised to continue nation wide consultation over the fuel subsidy saga, but like the cynics feared, this was not a government to be trusted. History for the umpteenth time, vindicates itself. Aso rock is not a name to be associated with honesty, and to think t…