The Curious Case Of Patience Jonathan

For some, it is a search for Nigeria's first lady, for some others it is a wait for the Dame, and for a strong few, it is time to play games. It's been more than a forthnight that Nigeria's first lady, Patience Jonathan went at large. The power brokers at Aso Rock will have us believe that she went on a sabbatical, a rest as they coined it. However, the news has finally gone viral and it is now common news that the Dame is in far away Germany, where she is receiving treatment for an undisclosed medical ailment. There is something pathetic and fundamentally inimical about the way that the media handlers at the Villá ply their trade. They told us she went to rest. Is there not a better dignified way of decieving 166 million people? And we heard that the president was infuriated that news of his wife's ill health became public knowldge. Perhaps, he needs reminding that this was the conundrum that became the achilles heels of his predecessor's handlers, and attempting to bottle a top secret in this age is like trying to guide the flow of the river. Patience Jonathan is a figure that polarises opinion. Many jesters have made her spoken english a tool for their trade, while her emergence as a Permanent Secetary in Bayelsa state has fuelled the ink of many penpushers, and has given more than a few public analyst a topic of debate to tussle their tongues over. However, Patience Jonathan must be one of the most ridiculed first lady on our planet. It is a harsh truth that if you google her name, the related post you will see are Patience Jonathan bad grammar, english and speeech. Unforunanetly, this is what the average Nigerian has come to identify her with. Yet, at times like this, there is no pride in taking solace in the ills of another man. But, we live in a society where the misfortune of a member of the nouveau riché glitters a certain joy to the downtrodden. What exactly is wrong with the Dame? Some say it's fibriods, some say it's worse, while some others insist that it's food poison. We night never know for sure which version of the story is closer to the truth. However, the best we could give her at times like this are our best wishes and sincere prayers.

Remaking The Nigerian Premier League: Issues and Analysis

It has become a national creed that the Nigerian Premier League is still years behind it's contemporaries, and it's development over the past ten years have not only been at a snail's pace, but have often been stunted. Certainly, it is a pathetic reality that our youths are still very intoxicated with European leagues. So much so that an average Nigerian youth can reel out the names of both the first and second team list of Arsenal football club but, ask that same youth to mention just one name from the NPL, and he will keep looking at you in perplextion. Just before one starts throwing stones on the youths for being unpatriotic, the question of what makes the NPL so disdainfully followed within and outside the country must first be answered. I dare say with every ounce of conviction in me that the problem is not entirely that of the media. Our league gets fair coverage from Supersport and one must commend journalists such as Emeka Nwani and Colin Udoh for astutely reporting the league despite of the odds engaged in sourcing and venturing into such reportage. Be that as it may, it will not harm if many more journalist makes the NPL their hub of reporting. However, it has been said, and not without reason, thatthe true bane of the Nigerian league lies with the administrators and stakeholders. It is an axiom in the co-operate world that a good product naturally sells itself. It is not lack of sponsors that have kept the NPL in the doldrums, rather, it is the primordial attitude and unguarded interest of the powers that be at the glasshouse that has continued to be our albatross. Until we start having true technocrats at the helm of our footballing affairs, we might keep nagging over this issue. Club owners should be held accountable for some erratic decisions that they make in their clubside. Success in the NPL will surely translate into success for the national teams at all levels. But, are we resolved enough to bring about the watershed?

The God That Saves...

'God Saves'. You must have probably seen it in a sticker on the wheelscreen of a car before, or on the door of one of those your christain folks. There is a popular cliché that asserts that 'Life is a university of hard knocks'. The saying goes to show that the journey of life is a topsy-turvy one that does not often go the way we plan. It is a truism that so many people have given up on their lives, their pursuits, and their dreams. For some, nothing good can come out of their lives anymore. However, the good news is that there is God, whose speciality is turning seemingly impossible and improbable situations around. In a world that is often tempting us to join the bandwagon of it's basterdized system, there is the need to cling to the saving power of God. He might not show up in your time, but he will surely show up in due time. That is why it is not mere balderdash to say that there is no failure with God. If he says it, that settles it. We have to learn to believe God for whom he is. Fear is often the menace that hovers around us like a cloud. It makes us doubt the potency of God to see us through, but each time fear springs up, the panacea to fighting it is faith. God is still in the business of salvaging destines, putting smiles in the faces of the depressed and changing the fortunes of many. But, you have to against hope, put your hope on him. No man is irredemable for God's use. If Paul,an ex-killer could be saved, if David, with his randy nature could be in God's plan, if Jeremeieh, with all his inadequecies could be used, if Peter, with his igniting temper could be considered, who says your case is beyond repair? You must believe that your life is not finished, and that your best days are ahead of you. God saves!

What Are You Doing With Your One Precious Life?

Beloved, with barely four months to the closure of the year, you will agree with me that the last days of 2012 is upon us. As they say, time truly flies. These are sensitive times in both the history of our nation and our personal lives. The world is moving at a speed of light, and like an unstoppable train, it waits for no man. It is your choice to make your life count. This choice is one you must make. Even if you choose to do nothing with your life, you are already making a choice. Ask yourself the question 'what have I been doing with my life?' Remember, twenty years from today, you will have a family. Will your children be proud of the kind of father or mother that they have? Will they have to suffer through life the way you did? These are pertinent questions you must begin to answer. Suffice it to say, there is never a plausible excuse for failure. The world owes no man aliving. No matter what your reasons for failing might be, it dosen't justify you; because someone, somewhere, has gone through a worse case before, yet made something out of his life. Check your life today. What are you investing your hours on? What are you dwelling your thoughts on? What actions are you taking? What values are you adding to your days? You must make a choice today not to live the mediocre life. You must take a stance to make your dreams come true. The good thing is that, no matter the mistakes, blunders and misdeeds you have made in the past, you can open anew chapter today and alter the scheme of things. Never forget, it's your life. Your friends, your parent, your siblings, none of them will live it for you and only you is accountable for your life. Always ask yourself everyday 'what am I doing with my one precious life?

What Happened To The Obama Dream?

Time truly has a way of changing everything! Four years looks like a decade now. The 'yes, we can' creed has gradually slipped into the realms of fiction, and the mantra of change as preached by Obama has since remained a mirage. Four years on, and the American populace are grappling with what they called 'Broken Promises', by the Obama presidency. As Barack Obama must have found out, leadership is truly a burden; a burden that takes a great toll. The euphoria of his emergence as president inflated hope beyond reason, and left a myopia on his actual capacity as a leader. There is no gainsaying that the conundrum in which America finds itself is very enormous and gruelling to be fixed within four years, by one man. Nonetheless, the manner of change in which Obama canvassed instilled a frightening hope. One that keeps fading with the passage of every new day. Since 2008, a staggering 3.6 million Americans have been added to social security disability insurance program. The total number of private sector jobs is still 4.3 million below the January 2008 peak. Now, he runs for president in the same economic crisis that helped catapult him to the White House in the first place. Obama simply divides opinion. Some American media houses describe him as the most mysterious president since Jimmy Carter. The New York Times called him 'the greatest deciever of men'. The cliché, 'welcome to Obama's America, where nothing works' has become fashionable for most of his rivals. However, Obama's rival, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, have been written off as novices. It is believed in some quaters that should Obama lose the presidency to them in the upcoming polls, it will be less because of the ingenuity of these duo, and more of the need to dispense the burden that Obama has become. However, because this is America, Obama might just get a rare second chance to mend his broken promises.

Barca vs Real Madrid: The Season Ahead...2

They might have been taught the unpleasant life of paltry success last season, but you can only write off Barcelona at your own peril. Getting to the Champions League semi final, finishing second in the league and winning a copa del rey is no failure in any way, but such are the high standards at the Nou Camp. With the exit of the imperious Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanová has his job description well cut out. He must wrestle back the La Liga trophy and look to put Barca back in the top heights of Champions League success. It is indeed a big ask for the former Barca number two, who will be testing such murky waters for the first time. However, Barca have an enviable culture of producing young and successful manager. Frank Ridjkaard and Pep Guardiola are living testimonies. It will be leaping before you look to outrightly draw conclusions as to who will lift the La Liga trophy. It is obviously too close to call, but one thing we can guarantee is that the battle between C.Ronaldo's Real Madrid and Lionel Messi's Barca, will be as fierce, competitive and exicting as you can expect.

Barca vs Real Madrid: The Season Ahead...1

Many have said, and rightly so, that the La Liga is a league of Real Madrid, Barcelona and others. You only need to look at the gap in points in the past five years between the top two and the rest of the league, to lend credence to that arguement. However, it is salient to mention here that the both sides are arguably the best two teams in the world. Thus, it is a travesty to the rest of the 18 teams, that the two massives should even ply their trade in the same turf. Real Madrid has truly come of age since the coming of Jose Mourinho. Like him or loathe him,you certainly can't resist the special one. How he turns anything he touches into gold, is a testimony to his ingenious nature. No doubt, the Galaticos are now a rejuvenated, solid and more disciplined side. Not only did they win the La Liga trophy last time, they did it with some swagger and panache. Winning 32 out of 38 games, and scoring above a century of goals, was a league record. In addition to retaining the trophy, the goal will also be to add a long awaited Champions League trophy to make it a decade of trophy in Europe.