The gubernatorial election result that was hotly contested since April 14th 2007, when it was first declared has now been finally resolved.
The ruling political party (PDP) that was formally declared winner on the 14th of April 2007, when the poll took place, lost out in the final battle as its previous victory was revoked twice by the presiding judges of the election tribunal handling the cases.

It was first revoked by a tribunal judge on the 20th of March 2008 and it was revoked again finally by another tribunal judge, while on appeal on the 11th of November 2008.

The opposing political party (AC-Action Congress) was able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the former ruling political party of the (PDP-Peoples Democratic Party) stole the election victory by widespread malpractices and rigging in connivance with the state electoral body INEC who was suppose to be the unbiased umpire in the election contest.

Giving the verdict on the final judgment of the case brought before it, the political party AC (Action Congress) was declared winner of the April 14th 2007 election into Edo state gubernatorial seat. This verdict supported the earlier verdict by the first tribunal on the same case.

It has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt by the incorruptible judge of the tribunal, after carefully and painstakingly analyzing the evidences presented by both parties to the case that the political party (Action Congress) or AC as it is officially known should be the winner of the election, having scored the highest number of all the valid and genuine votes cast in the election.

The governorship candidate of the political party AC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was declared winner of the April 14th 2007 gubernatorial election of Edo State of Nigeria on this day the 11th of November 2008.

The electoral body INEC was ordered by the court to issue a certificate of office to the winner of the election with immediate effect.

Come Wednesday, the 12th of November 2008, the governor elect, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole would become the officially recognized Governor of Edo State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for an official tenure of 2008 to 2012.


This is another giant stride for democracy in Nigeria, where the will of the people is not thwarted and circumvented by some greedy and corrupt few.

From the previous night when the tribunal result was declared, there has been jubilation all around Edo State, because it gives one so much joy to know that one can change any government legitimately and peacefully, who is irresponsible and insensitive to the sufferings of the people. This shows again that Nigerians and the Edo people have come a long way to civilization and I hope we uphold and maintain this civility.

May the will of the people always prevail against all odds.
May we remain truly united under true federalism, justice, fairness and the rule of law.

Long live the good people of Edo State, long live Edo State and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
God bless Nigeria

Danger lurking!
Ever since blogging became the trend, I just couldn’t help being more observant and more conscious of my environment. I am very much fascinated at the changing world and our attitude towards it for better or for worse.

I was just taking a drive across my hometown the other day and I noticed something interesting when it suddenly began to rain. Initially the rain started slowly and there was nothing really dramatic about it at first but few minutes later when there was traffic hold up, I just couldn’t help looking out through the window in amazement.

As soon as the rain began to pour heavily, the residents of this locality were out of their houses in droves and as if it was a rendezvous, they were all making frantic efforts at filling up the drainages (gutters) that ran across their streets. While most of them were busy emptying their household rubbish into the public drains (gutters), others were busy at whatever they had been doing and took no notice, apparently turning a blind eye to all these razzmatazz.

While all these had been going on, I just watched in amazement and wondered if all these were due either to their ignorance of the consequences or sheer wickedness.

Later in the evening I switched on the Television to watch the evening news and holy shit, and lo! Disaster was making the headlines.
In other parts of town, erosion was causing great havoc and destruction just in the middle of the heavy downpour. People’s houses were flooded and their properties destroyed within split seconds. Blocks of fences were pulled over and people’s houses were flooded like abandoned swimming pools!
There were reports of deaths in some areas across the state as a result of the flooding after the rains.

I just shook my head in disbelief and wonder at the bizarre nature of human attitude, wickedness or maybe ignorance.

Smoking and Your Lungs

Chances are, you started smoking because it was cool, sophisticated, and glamorous. Or your friends smoked and you were curious about what smoking was like.
Now you know smoking is anything but cool. It makes you cough, cuts your "wind," gives you bad breath, and stains your teeth. It's also expensive; in one year, a heavy smoker may spend $1,000 or more on cigarettes.
More important, smoking causes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, heart disease, and gum disease. It increases your chances of having a stroke, diseases of the blood vessels, and stomach ulcers. Women who smoke during pregnancy may have premature babies. Smoking increases the risk of osteoporosis in women. And smoke in the air harms nonsmokers.

You and your defense system
The insides of your lungs are exposed to the environment every time you breathe. To protect them from foreign particles that could enter the body through this route, the lungs have several defense mechanisms.
Tiny hairlike cilia line your bronchial tubes. Normally they are in constant movement, sweeping germs, dirt, and mucus out of your lungs. But tobacco smoke slows down and actually paralyzes the cilia. Dirt particles and germs that enter the lungs are not removed. And the mucus that collects in the lungs provides a fertile environment for germs to multiply. This is the reason smokers suffer more respiratory infections.
Mucus lining the airways serves two purposes: it helps remove dirt and germs and it moistens the air you breathe. Smoking dries out the mucus, further hampering the defensive action of removing foreign matter. Smokers often experience dry, scratchy throat because the normal moisture is absent.

The chemicals in tobacco
Tar is a cancer-causing substance that clings to the inside of your lungs, forming a brown, sticky coat. All tobacco contains tar. Many people switched to low-tar cigarettes in the belief that these brands were less damaging. But the fact is, even small amounts of tar can still cause cancer. In addition, many smokers who switch to low-tar brands take deeper draws and smoke more cigarettes.
Nicotine causes the blood vessels to constrict, raising your blood pressure and forcing your heart to work harder than it should. Smokers suffer from cold hands and feet caused by poor circulation. In time, this can cause vascular diseases.
Burning tobacco produces carbon monoxide. Each time you inhale the hot smoke, you are taking carbon monoxide into your lungs. The tiny blood vessels in your lungs pick up this carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. Tests on smokers have found that carbon monoxide levels in their blood are 15 times higher than in the blood of nonsmokers. As a smoker, your entire body is chronically oxygen- deficient.

It's not too late to quit
Even if you have been smoking for years--even if you already have a lung disease--quitting smoking now will greatly improve your health. The cilia will begin working again and help keep your lungs swept clean. Your blood vessels will relax, allowing the blood to flow normally, so your heart will no longer work so hard. Your lung tissue will become healthier and you will breathe easier.

Excerpted from Mosby's Medical Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994-5, 1996, 1997 The Learning Company Inc. All Rights Reserved

Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy a good sleep or a good night rest, but here in my hometown, I think it is quite unfortunate that we do not enjoy these rights as much as one would love to.

Many people are so ignorant of the effect of noise pollution that they enjoy contributing to it. I once took a ride with a friend who was a truck driver and it was amazing what I noticed in him. The truck driver would engage his horns even when there was no clear reason to do so. Sometimes he would engage the horns just when he noticed that people were around and watching him go by, even when traffic was smooth and no obstruction on the road. He would nevertheless engage the horns just to attract attention and the weird admiration of some people perhaps.

I had gotten irritated once and asked him why he enjoyed it even when there was no cause for it and his only logical response was that he does it just for the fun of it and that the more it pissed people off, the more he enjoyed himself.

In the cities the story is the same, because most of our cities are dotted by shopping complexes and mini market stores vis-à-vis residential houses. The marketers in these stores, especially the electronics and the stores selling discs, turn their stereos to alarming volumes because they want to attract potential customers.

Motorbikes which are alternatives to buses and taxis, as quick modes of transportation, out-number the vehicles and one could just imagine the blaring of motorbike horns almost instantaneously at every ten to fifteen seconds interval as they make use of the road.

In my side of town where I live, though a middle class neigbourhood, but the rise of the middle and working class has made noise pollution a hellish experience. Most people in my neigbourhood can now afford the luxury of private generators and the noisy type for that matter. When the inefficient national electrical corporation disrupts electricity supply, my neigbourhood could best be described ironically as a razzmatazz, because almost every home in the neigbourhood switches over to generators and the noise pollution it generates is just explosive!

Once in a while around a typical street intersect in Benin City Edo State, one would find such disgusting content as the corpses of dead animals like a little dog’s, a little goat’s, or rabbit’s. It could be just the body parts of these animals cut in pieces and placed in a container usually a native pot. It could be mixed with other stuff like cowries, metal coins, native chalks, palm oil etc.

It was believed by some people that these were sacrifices done to appease some strange spirits from who knows where. But to think this could still be done at this day and age is baffling and more baffling is the fact that it is still being done secretly by even the well educated and some elite in the society.

It wouldn’t be worrying if the content of this decomposition is properly disposed of adequately. But instead it is left on the public street for everyone to see such disgusting sight and perhaps to enjoy the ravaging smell of the decaying corpses of animals.

Such sacrifices are usually placed on the street intersections in the dead of the night.
I sought to know the rational behind this habit and came to the funny conclusion that it was always done for spiritual protection by those who had sought the services of witch doctors.

The witch doctors though inconspicuous are still very much patronized by the elites in the society. Such services are usually at their peaks during festive seasons and during election periods, when these so called “well to do” need favours from the gods in whatever form which money can not buy.

It would not be disgusting enough if it were to be done in their private houses, where it is not allowed to pose any health risks to innocent citizens. For it to be placed on the street corner, which is being used by the general public is quite barbaric, backward and it poses some health risks to the society.

Health inspectors/officials from the local government are good for nothing and could be better described as figure heads.

My heart bleeds for you...

Some years ago, he was still in his teens. He was my senior in age and I looked up to him like a role model. He was everything I had wanted to be like. He was responsible, intelligent, ambitious and diligent. He had a lot of dreams and visions. But all that changed when he was brainwashed with the chance of a better life in a far away land.

He was taken to a destination, I know not. But some say it was the Middle East. I heard he mixed up with the wrong crowd and was found in the wrong place and at the wrong time. He was locked up for a number of years, maybe ten years or more.

Some say it was drugs he got involved with, others say he was innocent but was found at the wrong place with the wrong crowd.

But today, the person I once admired and looked up to like a role model is now a shadow of himself. I couldn’t bear to ask him how it all happened for fear I might even hurt him more, let alone talk about it. Some say he has gone psycho, others say he had been so hurt that he isn’t normal anymore.

He doesn’t even remember who he used to be. Whatever happened to those ambitions and visions of his teenage years? What ever happened to those dreams? All is now gone with the times. How he has changed so much. Sometimes I can barely recognise him. He just lives like nothing had happened, but just a faint shadow of his former self.

My heart bleeds for you. I wish I can turn back the clock of life and put it back to the days when all was well, when we were all innocent and just sweet little kids.

I am sorry you found the wrong side of life...
..How my heart bleeds for you!

It will never cease to amaze me.

On a beautiful Saturday morning, I was walking down a street uptown in my home town in Benin City, Edo State, when I came across a burning building. The people in the vicinity made frantic efforts to put out the fire but their efforts were fruitless. When they called on the State Fire Service Department for immediate help, the State Fire Service arrived at the scene eight hours later after the fire had totally ravaged everything!

The baffling side of the story was that the office of the state fire service was just less than fifty meters (50 Meters) away from the scene of the fire accident.

A couple of months ago, a residential building close to where I live, was engulfed with flames and the State Fire Service was called upon only for them to come when the flames had exhausted its fury and done all the damage it could possibly do.

A renowned market was burnt down totally sometime ago but yet nothing could be done to minimize the extent of the damage by the usual late arrival of the State Fire Service.

It is no surprise because, sometime ago too, a public building caught fire and the State Fire Service building was just adjacent to this burning building and yet nothing could be done to save the situation.

Meanwhile when one visits the department of the State Fire Service, one could see on display several fire fighting vehicles, trucks and machines on parade around their department, all beautifully painted and from every indication must have cost successive Governors of the State massive budgetary allocations but yet “good for nothing” and worthless!.

The other time I overhead a crowd of people saying that “each time there was fire incident the State Fire Corporation would always complain of either lack of water in their tanks or lack of fuel in their vehicles” and yet nobody has ever been brought to book for this indiscipline and appalling situations.


This is the more reason why it will never cease to amaze me!

Re-emergence of
‘The rule of law’
In Nigeria

If but in all things, the current presidency of Nigeria in 2008, is writing its name in marble. It will be on the record as one of the best presidency Nigeria ever had, despite its controversial election victory and coming to power.

It vowed to tackle corruption head-on and to promote the concept of the rule of law and constitutionalism. Without mincing words, for the time being, it has fared well in doing so as at the middle of 2008: unlike its’ predecessors who grossly abused office witch-hunting opponents and displaying favouritism in some quarters.

The current presidency has esteemed valued judgement in exhibiting fairness and justice in some ramifications and more is still expected. Like the Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens novel, Nigerians would never stop-short at demanding more of what they know is good. Therefore, despite the leaps and bounds of the current presidency in Nigeria, the citizens consider these agreeable and want the presidency to accomplish more and to shun favouritism and lopsidedness if it is to have any appeal to the average Nigerian.

For the first time in this era of Nigeria’s history of this wonderful generation of youth, have we experienced what it really means to practice ‘the rule of law’

In Edo State in early 2008, in a court judgement after considering all the evidences before it, without fear or favour but in accordance with the rule of law, the presiding judge ‘overturned the presumptuous victory’ of the ruling political party. Such actions as this has given a lot of Nigerians confidence and some respite in the system, and endeared them more to their country.

Nonetheless, similar occurrences have taken place in some other states of the federation nationwide, where the election victories of most candidates have been contested in court by the aggrieved opponents, for proper scrutiny and evidences. One should note here that the judiciary in Nigeria has lived up to its expectations for the time being.

There are some perceptions around the country that justice, equality and fairness exists more with “the rule of law”.

There is no doubt that one is happy with the political trend in the present dispensation and prays for leaders with integrity, objectivity and purpose to lead Nigeria to greater heights and development and a future where the rule of law is fundamentally protected and safeguarded!

Do we celebrate mediocrity and inefficiency in Nigeria?

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), in any single day would always find reasons to interrupt the electricity supply. One would think maybe it is because of maintenance but this would last for hours, sometimes more than ten hours.

When you begin to think all is well, they would interrupt the supply within seconds and then bring it back in another split second, just for the glory of interruption and inefficiency!

If a neighboring West African Country could celebrate a whole 365 days of efficient power supply, why can’t Nigeria celebrate a single day without power failure?

Is it that the staffs of PHCN are bored with their work that they would trip it off every now and then just to keep up the unbeaten records of frequent interruption and inefficiency?


Walk into the banking premises of a reputable bank in Benin City, Edo State and you would be pleased to see ATM machines everywhere, for easy access to quick cash in case you have emergencies to spend on. But mind you, there is no single day that you won’t see crowds and line-up of people all waiting to use the poor machines, which in some quarters looks like my abandoned fairly used tokumbo T.V.

There is never a day that I don’t find people milling up in line waiting to use the machines and there is never a day, that half of these machines don’t break down and their stomachs turned inside-out like sick crocodiles.

(CHOP-CHOP) AIRWAYS IN-FLIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT!

>In Flight announcement:
>
>"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is your
>
>captain (Boneyface Kasali Yaro) welcoming you on
>
>board of (chop-chop) Airways. We apologize for the four-day
>
>delay in taking off, it was due to bad weather and some
>
>overtime I had to put in at the bakery.
>
>This is flight 126 to Lagos. Landing in Lagos is not guaranteed,
>
>but we will end up somewhere in the South. If luck is in our
>
>favour, we may even be landing on your village!
>
>(chop-chop) Airways has an excellent safety-record. In fact our
>
>safety standards are so high that even terrorists are afraid to
>
>fly with us! It is with pleasure, I announce that starting this year
>
>over 50% of our passengers have reached their destination.
>
>If our engines are too noisy for you,on passenger request,
>
>we can arrange to turn them off!
>
>To make your free fall to earth pleasant and memorable,
>
>we serve complimentary Bongo tea and Okin biscuits!
>
>For our not-so-religious passengers, we are the only airline
>
>who can help you find out if there really is a God!
>
>We regret to inform you, that today's in-flight movie
>
>will not be shown as we forgot to record it from the
>
>television. But for our movie buffs, we will be flying
>
>right next to Air (Tolontolo), where their movie will be visible
>
>from the right side of the cabin window.
>
>There is no smoking allowed in this airplane. Any smoke
>
>you see in the cabin is only the early warning system on the
>
>engines telling us to slow down!
>
>In order to catch important landmarks, we try to fly as close
>
>as possible for the best view. If, however, we go a little too
>
>close, do let us know. Our enthusiastic co-pilot sometimes
>
>flies right through the landmark!
>
>Kindly be seated, keep your seat in an upright position for
>
>take-off and fasten your seat-belt. For those of you who
>
>can't find a seat-belt, kindly fasten your own belt to the
>
>arm of your seat ... and for those of you who can't find a
>
>seat, do not hesitate to get in touch with a stewardess
>
>who will explain how to fasten yourself to your suitcase."
>
>And if we pass your street pls tell the stewardess or
>
>shout Owa O Pilot !! so we can throw you off safely,
>
>at least that would save you Taxi fare.
>
>ENJOY (chop-chop) Airways the Best in the world !
>
>We hope you fly with us again.


Please note: I have taken the liberty of only modifying the names
in brackets from its original content to avoid
pulling any punches whatsoever..

December is here again and I have every cause to be worried because of the habit of some people during this period.

The kids in my neighbourhood are having fun by displaying fireworks here and there. Some become busy with alcohol while others engage in any kind of adventure, just to catch the fun of Christmas and not feel left out.

What I hate most and I find difficult to endure is the habit of some people displaying some kinds of fireworks called knock-outs; which causes some kind of noise when it explodes. The kids light up these sticks and when there is fire on the tip, they then throw it towards any direction they fancy.

This is one of my worst seasons of the year because I am greatly disturbed by all these. Even when you call the kids and warn them of the health hazards it could cause, because of its smell(the chemical constituents) and noise; not to throw it anywhere near your house, some mischievious kids from somewhere who lacked parental control would always defile your warning and dare you. No matter how serious you have threatened to arrest them, they always call your bluff.

That being as it is some adults too, who have missed some part of their childhood adventure would encourage the kids on this adventure. Some of these adults also indulge themselves in it. Around this time last year, there was this case of some adults who enjoyed this mischief by driving their cars in another neighbourhood and throwing the knock-out fireworks in the direction of strangers and then laugh mischievously at the reactions of their victims and then sped off in their automobile.

The knock-out doesn’t cause much harm, but it could result in some bodily burns on the skin on impact. The worst offense of all is the deafening noise and some shock it causes when it explodes.

I look forward to the next January, when this entire craze about Christmas would have been done with..

The world we live in is filled with all manners of people. The good, the bad and the ugly as some people would say.


The news making headlines recently, in some parts of the world, is about the one hundred and three children under the ages of ten, who were about to be smuggled abroad by an international agency with the pretence of helping the children and “giving them a better life when they get there”.

“Giving them a better life”. This is the same phrase human traffickers use to catch their victims around the world. They take advantage of the victims’ plight and sufferings and capitalize on it. What a shameful world we live in!

I heard of a report the other time of how adoption was a thriving market in the advanced countries and there was also this report too, that some people in these developing countries also assist these international traffickers in fulfilling their greed. These people kidnap children and then traffic them abroad to be sold in the thriving market of international adoption.


Can slavery be more than this or how would you define slavery?

“May GOD help the children of Africa!”

The fear of the shrine is the beginning of wisdom
Not long ago, an incident happened. A vital and an important part of a transformer was stolen, thereby forcing the people of this community to be in blackout for several days.

There had been a regular occurrence of the transformer breaking down, and the people of this community would contribute part of their money collectively to fix the problem. But on this day, the case was different.

A vital component had been removed and stolen from the transformer. On careful investigation which left no valuable clue but a “cap” was found at the scene of the crime. The cap wasn’t a reliable clue if it was taken to the police; so instead the elders of the community decided on taking the cap to the local shrine for curses to be laid on whoever owns the cap as the person who might have possibly stolen the missing component.

All of a sudden, somebody immediately brought out the missing component saying that he had taken it out for repairs and that he had intended on fixing it back on. He then pleaded for his cap to be returned to him, that he unknowingly left the cap there. He pleaded that his cap should not be taken to the shrine for curses!


In another case, some years ago, an ultra modern market/shopping mall caught fire and was almost burnt to the ground accidentally. Some people found this as an opportunity to loot the stores of the unfortunate victims.

Immediately the traditional leader and some local heads of the society/community heard of it, they threatened to take the matter to the shrine and invoke the gods of this shrine to lay curses on all those responsible for the looting.

In the dark of the night, the goods that had been stolen were mysteriously and secretly returned to all the stores that had been looted.

I often wonder why the people of this community and tribe are so afraid of the gods of this shrine than any other religion’s God/gods. I was made to understand that while all other religion’s God or gods are slow to anger and destructions, but the gods of this shrine are very quick to anger and destructions.

I was told that “the fear of the gods of this shrine is the beginning of wisdom” because it brings “death” faster than expected!.

Are we serious or just going around in cycles?

Some corrupt government officials in Cameroon have been sentenced to 25 and 35years imprisonment respectively and their properties confiscated after been convicted of financial embezzlement... (BBC news network Africa September 28 2007.) and (RFI news September 28 2007)

While such actions against corruption is a welcomed development to africans and a serious boost to those fighting against corruption in africa and the world at large, the case of Nigeria is very pathetic.

Those who claim to be fighting against corruption and financial crimes in Nigeria are yet to call a spade a spade. For instance, ever since the war against corruption started in Nigeria, I am yet to see any serious sentence handed down on corrupt government officials guilty of embezzlement of public funds in Nigeria.

Its no surprise that the case of corruption will linger a little longer in our public service in Nigeria because of this attitude.

If we claim to fight against corruption, why show any sentiments. I think Nigeria should learn from the example of Cameroon on how to tackle corruption instead of just going around in cycles.

Democracy in (LEDC) Less Economically Developed Countries is being grossly abused. Democracy being a form of government and the emphasis being on numbers, the politicians being aware of this simple fact are abusing it.

The game is being played dirty by politicians and there is every tendency of the politician to manipulate the figures because they know that the candidate or political party with the majority counts wins the vote.

The worst scenario could be a situation where the incumbent government who is suppose to remain neutral during the political process now opted to take sides with a particular candidate or political party because he came into power through such affiliations. In some cases this incumbent could use the state resources in vying for, campaigns and in some cases possibly influence the outcome of the elections.

This kind of action and motive undermine the benefit of democracy in Africa and some other less economically developed countries throughout the world!