Thursday, April 18, 2013

Girl Rising Showing in 169 Cinema Screens from Tomorrow !

It's momentous. It's exciting. It's tomorrow: Girl Rising is hitting 169 Regal Cinema screens across the country.

.

Liam Neeson says, “Girl Rising” reminds us that educating the girls of today is an investment in everyone’s tomorrow.” Now’s your chance to see this beautiful film! From April 19-25th, "Girl Rising" will be at select Regal movie theaters nationwide. Buy your tickets now and spread the word about the value of girls' education – for all of us!

 

  submit to reddit 

 

Nollywood Loses Top Entertainment Lawyer Efere Ozako?



Efere Ozako, the popular entertainment lawyer and one of the leading stakeholders in Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry has been reported dead after he returned from South Africa Wednesday night and complained of dizziness. Reports said he was rushed to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi Araba/Surulere, Lagos where he was confirmed dead on arrival.

Efere was the copyrights expert and originator of the popular "Wetin Lawyers Dey Do Sef?" workshop series of Dtalkshop, a dynamic lawyers NGO created in 2001 to bridge the gap between the legal profession and the general public.

Nigerians Report Online is still waiting for the official confirmation of the reports.
 


  submit to reddit 

 

Understanding Addiction: Why Do Some People Become Addicted?

Understanding Addiction: Why Do Some People Become Addicted? BeSmartBeWell.com explores the science of addiction

   
An Ivy League graduate and successful attorney, Karen is also a recovering alcoholic who used to drop her wine bottles in the dumpster on her way to work.

Chicago, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Addiction can destroy careers and ruin lives. It can be devastating to watch a loved one descend into addiction, and family members often can’t understand why an addict continues to use drugs or alcohol despite the ruinous consequences.

 

Sofia, Karen and John are addicts, not bad people. They’ve learned how to overcome addiction and manage their disease.

 In a series of new videos at besmartbewell.com/addiction, leading experts explain how addiction affects the brain and offer insight into why it is so hard for addicts to stop using drugs and alcohol. “Addiction is a disease. It’s a brain condition that involves compulsive use of a substance,” says Wilson Compton, M.D., division director at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In the video Addiction: What Is It?, he states: “We know it’s a brain disease because the brains are different in people who have addiction than in those who don’t.”  

How a User Becomes an Addict
 More than 20 million Americans have a drug or alcohol problem, according to NIDA. Most addicts start out as casual drug users or drinkers, but, over time, repeated drug use and drinking can change how the brain works. Substance abuse actually “rewires” the brain so that addicts begin to crave the drug above all else, even though they know it’s bad for them. “Two parts of the brain are involved: The limbic system that drives the behavior and the frontal lobes that should stop the behavior, but isn’t working right,” explains Marvin Seppala, M.D., chief medical officer of Hazelden, in a video at Be Smart. Be Well. Karen, a recovering alcoholic featured at besmartbewell.com/addiction, was an Ivy League graduate and successful attorney. She started out drinking wine after work to deal with job stress. As time went on, she started needing—and drinking—more and more, until she was drinking three bottles of wine a night. “I was ashamed,” she says in the Treat It Like a Disease video. “Because I didn’t want my husband to find bottles around the house, I would put them in my briefcase and walk down the street and dump them in the garbage cans on my way to work.”  

How to Help a Drug User or Alcoholic
 Key to helping addicts like Karen, say the experts featured at besmartbewell.com/addiction, is to remember that the addict’s brain is not functioning properly—it has been damaged by addiction— so he or she is not able to make rational decisions about the need for addiction treatment. “The most important advice I can think of for a family that’s going through addiction would be to remember that this is a disease,” Dr. Seppala says. Loved ones should also remember that addiction is a chronic brain disease, which means it is a long-lasting condition that can be managed, but not cured. Like other chronic diseases, it requires treatment and ongoing care, and recovering addicts need loved ones’ support even after treatment is completed. “It’s a disease not unlike diabetes,” says John, who was addicted to painkillers and is featured in Treat It Like a Disease. He overcame his addiction with treatment, and he maintains it with ongoing support from his family. “During his recovery process he would hit certain milestones and he got a little medallion,” John’s daughter Jenna says. “He gave it to me and it reminds me to give him encouragement and that I’m always there for him. He’s not alone.”  

Learn More
Besmartbewell.com/addiction provides practical information about the roots of addiction and how to help an alcoholic or drug addict. The website includes: Interviews with leading health experts Real-life stories of three recovered addicts A quiz to test how much you understand about addiction Reputable resources and links for more information At the site, visitors can also sign up for the bimonthly Spotlight Newsletter and biweekly News Alerts for in-depth articles and breaking news on addiction and other important health topics.


About Be Smart. Be Well
 BeSmartBeWell.com is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Divisions of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.  

Media Contact:

 Greg Thompson Senior Director,
Public and Media Relations 312-653-7581
Greg_Thompson@hcsc.net  

ALL OTHER INQUIRIES: editor@besmartbewell.com
312.653.BSBW (2729)

 

  submit to reddit 

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Al Jazeera Presents The New African Photography

Premiering 22 April 2013 on Al Jazeera English on Artscape, The New African Photography looks at this fast-changing continent through the eyes of its most acute observers: its photographers.



 
 A still from The Monarchs project by George Osodi.

 Few regions remain as photographically misrepresented as Africa, but this six-part series profiles the continent’s latest generation of photographers, who are taking back control of their image with a more nuanced portrayal.
   
Dilemma of the New Age by Emeka Okereke.

As Kenyan fashion photographer Barbara Minishi says, “Don’t look at Africa and think one thing. How come this view of Africa is always the soldier or the starving child? Yes, we have Maasais, but I don’t have Maasais in my backyard, Okay? This is not my everyday reality.”  

1. The six episodes are: 1. Invisible Borders (22 April 2013)
Nigerian Emeka Okereke is the founder of Invisible Borders, an annual photographic project that takes African artists on a road trip across the continent. Invisible Borders follows Emeka and fellow Nigerian photographer Lilian Novo on the most recent journey, from Nigeria through Cameroon and Gabon. Emeka says, “Everywhere we go in Africa, we see our generation talking about doing things for themselves. This is the time to actually go in and experiment.” Watch and embed the promo for Invisible Borders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8iIAzwtJOQ.

 2. The Red Dress (29 April 2013)
Barbara Minishi is a leading fashion photographer in Kenya. For her latest project, Barbara swapped skinny models for normal people, photographing a wide range of women all wearing the same red dress, as a symbol of unity and national identity in the aftermath of the 2007 post-election violence in which more than 1 000 Kenyans were killed.

 3. George Osodi (6 May 2013)
 Nigerian George Osodi is a former Fuji African Photographer of The Year Award winner who’s also been shortlisted at the SonyWorld Photography Awards. He’s renowned for his hauntingly beautiful pictures of the oil devastation in the Niger delta. “I think it’s my responsibility as the man with the camera to find a way to represent this [situation], so that it becomes appealing to whoever sees it. At first sight you’re like, ‘What a beauty,’ but then behind it is a huge Armageddon.” He hopes his latest project, in which he photographs Nigeria’s traditional monarchs, can offer a more positive way forward.  

4. Neo Ntsoma (13 May 2013)
South African Neo Ntsoma is the first woman recipient of the CNN African Journalist Award for photography. She revisits DJ Cleo and the stars of South Africa’s new democratic dawn, to take new portraits and discover the effects of 20 years of freedom. Neo moved away from news because she didn’t want to reinforce African stereotypes. “My dream was to be an advertising photographer and take pictures of beautiful things. Black people feeling good about themselves, dressed well. But it was a picture that the apartheid regime didn’t want to show to the world. They wanted to paint black people as barbarians.”  

5. Congolese Dreams (20 May 2013)
Executive produced by Viva Riva director Djo Munga, Congolese Dreams follows photographer Baudouin Mouanda as he explores the idea of marriage in Congo. The Congolese photographer burst onto the global photographic scene with his colorful photographs of Brazzaville members of SAPE (The Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People). As Baudouin says, “Africa will surprise everyone. There are lots of images of war, so I want to show another image of Africa.”  

6. Mario Macilau (27 May 2013)
Emmy-winning documentary director Francois Verster follows former street child Mario Macilau, as he uses photography to investigate the growing gap between rich and poor in Mozambique. “There is no longer a middle class in our country,” says Mario.

Watch and embed the series promo at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqAbB4A1v9c

For more information, keep an eye on http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/artscape/.
All the filmmakers and photographers, including Lilian Novo (Invisible Borders), are available for interviews. To watch a rough cut of Invisible Borders, please visit https://vimeo.com/63410381.
The password is BORDERS.  

Media Contact:
Kevin Kriedemann
+27(0)83 556 2346



  submit to reddit 

 

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

END7: How to Shock a Celebrity

Please donate at http://bit.ly/donate2END


We asked celebrities including Emily Blunt, Eddie Redmayne and Priyanka Chopra to watch a powerful new video. See how they reacted to people suffering from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)...

Can you make it through to the end? Visit http://www.end7.org to join the fight. Most people have never heard of these seven diseases, but as you'll see on the video, NTDs can be horrific and are a major reason why poor communities stay trapped in poverty. It costs just 50 cents to treat and protect one person for an entire year. Visit http://www.end7.org/ to take action today.


We would love for you to join us on the journey to 2020 -- together we can see the end! Like END7 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EndSeven Follow END7 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/END_7 Here's the background: Nearly 1 in 6 people around the world, including 500 million children, suffer from seven NTDs: Elephantiasis, Roundworm, Hookworm, Whipworm, Trachoma, River Blindness and Snail Fever. What's different about this story, though, is the ending.


The great news is that all it takes to treat these seven diseases is a packet of pills, costing 50 cents. With the backing of some major players, including the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we can actually eliminate these diseases by 2020. END7 aims to raise the public awareness and funding required to cover the cost of distributing medicine and setting up treatment programs for NTDs.


A big problem is that NTDs affect neglected communities -- the world's poorest people. So END7 is about providing them with a voice to help address a big problem. Emily Blunt ("Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," "Devil Wears Prada"); Eddie Redmayne ("Les Miserables," "My Week with Marilyn"); Tom Felton ("Harry Potter" series); Yvonne Chaka Chaka (South African pop star); Tom Hollander ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Pride and Prejudice"); and Priyanka Chopra (leading Bollywood actress and international recording artist) are featured in the video and are END7 supporters.


This won't be easy. To end these diseases by 2020 we need to raise money from governments and the public to transport the pills to those in need and set up treatment programs that communities can run themselves. While the diseases have been around for centuries, the global effort to eliminate them is brand new.
 


  submit to reddit 

 

BOSTON BOMBING: WHO DID IT?

 
  WHO DID IT? Is the question.

Americans and millions of people all over the world were caught napping yesterday after two deafening explosions shook the Boston Marathon near the finish line, killing three people and leaving scores of other injured. The incident occurred at 3:00 p.m. according eyewitness accounts in Boston.

Has the al-Qaeda struck the United States again nearly twelve years since the catastrophic September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City and the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense) in Washington, D.C.


"We still don't know who did this or why," said President Barack Obama. Then he added, "Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this."

"We just don't know whether it's foreign or domestic," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Who ever did this caught both the FBI, CIA and other security intelligence agencies napping and this is terrible, because the tragedy would have been worse if the bombs were deadlier.

 When you know your enemies are still alive and kicking, don't be caught napping.
 Don't let your guards down!

How can American security fail at this critical time of emergency with threats from North Korea and Islamic terrorists at large?
 God save America!


  submit to reddit 

   

Monday, April 15, 2013

Do You Want To Sell Sugared Water or Do You Want To Change the World?

 
John Sculley.  

His Opportunity to Change the World

 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Some years ago when Apple Computer fell on hard times, Apple's co-founder and chairman, Steven Jobs, went from California to New York City. "His purpose was to convince PepsiCo's John Sculley to move west and run his struggling company. As the two men overlooked the Manhattan skyline from Sculley's penthouse office, the Pepsi executive started to decline Jobs's offer. 'Financially,' Sculley said, 'you'd have to give me a million-dollar salary, a million-dollar bonus, and a million-dollar severance.' Flabbergasted, Jobs gulped and agreed—if Sculley would move to California. But Sculley would commit only to being a consultant from New York.

 "At that, Jobs issued a challenge to Sculley, 'Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?' In his autobiography, Oddesy, Sculley admits Jobs's challenge 'knocked the wind out of me.' He said he'd become so caught up in his future at Pepsi, his pension, and whether his family could adapt to life in California that an opportunity to 'change the world' nearly passed him by. Instead, he put his life in perspective and went to Apple."



 Let me ask you a question, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling "sugared water"—or doing what you are doing today for the rest of your life? Or do you want to help change at least your world?" There's nothing wrong with selling sugared water … or doing a million other things; but there's nothing earth-changing about many of these undertakings either. The question is, "Is what you are doing making a difference in someone's life—or that of many lives—and that for eternity? Do you want to join hands with Jesus Christ and help make an impact on your world? If your answer is yes, he may call you to be a prayer intercessor, to give sacrificially, to change your profession, or he may call you to leave your comfort zone to go out into the world of Christian service.

Whatever you choose to invest your life in, be sure that what you are doing is investing in people's lives for all eternity, and in so doing, storing treasure in heaven.

 Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the tremendous opportunity to serve you while here on earth. Please help me to see what is the best way for me to do this so my life is invested in eternal values—and so I am storing treasure in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV).
2. Leadership, Spring, 1991, Vol. XXII, No. 2, p. 44.


<:))))<< submit to reddit

Village Cinema and Open Air Film Festivals from Projection Foundation

The Projection Foundation addresses growing technological inequity by providing ‘offline’ and underrepresented communities with the tools and training necessary to exchange their stories through local cinema screenings and regional open air film festivals.  

Bringing Cinema to Every Community  

Although a young organization, the Projection Foundation has already partnered with a number of well-established corporations and organizations including FilmAid International, UNICEF, Shine Global, ZOA and the Rwanda Cinema Center to produce large community screenings of educational films and documentaries for hundreds of thousands throughout Africa and Asia on current issues like women’s rights, conflict resolution and AIDS prevention. Through training and technical support we assist our partner organizations in bringing educational media to marginalized communities, creating an environment that encourages social interaction using memorable films and natural settings. These efforts have proved extremely successful within villages and refugee camps in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, & Tanzania. The Projection Foundation’s inflatable screen technology has been used to educate hundreds of thousands in refugee camps on current issues like women’s rights and AIDS prevention. The systems are simple enough to set up and use for small events with a few people, yet large enough to accommodate gatherings of several thousand people. 

http://projectionfoundation.org/ submit to reddit

Civil War Looms in Nigeria As MEND Declares War on Boko Haram



The dreaded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has declared total war on the suicidal Islamist Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad (Jama’atul Ahlis Sunnah Lid’ Awati) popularly known as the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria.

 “On behalf of the hapless Christian population in Nigeria, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta will from Friday, May 31, 2013, embark on a crusade to save Christianity in Nigeria from annihilation,” declared Gbomo Ojomo, the spokesman of MEND according to The Punch newspaper on Monday April 15, 2013. The MEND crusade codenamed “Operation Barbarossa” will launch bombings of mosques, hajj camps, and Islamic institutions, large congregations of Islamic events and assassinations of Islamic clerics who have been propagating doctrines of hate in Nigeria.

The Boko Haram terrorists have attacked and killed thousands of Christians and others in the predominantly Muslim states of northern Nigeria and also claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings of Louis Edet House in Abuja, headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force on June 16, 2011, the UN building in Abuja on Friday August 26, 2011, killing 21 people and injuring 60 others and also the Nigerian Army headquarters in Kaduna on February 8, 2012.

The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to stop the incessant attacks on innocent Christians and animists in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt where over 10, 000 people have been killed with properties worth billions of naira destroyed by Islamic insurgents and rampaging Muslim herdsmen in Jos and environs since 2001. Boko Haram rejected President Jonathan’s offer of amnesty and even intensified attacks on innocent people and only last Saturday Boko Haram gunmen attacked and slaughtered many students of Monguno Secondary School by slitting their throats, after laying an ambush for them as they returned home from centres where they wrote the on going West African Examination Council (WAEC) Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE). Monguno is 135 kilometres North of Maiduguri, the headquarters of the Boko Haram.

The Daily Post reported this Monday that a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, warned that the collapse of the amnesty plans for the Boko Haram sect may result into another civil war.. The last Nigerian civil war from 1967 -1971 was between the Igbos rebel republic of Biafra and the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the massacre of over 30, 000 Igbos in the northern region as the Hausa and Fulani Muslims attacked Igbos in revenge for the assassination of two major northern political leaders, the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello in the bloody military coup d'état spearheaded by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu on 15 January 1966.


 ~ By Orikinla Osianchi, author of In the House of Dogs, Diary of the Memory Keeper, Scarlet Tears of London, The Prophet Lied and other books.  



  submit to reddit 
 

Sunday, April 14, 2013

2015: Amaechi Does Not Hate Jonathan – Princewill

 
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan of Nigeria.


2015: Amaechi Does Not Hate Jonathan – Prince Tonye Princewill.


Prince Tonye Princewill.

 The versatile Prince Tonye Princewill, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former governorship candidate of the Action Congress, ACN, in the 2007 election in Rivers State in his first interview of the year spoke with some Journalists including his Media Team disclosing why he is still eyeing the number one post in Rivers State, his views on Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan, his call on President Obama of USA, the proposed amnesty package for Boko Haram members plus other topical issues in the country.  

Excerpts:  

There is this news filtering around that you are eyeing the governorship position in Rivers State, how true is this?

Unlike most people I like to talk straight. I have been eyeing this position of governor of rivers state since 2006, so to me your question is not news, what is news is that I have been heavily involved in consultations to the point that I have conducted researches across the state to find out what the people want, what they need, their perspective on governance coupled with many other issues that are dear to them, so I have gone very far and very wide. A commitment like this is not a commitment you make overnight and there are a whole lot of people that are part and parcel of that decision. I am still in the process of my consultations and have just received a report from my field consultants who have helped me conduct this study. I am currently digesting it with other members of my team. I have shared it with the Governor and other stake holders including the President and Atiku and as time goes by, it and my decision will be made public. If you take a decision like this, it is not a decision you take alone. Because once you are in you cannot come out. You take it all the way to the end. If my experience in 2007 is anything to go by, many people will expect me never to turn back. That is the insurance that I will be giving everybody. Otherwise my political career will be over before it even starts. Hence once I have decided to start, there will be no turning back. Till today there are people who walk up to me today and chastise me for withdrawing my case from the tribunal and supporting Amaechi. Even though I have no regrets, that will not be repeating itself. So the rumour or the news as you call it is not news because I have been on it since 2006 and if in 2015, God’s grace remains upon me and I do decide to run, people will see something they have never seen before. Where there is a will, there is a way and since my name is Princewill - with God, he will make me a way
.  
Prince Tonye Princewill addressing national issues of democracy and governance in Rivers State and Nigeria.


 What informed that decision, is it the desire for gain or the desire to serve the people of Rivers state?

 I think to me politics is a duty not a privilege, I don’t think you should be going into politics because of what you can get or what you can gain, my purpose of joining politics is based on what I want to give. But like I have consistently said in previous interviews, I am tired of taking all this responsibility to myself; I want government to live up to its own responsibilities too. As a private individual we provide our own light, water, education, health and security. That might be okay for me and you but what about the less privileged? Those who are better off and in a better position should start to ask themselves what can they give back so that the less privileged can also have those benefits? Until we can do that then there should be no peace for any of us. So I want peace and I want peace of mind that is why I am going into politics. I have come to the conclusion that unless you have equality, justice and fairness there won’t be peace for any of us, that to me it is a non-negotiable position.

 Can we achieve perfection?

No. But we can do far far better than we are doing now. Politics is too important to be left to politicians. I want the less privileged to have more of a voice.  

What new things are you going to introduce in Rivers state that the incumbent has not done?

Well everybody comes into politics with their different perspectives, so don’t let us start talking about my manifesto before I make a declaration. There is no doubt that Ameachi has done very well in a variety of areas. Though even he would admit that knowing what he knows now, there are many things he would have done differently. So if he has learnt, so have I. But I always remind everybody when they complain about Amaechi or they complain about Jonathan or whoever they complain about, that leadership is not an easy task. Even the best of us can make a mistake that is why pencils have erasers, so what we need to do is to encourage the leadership through constructive criticisms and that is what I am trying to do, I am trying to encourage Amaechi so he can do better. The same applies even to Jonathan, in spite of the fact that I did not support him by the time he was contesting in the primaries. I supported Atiku. But I came to the conclusion that he won the primaries against all odds and Nigerians voted for him en masse. So whatever we can do to encourage them and give them healthy advice that is what we will do, that is why my report on my survey that I conducted across the state was made available to my Governor so that he can see what his people are craving for. I am tired of this taxi driver approach where somebody will say I arrived at the airport and I jumped into a taxi and I asked the driver what he thought and the person told me that Fashola is doing well, Amaechi is doing well, Jonathan is doing well. To me that is not a good way to run a government, if you want to know whether you are doing well, then a proper survey should be carried out to know what the people think. Feedback is important. What use is there in running a government of the people by the people for the people if the people’s true thoughts are not a key part of it? Same applies to you the media. Can we not have more fact and less opinion? Sycophancy is a problem when telling the system the truth can prevent people from paying your children’s school fees. Surveys can help address that. Facts don't lie. Opinion polls can help. Where are they?

   
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.  

Like most politicians it is when an election is approaching that is when you see them doing one empowerment programme or the other, you are a politician even though you are not occupying a political seat, what have you been able to do for your people in terms of empowerment?


I don’t think there is any need to blow my trumpet, so many people in Nigeria not just Rivers know some of the kind of projects I have been involved in, in fact I have been accused variously that I am doing some projects because of political reasons and I am glad that you said that it is when election is coming that politicians starts doing things in their constituencies, but I have been doing them for a very long time and I will continue to do them. I have been doing them because if you want to touch people’s lives you don’t need to contest or win an election to do so. To me I have always said that in Nigeria the kind of politics we play doesn’t care enough about people, it only cares about godfathers because it is the godfathers that put people in office so that ultimately those in office come back to repay them the favour of putting them there in the first place. So the style of politics that I have been playing out is not the style that wins elections. When you go and take care of the godfathers so that they can put you in office, then you win elections. Look at Princewill vs Omehia in 2007. I have been interested in the people and sometimes it is at the expense of the godfathers. So it is not the kind of politics you play if you want to win an election or if you want to contest for governor, but like I said I am not doing it for political reasons, I am doing it because I feel the people genuinely need help, they need help now not in 2014 or 2015. I tried to spread what I am doing not just in my community, not just my state but across the whole country. When my Princewills Trust came out for flood relief did we stop in Rivers state? No. We went to Bayelsa state as well to help our brothers and sisters there. My reality show with orphans was conducted round the whole country. The winning prize of 10m Naira went to an orphanage in Kogi state. Another orphanage from Imo state took the third prize of 3m Naira. A total of 8 orphanages from all over the country contested, only one from Rivers state. Will they vote for me? Do orphaned children vote? No. I am not trying to blow any trumpet and like you said I am not holding any political office but I am trying my best just to touch the lives of the average Nigerian with particular interest in children and rural women. It makes me sleep better at night.


 
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Prince Tonye Princewill inspecting important projects in Rivers State.  

The bickering between Jonathan an Amaechi as regards the 2015 Presidential election calls for concern, what is your own view about this?

Coming back to your question, the bickering is not necessarily because of 2015 Presidential election. I think as much as 2015 may have a role to play in it, I think it is deeper than that. Some of us have been privileged to spend time with the parties involved and we know better. I know Jonathan’s thinking on the matter and I also know Amaechi’s thinking on the matter and I believe that at the fundamental root of it is a gross misunderstanding between the two. Who supported Jonathan most when he was Vice President? And who gave Amaechi free rope in 2011 when many asked him to clip his wings based on the perceived leanings in Rivers state? Jonathan does not hate Amaechi and Amaechi does not hate Jonathan. In fact secretly if they are honest, they both like each other but I think they have been surrounded by events that have led to this gross misunderstanding and in the end the same Amaechi and Jonathan will surprise us all and settle. Some of us had checked the cause of this misunderstanding, when Amaechi became the Chairman of the Governors Forum, he was already suspected of harbouring an anti Ijaw sentiment in the back of his mind. Remember he was part of the old Rivers state were the Ijaws dominated, so anybody who saw the arrogance we exhibited back then knows we created our own enemies. Combine that with the suspicion that Rivers state was leaning towards Atiku during the 2011 primaries and you will know that an Amaechi Governor’s forum gave the Jonathan camp goose bumps. Some of us advised him that this is going to bring issues between him and the President; he refused to listen to us because he genuinely believed that there is no reason why he was going to bring about conflict between him and the President, his boss and the leader of his party. Now we can see who was wrong

.  
Prince Tonye Princewill and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

You see Jonathan is presiding over a system and that system was a system he inherited. The negativity in that system is what Amaechi is protesting against, not Jonathan. But there is no way Amaechi will not have conflict with Jonathan because Jonathan is the current custodian of that system and that system is there for a reason, to keep the enemies out. If our leaders like me had all decided to work together for the good of the people, there would be no need to keep this system. If they had decided to work with Jonathan to move the country forward and he in turn was ready to trust them with no reservations, the system would be more open, more transparent and more productive for Nigerians. Eventually Amaechi will find out that many people that are behind him are supporting him against the President, just because of 2015 and not because they want a change in the system. I believe at the end of the day those that matter will realize the answer to the real question. Is the issue 2015 or is the issue change? If the issue is not change then many people will find out that the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t. Then I think both of them will settle and move on.

  Many people are looking at the Governor’s Forum election which is coming up very soon.

 If I want to make a prediction, I predict that Amaechi will scale through by the skin of his teeth but if he does not, don’t let us forget that when a dog bites a man it is not news. What is news is when a man decides to bite a dog. Tambuwal’s emergence as Speaker was news, Amaechi surviving will be news. Therefore I don’t think Jonathan wins either way in the short term, but in the long term, Jonathan is most likely to emerge. This is not about battles, it is about a war. A war is the combination of many battles and I don’t think Amaechi can survive all the battles with the Presidency. Amaechi might have been a product of God but so was Jonathan. To defeat evil, you must be good. When two miracles of God come face to face, show us the evil. If in the event you have to become evil to eliminate good, what is the point? In the end the President will realize at a point that Amaechi is really not his problem. Of this I have no doubt, what I am not sure of is how much damage would have been done by then. For those of us in the South-South we do not want any problem in our region because there is no need for that. I think for someone like me who is a potential Governorship candidate I will probably be the beneficiary if two of them fight because I do not think I will be the first choice candidate of either of them. So it is not necessarily a bad thing for me if there is a quarrel between them but I am not looking at my own personal ambition. I am looking at the benefit of my state and it will take a very strong man to convince me that the fight between Jonathan and Amaechi is not going to have a massive and negative impact on my state. It already is! I have done a lot to bring the two of them together and even though I have not succeeded till this point, I think at some point in spite of any interventions by third parties, two of them will realize that they and they alone need to settle this matter. I notice that there is no mature discussion going on between the North and the South or the East and West and that leads me to conclude that they the regions are not interested in collaboration first and interests second. This means that power play will be in full effect come 2015 and many will be victims of it. If I was Obama right now, I would take a look at what is going on here because it has the potential to shake not only Africa, but the rest of the world. The mistrust amongst the regions may need outside mediation if those inside see no need for it.

 Is a National Sovereign Conference imperative at this period?

Without a national conference of sorts, a progressive Nigeria will never emerge. At best we will have a Nigeria of old, continually limping and never living up to its true potential. At worst we will have a crisis. I hope I am wrong but mark my words. Obama needs to call Jonathan, Atiku, Buhari, Asiwaju and a few others and with the help of Cameron and Kuffour or Annan to broker a long term and deep seated peace. Only then can we join the BRICS nations and make them BRINCS. I am aware Atiku has extended an olive branch, because that is his nature, what I am not aware of is if there is trust left amongst them. None of the people I have named above can be intimidated. That is why it’s good to talk. What is your take on the outcry on the Presidential pardon granted Alams? Before I say what I want to say, let me start by saying I am against corruption and believe that we need to do even more to fight it. I don’t want my comments misconstrued into suggesting anything otherwise. Having got that out of the way, I must say that I think Nigerians sometimes baffle me. Sometime I just wonder if we enjoy deceiving ourselves deliberately. First of all Alams conviction was purely political, I challenge anybody to say it was contrary. To his left and to his right there were governors that were stealing but today they are walking the streets of Nigeria freely. How about going and getting disgusted about that? Even people who championed his conviction were CEOs in corruption. Are we so easily fooled? I am not saying he was innocent. That is why he received a pardon. What I am saying is why him? The reason Alams was convicted is because he opposed Obasanjo’s third term bid and presented a credible threat to the political class who called the shots, so for me let us put that on the table. Is this true or not? If it is true and it was political, why had Jonathan not pardoned him since? What was he waiting for? Who more than anyone benefitted from the death of the third term? Some people have quite amusingly said that this shows the government is not serious about corruption. Please can somebody tell me when this or any of the past governments was serious about corruption? Why are we loosing our heads over a mango tree producing mangoes? The truth is that Nigerians particularly and foreign governments generally do not believe that Nigeria is taking itself seriously on the issue of how to curb corruption. And if they are sincere, they never have. Alams or not. So for me Alams pardon is not the issue, his pardon as in the granting or the refusal of it would not improve the index on corruption because you and I know that there are many measures that show if the government is taking the issue of corruption seriously. Nigerians need to get real and focus on the things that can move us forward. Those who stood up to the third term are littered across the political landscape with no word of kindness from even those who benefited from it. Not me. I support the pardon and see it as the equivalent of the release of a political prisoner. Jonathan did well there. I'm interested in substance not symptoms and the sooner we as a country start to reflect that the better for all of us.  


The ruling party PDP house is divided due to intra party activity by some members and the opposition APC are planning to use this opportunity to wrestle power from PDP come 2015, what is you take on this?

As a member of PDP and somebody who in another life had been on the other side of the fence fighting PDP I will tell you that this dooms day prediction for now is a storm in a tea cup. I have fought PDP before at close range and I can tell you with all sense of purpose, eventually we settle, that is what we do. There is a lot of shaking, drama, gragra but what you find is most never leave. How much of a mass exodus have you seen leaving PDP? They are all still there. Yes, there are issues but have they moved? There is no doubt that in 2015 with a much fairer INEC, a stronger opposition (these two are pretty guaranteed), a weaker PDP will have it tough. Having said that, I want to make reference to a couple of elections that have just taken place under this current atmosphere: The FCT election where PDP swept everything, Kaduna local government election where PDP cleared everything except one local government, the Kano by-election where PDP won and the CPC came fourth. So you see PDP is still a party to reckon with in spite of all these challenges, so if you want to print the obituary of PDP please be free to go ahead and do so. But do forgive me if I don’t join you. I have fought the party before but at the end because common interest and sometime maybe because of uncommon interest (let me use Akpabio language) they resolve their differences, so to that extent I do not want anybody to underestimate PDP having said that PDP should not be too confident because we do not know the strength of the opposition yet but we expect them to be stronger than they were before. Though PDP has problem, and what are the problems? PDP lacks ideology neither does ACN none of them have ideology, they are just an assemblage of friends who want power, what are they going to do with this power, what are their positions on the issues? Nothing . People are looking for hope. Somebody they can believe in. Without a mission, what are you selling, where are you going? If APC addresses this and PDP does not, then you can review this position in a year. For now, do not believe the hype. To create an alternative, you need to be an alternative. As a Nigerian I wish them well. Their success will improve our democracy. I might love my party but I love Nigeria more.
  
 What is your position on the granting of amnesty to Boko Haram?

As far as I am concerned the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram is like the carrot and stick approach which means when you want to bring your stick you must also be ready with my carrot. If the amnesty was good for the Niger delta of course it is good for the north but of course you must look before you leap. The President in his statement said let me see the people, I cannot give something to the people I cannot see. Well these people are there because the bombs are not created by magic there are individuals that are parts and parcel of this thing. If a channel is created I am sure those people will reveal themselves. My problem was that the Niger delta amnesty was created in a vacuum, it was ill conceived and it was not sustainable. What we did then was we rewarded people for carrying guns and we did not reward people for reading their books. So we have now set a precedent that people in the north will realize that I can be carrying guns instead of reading my books. What message are we sending, what kind of value system are we trying to create in the country and if you have to deal with the issue of amnesty and you do because you have to take guns out from the street then what is your strategy for dealing with people who have gone to school? So if you take care of A and you don’t take of B then everything moves towards A and away from B that means you move people away from their books to the guns and violence and if you do that the consequences you see in the society should not surprise you. So I think that in as much as government needs to address the issue of Boko Haram and possibly amnesty, we need to understand that every day they have neglected the people that have gone to school, they make our future even more dangerous . My brother Kingsley Kuku said something which we should ponder. Amnesty brought peace, which improved production. This in turn provided revenue. Our job as leaders was to convert that wealth into sustainable policy which would restore our values. Are we doing that? Job creation is the key to long term peace and prosperity. Not amnesty. One day we the youths of Nigeria will remind all of you about this.  

END.

 ~ From Chief Eze Chukwuemeka,Media Consultant to Prince Tonye Princewill.

 

  submit to reddit