WELCOME TO UKWUOMA OBELE'S BLOG

I remember when I went for youth service and the shock I had when i realized what was going on around me. Married girls were freely having sex with younger boys. Girls were being laid for something as cheap as buying them suya. It was horrific. This was in camp. After camp, boys were living with girls in their lodges.

Dear Dangote, Reports have it that you are the reason why there is scarcity of tomatoes and in turn highly expensive tomatoes in the market.

I was recently on a convoy where the army, the Nigeria Police and other uniform officers were in control of our movements and was shocked to note their level of brutality to fellow countrymen and women. The one that got me very angry was when we stopped to inspect a project along the road; a man wanted to pass with his car, the military officers asked him to stop, he stopped and instead of allowing him to go, (having respected their orders) they started beating the young man from the car, hence he was asked to seat on the ground till we finish. This is just a little of what these officers are capable of doing to citizens who pay their taxes to make sure that the government is running.

Osun state was the first state to declare that it owed salaries and couldn't pay its workers. Osun state had been feeding children in public schools for months spending a huge chunk of its allocation on food and catering for school children. Now osun state is broke. It can't pay salaries. Those who believe in the model of capitalism obviously could foresee a situation like this.

I have never supported a Nigerian politician because he is from my tribe. I have been proud of Technocrats from my state yes but not politicians. The reason is because it is a thing of joy and honour to know that where you come from is recognized for good. But on the larger scale i am proud of Nigeria as a whole. I am proud to be a Nigerian anytime Nigeria is mentioned outside this country for good.

 Development economists have over the years used different categorization to delimit stages of development among the nations of the world, such terms as “developed”, “less developed”, and developing”  Countries, have continued to appear in most academic works and the annual reports of global bodies like the IMF and the World Bank.

We are finally beginning to see what could mark the end of the long awaited return of the abducted chibok school girls . We are saying a big thank you to the Nigerian army and also pleading with them to intensify their efforts to rescue all the girls.

Isn't it funny how society differentiates between monogamy and polygamy and still accepts polygamy? Children from polygamous homes are looked down on yet society does not stop or restrain a man from marrying a second wife. Such ceremonies are even celebrated with a lot of the man's family members and friends in attendance.

Another strike is looming and its because of the hike in pump price of petroleum. Every time there is an increase in fuel price, we go on a strike to protest.  It is true that the timing of this particular hike is questionable because of the inflation in the country but in actual fact there really is no right time to make this decision. Government is not planning to make life harder for us, her citizens and if it wasn't because of the position they find themselves in, i'm very sure they wouldn't toe this part. It behooves on us as citizens to listen to their reasons and see if there is an iota of truth in what they are saying.

Vilfred Pareto once said of his native Italy that “to live in this country, one must be either a thief or a friend of thieves”. What Pareto said of Italy many years ago is true of Nigeria as no political office holder could be said to be free of this ugly plague that have destroyed the social, political and economic spheres of the society, hence the recent statement by the British Prime Minister David Cameron, that Nigeria is “fantastically corrupt” is not far from the truth. Albeit, it should not have come from a British PM considering his country’s level of complicity in the underdevelopment of Nigeria right from the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. Apart from shoplifting the money meant for the development in their different communities, most Nigerian leaders commit double tragedy by investing the funds in other parts of the world at the detriment of more pressing needs at home, it is estimated that over 400 billion US dollars and other properties owned by Nige...

With the removal of subsidy and petrol selling for N145 per litre, Nigerians are thrown into panic and fear because of the purported effects of the deregulation with some envisaging further inflation. But the purpose of deregulation is intended to do the exact opposite. If well managed this deregulation could mean that; other players come into the downstream sector and price is pushed downwards with the creation of private refineries, scarcity will be addressed. creation of jobs across all Nigerian sectors and reduction in importation further strengthening the naira. Nigeria is going through trying times but remember America went through a recession in 2008 and today they have recovered. With good policies driving the economy, Nigeria should be able to come out of where it presently finds itself .

The discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the 50s was welcomed with fanfare and great anticipation for a better future for the nation’s growing population. However, over the years the nation’s oil industry has been greeted with a lot controversy, the major part of which is on how the downstream oil sector can be effectively managed.

Whenever people with bad behaviour or people involved in bad activities achieve a measure of success according to their own standards, they attribute it to God. A God they do not believe in neither do they obey. But their success could actually be attributed to likeminds identifying with each other. People who have the same set of values will value and support anything that relates to what they believe in. The next time someone says God helped him and you observe that what he is doing is not in line with God, just say in your mind, birds of the same feather .

The President on Friday 6 th  of May signed the 2016 budget into law, thus becoming an Act of the National Assembly; this was after series of imbroglio that greeted the Appropriation bill. A budget of N6.06 trillion is certainly the biggest budget since the nation’s independence in 1960, albeit this government may need a lot of borrowing to fund infrastructural development and stimulate the economy for productivity. It is however important to remark that it does not make any political or economic sense to sign the National budget of the largest country in Africa by May, almost at the middle of the year, the dry season runs between October and May, therefore one wonders at how the roads already earmarked in the budget be fixed. More so, this is not a good time for the nation economically, as every sector of the economy is snowballing into calamitous end waiting to be rescued. Meanwhile, since the composition of the present government on May 29, 2015, they have continued to put...

FAYOSE is not a man I admire so much but I have to agree with him on this one; After President Buhari, we do not want any senior citizen or anyone who has reached the age of retirement as our President again or if possible as any politician elected into any office. President Buhari was chosen because of his impeccable reputation for Integrity. A much needed quality in today's Nigeria. We want a leader outside their generation. One who is young, strong and vibrant. This brings to mind a lot of questions; The generation after, are they ready to pick up from where their fathers have left off? Many of them are dancing away in clubs, worshipping celebrities and seeing nothing wrong in it. I must sound a note of warning here, it is only by positive values that you can transform a nation. As the bible says "righteousness exalts a nation". America is great today because of their founding fathers. Or maybe to this generation, they would rather be bypassed and ...

We should focus more on the PREVENTION of diseases instead of their cure. Excessive intake of sugar dominated beverages can cause diabetes. Same way the intake of foods high in cholesterol is bad for heart health. Living a healthy lifestyle will go a long way in preventing sugar-related and heart diseases . Living a healthy lifestyle includes eating healthy and exercising regularly. Eating healthy includes eating fruits and foods rich in fibre content. Eating healthy can make you eat all your favourite foods like Salad without the toppings and all kinds of delicious fruits. EXERCISING regularly like taking long walks or walking on a treadmill is also good for the heart  and reduces body fat .