She is an AMAZON .A legend when it comes to TRANSPARENT LEADERSHIP, doing the impossible, cleaning a very dirty plate.

She did wonders with NAFDAC, from a hopeless and senseless ADULTRATED market, infested with Thugs and heartless monkeys in human form. The Market was so bad that sub-standard became the next best thing, because every other thing was outright FAKE.

She sanitized NAFDAC to the extent that MADE IN NIGERIA drugs during her tenure got more potency than imported ones, and made in Nigeria Drugs and many eatables with NAFDAC NUMBER became number one in Africa.

She took our information ministry to a greater height; she reduced the NORTHERN POLITICAL CABAL to bunch of crybabies.

She was the only person that stood and told the nation that our YARA DUA is no longer capable of continuing in office and, by her declaration, DR GOODLUCK was made the President and Turai stop acting as a POTENTATE, that was democracy in action.

Now that our EFCC is worse than NIGERIAN PRISON SERVICE, so bad and worthless that nobody takes them serious because they will arrest suspect just for the fun of it, and never secure a court conviction, not even a tiny one since inception. They arrest, collect money and plea bargain then case closed and sins pardoned, I ask WHY CAN,T WE HAND EFCC TO PROF DORA AKUNYILI to do what she does best ? SANITISE IT AND MAKE OTHER NATIONS TAKE US SERIOUS FOR ONCE

Early this morning, one Chinedu Nwogu of the infamous The Abia Awakening (TAA); attempted to paint a very wrong picture of my native NGWA LAND. He gave the impression that my people are diminished for want of credible candidates and enterprising personalities. That was the height of deception. I was however glad that, finally; after months of operating in veiled coloration, TAA has exposed itself as a willing tool in the hands of underachievers who masquerade as statesmen. We now know that the reason they dedicate plenty time discrediting the government of TAO is to pave way for a political dwarf to take reins of power. No group can acquire power through blackmail, at least not in a democratic setting. Ngwa people know this and must distance themselves from these paid agents of calumny, destruction and poorly executed blackmail.
In his piece, he tried to eulogize what in his mind are the towering credentials of OCHIAGHA REAGAN UFOMBA who he witlessly gave the acronym of ORU (meaning a slave). I hope he was not referring to the already established fact that Regan is an Ogoni who settled in Ngwa Land. While I take exception to that disingenuous tag, I will also quickly remind him that the battle for the Governorship of Abia State come 2015 is reserved for only NDI NGWA of notable and proven track records. The last time I checked, Regan Ufomba did not make the list.

Chinedu Nwogu attempted rather unsuccessfully to inundate us with chains of University degrees credited to Reagan. Good as that is, it appears defeatist as best practices of governance have little or no relationship with one’s paper qualifications. It reminds me of that popular Igbo rhetoric that, “ka Dee John gachara ami, o leekwanu boot ya?”.

There is no record anywhere to justify the usefulness of Reagan’s very many degrees. The short and uneventful shot he had at governance was marred by lack of integrity and gross under performance. Chinedu may need to tell us what benefits accrued from that short spell as an aide of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. Rather, we covered our faces in shame when it was established that our dear Reagan in an attempt to convert Government vehicle to his personal property lied that the car was involved in a ghastly motor accident. That was too cheap for a man who was entrusted with so much public goodwill. What can a billionaire be doing with one unit of government vehicle? Does Chinedu also know that while in government, Reagan was empowered to handle distribution of fertilizer and other inputs to farmers? Reagan could not pass the integrity test as farmers were made to pay much more than government approved prizes. Let us go to the archives to check how many farmers of at least Ngwa extraction that benefited from that assignment.

If Reagan truly owns chains of businesses in cities outside Abia, we can as well tag him the biggest “ Oka mma n’mba 1 of Abia” for denying his people the combined benefits of establishing industries in their home land. I ask, how would Reagan explain sinking billions (who dash awo coat?) elsewhere when Abia begs for private concerns that could offer jobs to very many Abia Youths who yearn for job opportunities? Not even the dumbest fool can give in to that cheap lie.

For the records, Reagan was never mentioned as a replacement for the late Deputy Governor. First, he lacked the integrity to be so honored and mostly the party was shopping for a politician who had verifiable grassroots support. Reagan hadn’t the prerequisite political clout to be Deputy Governor as he was largely seen as a greenhorn. It is therefore unacceptable to present him as Ngwa’s most qualified replacement for Dr. Chima Nwafor.

Ngwa people already have strong stigma following them. What we need mostly now is to find a way to salvage an already worst case scenario. We have been credited with a whole lot of bad news including labeling us fraudsters, kidnappers and common criminals. Chinedu Nwogu should begin to lead the campaign for improved awareness on the perception of NGWA by the rest of Abians and not further insult our intelligence to accept a man who had contributed in under developing NGWA LAND nay Abia State.

Come 2015, NGWA people will present a formidable candidate, whose popularity rating is overwhelming, whose integrity status is not questionable and who would be bold enough to look Abians in the eye and tell them; I have done so much to better your lot. There are fools who went to Harvard. Harvard has also produced selfish people and the University by any means does not wash off the stinking smell of dishonesty, greed and low life.

I will advise Chinedu Nwogu to look inwards, else Abians would confirm that NDI NGWA are not committed to the arduous task of taking over in 2015. If Reagan is all we can present, that would be a polite way of telling OLD BENDE that we are not ready yet.

The recent massacre of four University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) students and tagged criminals by the people of Aluu in Rivers State who became the prosecutor and the judge overnight in their own court of law has left many Nigerians and foreigners in a stupor of surprise and pangs of anger and righteous indignation. It had been shock, grief and lamentation since the judicial killings took place. Before the unfortunate incidence at Aluu, forty students were allegedly killed at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi in Adamawa State. Why killing innocent souls for no just cause especially future enlightened leaders? The action of the killers is embarrassing, degrading and has not only dented but denigrated our image nationally and internationally. It portrays red and black image in the practice of public relations.

Now that the Aluu community massacred four students for an unconfirmed allegation, which was not substantiated by a court of competent jurisdiction but the people of Aluu, who are now the real criminals, is it the Aluu community or the students? The jungle justice exhibited by Aluu people without following the appropriate procedure is condemnable, unprogressive, wicked and clear demonstration of not wanting or encouraging any good thing. To me, the people of Aluu are the criminals for going into wanton destruction of students by taking the law into their hands. What a dangerous dichotomy indeed!

Furthermore, the Federal and Rivers State governments should rise to the challenge of unmasking the real culprits behind the cowardly and dastardly act no matter how highly or lowly placed in the society and crushed them in a most exemplary manner to serve as deterrent to others who would ever think of engaging in such act. This is because the act is not only condemnable as it is despicable and regrettable putting Nigeria in bad light which is the very depth of abomination. Consequently, there is need for all Nigerians to always be religiously and jealously guided by the word of an elderstatesman, octogenarian and first executive president of Nigeria, Alhaji Aliyu Shehu Shagari, a professional teacher, and career politician when he said and I quote “This moment of our history demands of all of us the spirit of tolerance and cooperation rather than the things that divide us, we will have succeeded in bequeathing a fitting legacy to the coming generation”.

However, let this be a time of sober reflection for us all. As Nigerians and international communities condemn the wicked act, let everybody look inward and reappraise what happened. Injustice and oppression cannot but ultimately produce a desire for revenge and or rebellion but the law of the land should be adequately applied. Let our deep sympathy go to all who lost their lives, persons and sense of security. Nigeria needs to be made safe for all; and the federal government should lead and show the way to this, purposefully and decisively especially through its security agencies.

In my opinion, all progressive and articulate Nigerians irrespective of religion, tribe and status must dislodge the idea of being agents of darkness and destruction. In this connection therefore, it is absolutely necessary with due respect, humility and sense of responsibility to appeal to all Nigerians to remain steadfast, focused on the path of truth, honour, fairness and justice so that Nigeria can make meaningful progress economically and politically in our current democratic structure under the leadership of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, popularly referred to as “GEJ”.

With these recent killing of students in Port Harcourt and Mubi, one may say that Nigeria’s democracy is therefore dangerous if the massacre is not properly investigated and the perpetrators brought to face the music. If not it might lead to a stage that the falcon can no longer hear the falconer and that things will fall apart. This is not the best for Nigeria’s democratic structure. In the words of Desmond Mpilo Tutu, “Justice must be done to the poor and oppressed and if the present system does not serve the purpose, the public conscience must be roused to demand another”. In other words, the federal government needs to investigate thoroughly if there was crassa negligentia, that is, gross negligence by any person or group of persons that would have helped to stop the killings and then follow due process. Let us not make Nigeria a sick country by our actions.

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Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, fhnr, fcida, fcai, cpae, son, emba, ksq.

is a Mass Communication Scholar from first degree to doctoral level, public affairs analyst and Assistant Director (Administration)/Head, Academic and Physical Planning (A&PP) at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria. (08036724193) charlessoeze@yahoo.ca

George Ehusani is a priest of the Catholic Church in Nigeria and one of the best known writers on contemporary issues. He was quoted as saying that the meaning that humanity attaches to values and standards is in rapid decline.

In the volume one of the book edited by Emmanuel Ojeifo titled “Young people and the hunger for meaning”, Ehusani was quoted as saying thus; “It is true that we live in a post-modern age. Analytic and critical philosophies have radicalized our conception of language. A Philosopher once said that in our age, nothing seems to agree with anything else. Everything is in a flux”.

Ehusani however hazards a guess of what he views as the correct meaning that people should attach to the concept of values.

His words: “Values are for us fundamental pillars that give direction and meaning to our lives. They are the things we hold most dear, the fixed standards upon which we base our judgment of what is right and wrong or good and evil, the guiding principles for our choices and decisions, over which we organize our priorities, and in relation to which we build up our aspiration in life”.

Nowhere is this wholistic view of the meaning of standards and values accepted as the whole truth and nothing but the truth like in the world of sports whereby athletes are expected not to take any performance enhancing drugs or mechanisms with the diabolical goal of winning laurels all the times in all competitive tournaments.

In the first place, an athlete is defined simply even by the writers of the New Webster’s dictionary of the English language as “a person with the skill and training to be good at sports, especially as an individual competitor (in running jumping, throwing) rather than as one of a team.”

By the same token, Sports is defined as “the playing of games or participation in competitive pastimes involving physical exertion and skill, especially those played outdoors”.

A cheat is “someone who tricks or deceives or someone who plays a game without following the rules and/or someone who uses unfair methods to score or win unfair advantage over other competitors”.

From the above definitions partly derived from the scholarly “the New Webster’s Dictionary of the English language”, it is clear that cheats in Sports are as bad as armed robbers or other sets of bandits who wreck havocs on the unsuspecting members of the public in an attempt to gain unfair advantage.

How can one describe a sport athlete who cheats his/her contemporary(ies) so that she/he can win the gold medal say in an Olympic and other sporting tournaments which have become increasingly tough, competitive and highly financially rewarding?

Sports administrators since the advent of modern sports have expressed concern on how best to check the infiltration of competitive sports by drug cheats and the other set of gamblers who fix outcomes of sporting competitions to amass the proceeds of crime. In the United Kingdom, some Pakistani Cricket players were recently prosecuted in the judicial system for alleged fixing of matches and most of these indicted players have been banned for several years by the respective authorities in charge of these sports.

Factually, drug cheats have become increasingly desperate and sophisticated because of the huge revenue and financial profits that come through endorsements awarded to frontline sporting athletes by rich multi-national companies since the history of modern sports a little less than a century ago.

While doing random research for this thematic area of sports cheats, I came across the piece posted in a website of www.thepeoplehistory.com in which the writers rightly explained the historical facts on how modern sports became big business which to most contemporary observers like me, forms the central reason why some athletes rather than rely on their natural talents and developed skills, have chosen the easy but very expensive way of embracing the administration of performance enhancing drugs before embarking on any competitive sports.

According to the writers who posted a piece titled; “Sports: the history and evolution” on the aforementioned website, sports have become big business because; “It is also impossible to talk about modern sports without considering the heavy influence of business. Sports and business have become forever linked, even in college, which is supposedly played by “amateurs” and not “professionals”, despite the fact that the coaches and athletic directors make as much as their counterparts in the professional leagues. From sports on television to sponsorships to naming rights on stadiums, the history of the business of sports reveals that business tied itself to sports more and more in the latter half of the 20th century, really ramping up in the 1970s and onward”.

These writers tried to rationalize why money and high fees have become synonymous to modern day sports and also rightly traced increasing wave of drug cheats in sports to this money-spinning possibilities when they wrote thus; “As a part of the stream of business into sports, another change has been the influx of money, which many believe has become obscene and wrong”.

According to them; “However, the fact of the matter is that when somebody is “The Best in the World” at anything, ordinary people want to watch or see those people perform-whether they are actors, musicians or athletes. As much as people decry the high salaries and excess of sports, the spectators and consumers of sports make it possible. Past the issue of public perception, however, there lie more serious issues. Like all things in life, when big money and business are involved, the opportunities and temptations to cheat or do whatever it takes to get ahead increase. In sports, this often involves performance enhancing drugs or gambling.”

Recently, one of America’s all time best cycling athletes Mr. Lance Armstrong was exposed by his nation’s top cycling authority for alleged notorious use of performance enhancing drugs over a period of several years.

The New York Daily News of Wednesday October 10th 2012 reported the well researched findings of the United States Anti-doping Agency (USADA) detailing the sophisticated methods used by Mr. Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, to win several laurels through the inducement of performance enhancing drugs.

The New York Daily News reported thus; “Lance Armstrong wasn’t just a cheater who used performance-enhancing drugs to win seven Tour de France titles, according to the explosive “reasoned decision” released by the United States Anti-Doping Agency on October 10^th 2012-he was also a dope pusher who supplied banned substances to his teammate and threatened to replace cyclists who refused to juice”.

“The report describes an underground network of support staff-smugglers, dope doctors, drug runners-who kept Armstrong’s illicit program in business”.

“The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,” USADA chief executive officer, Travis Tygart said.

USADA released 1,000 pages of evidence on October 10^th 2012, including a 202-page summary detailing why the anti-doping agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de Franc titles this summer and barred him from competition for the rest of his life. The report was sent to cycling’s governing body, the International Cycling Union, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency and the World Triathlon Corporation.

Incidentally, the United States topped the recent chat of top ten drugs cheats of all times in the sporting history. These drug cheats include Ben Johnson, once regarded as one of the greats in the sprinting world. The Jamaica-born Canadian Johnson, according to a compilation done by www.stuff.co.nz, had a high flying career throughout the 80’s.

Johnson won two Olympic bronze medals in Los Angeles and set consecutive World records at the 1987 World Championship in athletics in 1988 Olympics where he won gold. He was stripped of both World records and the Olympic title after his urine samples, were found to contain stanozolol in 1988.

Other cheats found out and sanctioned by world anti-doping body in sports are Floyd Landis; Marion Jones; Albertto Contador of Spain, other cheats include Chinese Swim team that tested positive for dihydrotestosterone at the 1994 Asian games; Nadzeja Ostapchuck of Belarus; Alex Schwazer of Italy and Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus who tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone after the 2008 Olympic games.

The lesson for Nigerian athletes from the disgrace suffered by the American Lance Armstrong among other once sporting greats is that they must stay off drugs and the Sporting Authority in Nigeria must install state of arts anti-doping detection and testing facilities here in Nigeria to stop these cheats in their tracks before they disgrace us internationally.

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* Emmanuel Onwubiko; Head, Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria blogs @www.huriwa.blogspot.com.