The Curious Mind

It is not that life has become a hell or that the earth has shown traces of old age that makes the preacher shout every morning that the end is near, that the world will soon go into oblivion. Why he says so is what I have not found out but let that secret remain with him for now, because I am on a journey. We all shouted in disbelief when the news hit the air waves that over two hundred girls have been kidnapped from government secondary school Chibok in Borno state, that was like a fairy tale, but more and more women and children have disappeared since then right under the nose of the military that was stationed there on a state of emergency and up to this moment, nothing has been done about locating the girls. Sorry, maybe something was done. The president did and is still doing something. According to some quarters, he paid millions of dollars to a public relations firm based in the United States to clear his image as a weakling in power and create a cover for him on his governm

Joe Akagu, Tears for Saconda, Evergreen Publications. 2013 pp 112. The novel “ Tears for Saconda ” has a central message of corruption, injustice and bad governance. The author Joe Akagu relates the story with a character to bring out effectively the message of this novel. Ibe, the main character stood his ground against the test of time, he was an avid campaigner against all forms of injustice, an unrepentant optimist and a social crusader, but reasonable minds pondered about how long he would carry on, they wondered if he can overcome the society to change it or would he be doomed by that same evil that made obsolete the efforts of other optimists that came before him. He graduated as the overall best graduating student in the University, a fit everyone believed was a ticket to heaven, but that was not to be in Saconda because there was no job to absorb him. Looking at the situation of things around him, the frustrations fellow young people like him were subjected to i

It was exciting on the first attempt in USA '94 where the Super Eagles soared so high,brought pride to the country and wrote African’s name in gold. A mirage of its replica happened in France ‘98 where the remnants of the historic Eagles of ’94 bided their final goodbye on the biggest stage in world football. Since then, things have fallen apart. The modern Super Eagles have continued to degenerate both in rating and in stature, the quality of play have also decreased to a pitiable minimum, a level which continually brought down tears from the eyes of the Nigerian fans. Many after some heart breaking moments made a decision. They decided to ignore matches that the Eagles were involved in because they knew what the end result would be and in most cases, their predictions materialize. Having lost their prestige on the African stage and made a fool of themselves on the world stage, it became obvious that there was a need for an urgent help. At a stage, even the president offered t

The Curious Mind: On that Pitch in Lisbon : Like many other nights of great cup finals, the grand finale of this year’s UEFA champion’s league is poised to be one of the greatest of a...

Like many other nights of great cup finals, the grand finale of this year’s UEFA champion’s league is poised to be one of the greatest of all the nights. This belief is unconnected with what is at stake. For over 59years, this will be the first time a team from the same city will be trading tackles in a European football grand finale. The trophy is one of those things at stake, but the rivalry, the pride and the desire for glory are the major factors that will light up the pitch in Lisbon.  Atletico Madrid having been fired up for glory by their overwhelming move to the finals of the champion’s league and the confidence incurred from an amazing run in la liga which landed the trophy in their domain will be poised to make it an unbelievable double by conquering their age long foes Real Madrid on Saturday night.  It is obvious that this will not be an easy mission because Real Madrid who has been in pursuit of that elusive la decima for many years now will give everything within

FERNANDO TORRES: CHELSEA. A hero in Atletico Madrid and a superstar at Liverpool. Much was expected of him at Chelsea where he went on a record sign on fee of 50million pounds but he has lived below expectation since his arrival. This season, he has managed only ten goals in over forty four appearances something that is below average for a player of his caliber. JACK WILSHERE: ASERNAL When he first surfaced at the Emirate club, he was expected to be a dictator of play, to be getting involved in the kind of goals players like Yaya Toure scores on regular bases, drifting in, beating and out smarting players, using his balance and touch to make things happen but that hasn’t happened yet and it invariably affected Arsenals campaign this season. GABRIEL ABONLAHOR: ASTON VILLA It is evident that he has gone stale in the last couple of seasons; he must be in serious need of a new challenge after many years of loyalty to Villa. He has an amazing pace that could frighten any defe

A worker has been killed after being electrocuted at a World Cup stadium in Brazil, officials say. The 32-year-old man died in an accident at the new Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba where he was installing communications equipment. It is the first fatality at the Cuiaba stadium, but eight workers have now died in accidents during the building of Brazil’s 12 World Cup arenas. Brazil’s preparations have been marred by accidents and missed deadlines. The Arena Pantanal is one of several stadiums still to be finished with just weeks to go before the World Cup begins, reports the BBC’s Wyre Davies in Rio de Janeiro. Thousands of seats are still to be installed and other vital work has to be completed, our correspondent says. The worker, Muhammad´Ali Maciel Afonso, died after he was hit by an electrical discharge on Thursday, while working on level 20 of the stadium, the regional government said in a statement.. A police investigation is under way into the cause of

The first time I read that quote by Denis Waitley, I wondered if it was crafted in Nigeria because it fits into our plight. And I quote. “There are three primary choices in life: accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them” It is no longer news that Nigeria is blessed with an enviable amount of natural resources neither is it news that it is one of the most corrupt and among the poorest countries in the world, what is news is that it is ironical that a country so blessed could as well be among the poorest of countries and has no plans of saving its self. Where then are the blessings. Every day we talk, every day we proffer solutions to the problems. If we have the answers, then, why are we going down, deeper than we were years before? Every year, millions of young people graduate from the country’s high institutions with the aim of landing decent jobs after all the struggles and challenges of acquiring education in the country, but to their dis

The news of the Chibok girls kidnap got to the heart of every reasonable person in the country and beyond. Many wondered why, many imagined the trauma those girls must be going through in the hands of those rootless captors while others threw missiles at the government for its cluelessness on the Boko Haram issue.  Many have been lost to this aimless massacre of defenseless citizens of the country by the dreaded Boko Haram sect who have in the recent time brought down terror on the heart of the nation. It has not been made known the true image of this sect but the obvious is that people are continually dying in their numbers everyday and our government is crying. Nigeria, the most populous black country in the world should possess the finest and largest man power and resource in Africa needed to fight a few that decided to take away its peace and rest of mind but as it stands, that maybe a mere illusion because those at the top loves politics more than human lives that is why Boko