Declare Your Assets

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Barrack Obama

Another must read story I am excited to share with you! After the series of bomb blasts in Nigeria yesterday, this story is soothing to my soul. Please read on. In the midst of rising public disillusionment and despair about gross misconduct of officials in Nigeria, the United States has urged the country's elected and senior public officials to declare their assets and make it a public record! Do not be confused. This would be a first of its kind and it is a welcome idea! A good step in the right direction! You bet many of those looters would rather transfer their assets to friends and family members yet, I am excited that, if heeded, Nigeria is headed for a better future!

Unlike in the U.S. where the president and other elected and senior public officials normally release their income statements on a yearly basis especially during the time they file their yearly taxes, elected and public officials in Nigeria are kings and untouchables, and their assets, so many times more than their salaries, are their private business. Only in Nigeria and other endemically corrupt nations can an elected official, within the first six months in office, buy a mansion that costs twenty times his annual salary and pay cash in foreign currencies!

According to African Spotlight, during the recent Nigeria-US Bi-national Commission (BNC) meeting in Washington, the U.S. Under Secretary, Maria Otero, representing the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, while explaining to the Nigerian delegation the importance of making asset declaration accessible to the public, also urged the Federal government to engage in publishing audited reports of its accounts to inspire public confidence. While commending the Federal Government for passing the Freedom of Information Act, (FoI), which the U.S. official believes has the potential of expanding the boundaries of transparency in the country, Otero, who led the U.S. delegation asked that it should follow-up on the report of the House of Representatives on the fuel subsidy scandal. She also requested that Nigeria should join the Open Government Partnership, (OGP), a forum of about 55 countries in the world determined to promote open governance and a culture of accountability around the world.
 
How ready is Nigeria to work to curtail corruption and imbibe the culture of transparency and accountability? The world watches. So far, I am ecstatic! And I pray that a day will come when the developed nations will confiscate the ill-gotten wealth of Nigeria's elected officials, and the         private looters, deposited in their banks, and return all or some of the wealth to Nigeria!

"We must judge of a form of government by its general tendency, not by happy accidents."

--Thomas Babington Macaulay(1800-1859), Speech on Parliamentary reform, March 2, 1831

For Better or Worse.....

"A picture is worth more than a thousand words!" This picture typifies that saying to the t! When I saw it, am like, hmmmm, this is worth sharing with you. It portrays the bride and her train going for the reception after her wedding! Where is the groom? Where are their friends and well-wishers? Where is everybody?


By the way, I read that this wedding took place somewhere in Nigeria, an oil-producing nation, the giant of Africa! Yes, an oil-producing country where endemic corruption is king! A nation of lack in the midst of plenty...


" Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too."---Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994)   

Girl Fell Sleep in April, Woke Up in June

A 15-year-old British schoolgirl, Stacey Comerford, has just woken up from a two-month sleep to find she had missed nine GCSE exams. For real, you asked? Yes, for real!


The Sun newspaper reports that Stacey suffers from a rare neurological disorder called Kleine-Levin Syndrome, also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. According to the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, the condition mainly affects adolescent males and is characterized by episodes of excessive sleep. Affected individuals are completely normal between these episodes but may sleep up to 20 hours a day for extended periods of time. It's estimated that the condition affects about 1,000 people worldwide.

Stacey Comerford told The Sun this is her longest episode. It's so unbelievable that when she's in an episode, she might still get up to use the bathroom or get a drink though she is not awake. Her mother, Bernie Richards, calls this the 'sleep mode.' She laso explained that Stacy has lost almost 28lbs due to her condition.

Wish Stacy and all my readers the best of health. Y'all enjoy ya weekend!


"Death's brother, Sleep."---Virgil (70 BC-19 BC), Aeneid.

Miss Ernie!

 

75-year-old Ernestine Shepherd, aka Miss Ernie, makes me feel lazy! And angry at myself too! Why, you ask? Click on this video and tell me how you feel after watching Miss Ernie doing her thaang! Inspired? Pissed at yourself? Angry? Motivated? Encouraged? Nothing? Something must gotta give, you bet! I do not like to swear, but today, after watching this powerhouse of a woman, I swore in my wrath: I must be fit come what may! No more excuses Nkiru! If Miss Ernie can do it, I can do it. And yes, y'all can do it too! Let's just do it!


By the way, thank you Miss Ernie for insipiring me and countless others who watched this and your other videos!


"Every patient carries her or his own doctor inside."---Albert Schweitzer, French philosopher & physician (1875-1965)

Angered by the Judgement: Nigerian Man Sets Court Ablaze

This is another must read story! I read it and said y'all ain't gonna miss out one bit. May not be the Roflmao type of story but yet, it is one of the ITs of this weekend. Continue reading...

Yesterday, in Funtua, Katsina State of Nigeria, Ahmed Ubale Mai-Nama was said to have set ablaze an Upper Shari'a Court! Why, you asked? He was pissed, yes, angered, cheesed off, incensed, over alleged dissolution of his marriage!

Ahmed's wife demanded for a divorce which led to a serious quarrel between the couple. Ahmed refused to grant his wife's request. Two weeks ago, he filed a case with the court seeking it to safeguard his marriage. According to one account, when he sensed he might lose the case, Ahmed asked that his wife's family return everything he spent during their wedding. The court granted him that and he was paid all the expenses he incurred. But when the judgement favored his wife and the court dissolved their marriage, Ahmed went ballistic! Early yesterday morning, he set the court on fire and watched it burn. The fire destroyed the judge's office, the chamber and the registrar's office, plus hundreds of case files. Angry man Ahmed was later arrested by the court's guards and some passers-by and is now being held at the Funtua Police Area Command.

Are you kidding me? Wonders are truly just beginning! Y'all have a happy and safe weekend!

"Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor."---Elizabeth 1 (1533 - 1603), in Francis Bacon, Apophthegms, 1625.

"My Husband Padlocks My Manhood"-Gay Nigerian Man Cries

This story is a must read! It's a  'rolling on the floor, laughing my head/ass off'' kind of story. It's on Stella Dimoko Korkus' page in Encomium magazine. It's sooo hilarious I have to share it with you, my dear readers...

For introduction, Chika (pictured above left), a Nigerian gay man who lives in Germany, got married to Marc Schwartz (pictured above right) a few years ago, but the union ended in 2010.
In an interview with Stella, Chika affirmed that he has gone back to his former husband Marc. You would not believe what Marc did to Chika to prevent any intrusion to, or misuse of his (Chika's) genitalia! Warning: be ready lo laugh! Read the excerpt below:


Chika to Stella: I'm back with Marc but under lock and key. He locked my penis with a tiny iron rope that hold my waist and is not covered at the back but my front side is covered with aluminum and I can only pee and clean it.

Stella: How long have you had this?
Chika: Four months now.

Stella: Is it not torture for you?
Chika: Well, it won't last long because I am thinking of separating from him. And I will break the key and divorce him and this time it's final, because I can't continue to be a good wife

Stella: So why did he lock it?
Chika: No trust, that's all

Stella: So why did you go back to him after last time you complained of too much sex which was causing you pain?
Chika: That's because I feel for him and also he always comes to beg. I didn't know it will be like this.

Stella: You're complaining now but were you blind when your penis was being padlocked?
Chika: I did it out of love charm not knowing I am imprisoning myself. I am trying to break that key and once it's done that means I am done with him. I am sick and tired of this suffering and smiling marriage because he cheats and still picks on me as if I am a kid and yet padlocked me. This is prison.


Are you kidding me? Is this guy for real? Y'all have a great weekend...and pls, do not allow anyone to lock your unlockables...hihihikikikikihiiihiii...LMAO!


"A man who doesn't trust himself can never truly trust anyone else."  Cardinal de Retz, Memoires

Dangers in Our Medicine Cabinets: is Your Child Safe?

Nkiru Oh

Little kids are curious. They are adventurers and like to explore. They have their ways of getting into everything, especially things they are not supposed to go into. Yes, they enjoy snooping around in purses, jacket/coat pockets, handbags, wallets, glove compartments, and other places people typically keep their medicines and believe the kids have no business venturing into.

Do you know the dangers lurking in your medicine cabinet? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "unintentional poisoning was second only to motor vehicle crashes as a cause of unintentional injury death for all ages in 2009...[and] in 2008, 28,171 (91 percent) of all unintentional poisoning deaths were caused by drugs!" (Emphasis mine).

Some erroneously believe that OTCs (over-the-counter medications) are safe. No, please! ALL medicines including vitamin supplements have potentials to cause harm to adults and children when they are wrongly ingested. Many children have died, many cognitively affected, from taking a parent's medicine/s. Save your child from accidental death from ingesting your medications! Save yourself from the heartache and guilt of causing the death of, or impairment to, your child! Below are some of the ways The National Safety Council and other experts suggest you can protect your child from accidental ingestion of medications:

• Store medicine in a locked cabinet: The safest place to store medicine is out of the sight and reach of children. This can be a high cabinet or closet, and it should be locked at all times, even if you think your child cannot reach it.
• Use child-resistant caps for added security.
• Keep medicine in its original container: Don't switch containers for pills or liquids, because they could be mistaken for something else. Also, never use a medicine if the container doesn't have a legible label. Do not guess the name if you cannot read it.
• Never leave medicine out. If you get called to the phone or front door while you're taking or giving medicine, don't leave the container behind. Also, as tempting as it is when you’re going to take another dose soon, don’t leave medicine sitting out. Children act quickly, so medicine that’s forgotten about, even just for a moment, can be dangerous!
• Discard medicine properly/carefully. Don’t throw medicine in the trash—your child could easily dig it out. Instead, ask your pharmacist for a local collection program. Or, if you must throw out the medicine, keep it in its container and double-bag it. Dispose them in a way that a child cannot find and swallow them.
• Never refer to medicine as candy. Many parents do this and it is wrong! Help your child understand that medicine is medicine and not play things. Always call it by its proper name. Also, if possible, try not to take medication in front of children.
• Unpack and store medicine first. A bottle of coated pills looks a lot like candy to a young child. Remove medicine from grocery bags before your curious kids start investigating.

"Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt."
---Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC-184 BC)