AN OVERVIEW OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HOMICIDE IN NIGERIAN MARRIAGES

UNDERSTANDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Many marriages are falling apart in Nigeria not necessarily because the brides are not beautiful enough but more because of intolerance, impatience, incompatibility and financial constraints. In fact the greatest obstacle to marital success remains financial constraints, compounded by the over dependability of either of the spouse on the other. We are all human beings and there is a level of tolerance beyond which the marriage begins to crack and fall apart irreversibly. However, because of the social stigmatization associated with failed marriages, some women have remained attached to the marriage even where none exists anymore, hoping against hope that things would change. A lot of men have had to endure the…

Addressing The Kidnapping Problem In Nigeria (3)

Fear of reprisals: Some of the people who may know about criminal activities of our closest relations and friends are always afraid of reprisals or acts of revenge. Criminals and their friends and associates can arrange and eliminate the suspected informants and may even subject their entire household to terrible punishments and harassment.   (3)        THE BOYS WORK FOR THE GRAND MASTERS   There is no doubt that most of the armed bank-robbers we hear about, for example, are only ‘errand boys’ who serve the interests of their grand masters. The boys give accounts of their ‘mission’ and stewardship to their masters after each successful operation. There are also ‘middlemen’ who must coordinate the operations,…

THE BIG DRAMA

It is a feast of contradictions today. We celebrate the triumphal entry of a king who ends up dying like a criminal. It’s Palm Sunday and also Passion Sunday! The day of “Hosanna”,and the day of “Crucify him!” A day of acclamation – “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, and a day of denials – “I do not know him!” It’s a day of paying homage – people throwing their cloaks on the road, and also a day of mockery: “Play the prophet…who hit you then?” It is a huge drama and each one of us, depending on our spiritual disposition, can play any of the characters. First is Jesus,…

Land Use Policy And Development Control: A Look At Imo State Ministry Of Lands And Owerri Capital Development Authority

INTRODUCTION A Lot of complaints has been made by members of the public against the ministry of lands and particularly against the Owerri capital development Authority. However since the appointment of Hon Uche Nwosu, a lot of Checks and balances and or reforms has taken place and somehow public confidence has been restored gradually in the system as it tries to reform itself. For the first time however, Hon Uche Nwosu has made a professional Estate surveyor who is accessible and intellectually compliant, a Director of Lands. Also in the Department of Deeds, The government Certification and documentation of Title is in progress under an effective director. In OCDA unfortunately the rot continues but hopefully…

Addressing the Kidnapping Problem In Nigeria (2)

A kidnapped man’s wife: Chief Udeogu Ukaegbu, who narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Boko Haram terrorists in the North and settled in the village, was kidnapped immediately he settled down to restart his business in the village. A sympathizer who accosted the man’s wife questioned: “Madam, what are we hearing?” “Yes, Sir. It is true. Neither home nor abroad is safe anymore. See how we have escaped from the cobra’s burrow and entered the lion’s den. Had we known we would have remained in the North? We are confused and terrified to the marrows. From where can we get the 20 million naira the kidnappers are demanding?” A Nigerian, Mr. Uzochukwu Igwe,…

LAZARUS, SYMBOL OF HUMANITY

The liturgy of the Mass offers us the key of reading the gospel text: Jesus, true man like us, mourns His friend LAZARUS.  He, God and Lord of life, calls him back from the sepulcher.  Today, He extends to all men His mercy and with his sacraments makes us pass from death to life (Preface).  This is also the mystery we are called to celebrate in our assembly.  We are now close to Easter and the Church invites us to get to the heart of it through the understanding of the wonderful event narrated in the Gospel. This miracle becomes a sign in our celebration.  What Jesus worked in Lazarus, He incessantly accomplishes in us…

Addressing the Kidnapping Problem In Nigeria (1)

KIDNAPPING NOW A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS IN NIGERIA? Nigerians who must visit their fatherland for obvious reasons, like burial of loved ones or spend Christmas vacation in the village are always gripped with fear as mere thought of landing in the village for a few days to spend time with families and neighbors scares them.  They don’t even believe that better security can be assured in the big cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin, or Owerri. One could be kidnapped by hoodlums or young terrorists. Those who find themselves in the Northern states of the nation must be ready to face Boko Haram terrorist gangs. In public places, schools, parks and…

You are the Light of the world…

Lent is both catechumenal and baptismal in character because it makes us conscious of the reality and exigencies of baptism and brings us to the revision of life and conversion from wrong living.  So, this Sunday of Lent presents the grace of baptism as experience with Christ-the-Light.  Jesus dissipates the darkness of our blindness (Gosp) and makes us “children of light (2R).   JESUS THE LIGHT The opposition between light and darkness as a symbol of opposition between truth and error or between good and evil is not difficult to understand and is used also beyond theological and liturgical language.  Of lights in the world there have been many in the course of the centuries;…

Have you been wrongfully terminated or dismissed?

I came across an interesting and accepted definition of a gentleman under English Customs and usage. It means a Man of high social Status who does not have to earn a living. Who does not have to earn a living these days? These days, the definition of a gentleman accommodates any person of appropriate breeding and learning and has little to do with his being a member of the gentry or his financial status. Thus we all have to earn a living being gentle men of modern accommodation. It does not matter whether your father is the local butcher or that you barely can afford to feed yourself. You are a gentle man by the…

The General Principles of Defamation (1)

Every human being has a character which helps to shape his reputation in his community. To Bill Clinton, former United States president, character is everything. It defines the individual, his integrity or lack of one. It shapes the view of reasonable people in the community about a person or company. In our African communities, the truth is often the first casualty in any discourse and a person’s character often impinged on by his kinsmen who are hostile to his progress. Many young ladies have not married today because of vicious slander behind their backs and many young men have no one to help them not because they have no integrity but because their kinsmen had…

Transfiguration

Faith always implies a courageous and committing choice.  We are invited to listen to and follow Jesus not only on the mount of transfiguration, but also in the suffering of the Cross which precedes the resurrection. What does it mean to believe in God?  In which God do we believe?  Is it in the God of Jesus Christ or in the God according to our image and likeness?  What is faith?  Today’s liturgy helps.   TRANSFIGURATION IS ANTICIPATION OF EASTER The second Sunday of lent puts us before Jesus transfigured on the mountain.  It is a paschal anticipation.  It is the certainty that darkness is already defeated, that suffering love apparently sterile is, instead, very…

Are You Drinking Your Calories?

When individuals are cutting back on their intake to reduce their calories, food tends to be the first point of call, not everyone is paying attention to the amount of calories contained in their drinks. Most of the carbonated drinks, energy drinks, sweetened drinks and even some fruit juices on the shelf are laden with calories and excessive sugar. Excess sugar consumption increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, can contribute to you becoming overweight and can cause tooth decay. Some other symptoms are fluctuations in energy levels and moods. Look at the ingredients on the label of your drink. Does it include any of the following: · High fructose corn syrup · Fructose · Sugar…

Lent, a verification of our Baptism

Lent is verification of our baptism.  With God or against Him?  It is not an abstract verification but is based on concrete choices.  Lent is the time the church puts at our disposal in order to verify if baptism for us is a burden, a religious cloak, a corruption or the joy of a choice and the reception of a gift.  Lent is in fact preparation for Easter and in the “big” Easter Vigil we shall be asked to renew before the risen Christ our baptismal promises.   TEMPTATION: THE RESPONSE OF ADAM The liturgy of the first Sunday of lent is dominated by temptation.  There are two ways of confronting it: the way of…

WHAT SHALL WE EAT, DRINK, WEAR?

We can as optimistic as possible, we should be so in order to construct our age in better perspective, but we cannot conceal the clouds and shadows which menace our planet.  “What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we put on?,” is one ghost which roams the world that is more menacing than that foretold by Marx. It is the harassing thought of many who leave in the morning without knowing if a piece of bread would be found to calm their hunger or that of their children.  It is the preoccupation of many thoughtful men, experts, politicians, technicians, economists who study to foresee and forestall the needs of the future immediate…

God is love and merciful

In the course of these Sundays we are reading from the “Sermon on the Mount”, which constitutes in a certain way the programme (…programmatic discourse) of Jesus, and expresses the quintessence of evangelical morality.   THE PRECEPT OF CHARITY Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law – that of OT – but to fulfill it.  This fulfillment takes place above all through the commandment of charity which today’s reading gives us the most celebrated formulation, that of the love of enemies: “You have heard it said: love your neighbour and hate your enemies, but I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:43-44).  Wonderful words…

Sermon on the Mount

Let us concentrate on the gospel text from the so-called “sermon on the Mount”, which will keep us company until the 9th Sunday. This sign of the importance which the Church, the liturgy, attaches to this collage of various teachings put together by Matthew. The other two readings – the first by its nature and the second exceptionally – serve as introduction. The Gospel is all of moral nature. Jesus begins by affirming that the old law – the old moral is not expired, but He gives it a new interpretation. It is not a revised version or corrected edition. Instead it is a deepening, a return from the periphery to the centre. The old…

An overview of the Nigerian Public Procurement Act

There is the need for the establishment of a legal framework for public Procurement” says the World Bank to the Officials of the Federal Government who are always in need of more Loans to facilitate one white Elephant Project after another. These loans always seem to find their way to private Pockets because of lack of Due Process or Policy defaults. The Enactment of The Procurement Act 2007 is a weighty development based on the recommendation of the World Bank which advised for better transparency in the proceedings of public procurement. As a general rule, it is the requirement of law and the strictures of procurement Standards and policies to ensure compliance with the procurement…

JESUS CHRIST, PERFECT MODEL FOR EVERY STAGE OF HISTORY

The emerging theme of today’s Liturgy of the Word is the expression of the anthropological dream of God.  The Lord shows in very clear manner how He wishes His favorite creature, man, would be.   IN CHRIST GOD REVEALS TRUE IDENTITY AND DIGNITY OF MAN Since the desire of God is that humanity comes to an end of integral felicity, the Word of God became proclaimer of the profound ethical and religious demands of God pushing the believer not to simulate his religiosity in pure, simple external observances, but rather to be converted to the authentic style of life which God demands from His own.  This is a true fraternity which is explicit in the…

National Dialogue: Why the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Should Not Represent the Igbo Nation

Recently, the GEJ administration came up with the idea of a national dialogue which in my view is a distraction from the present Civil war he is prosecuting against the Boko Haram rebel group and charges of Corruption against his administration in the backdrop of the cohesive belligerence of the APC. Not many Nigerians are aware of the fact that Nigeria, in the view of the United Nations, the international court of Criminal Justice, The World Bank and the international community is a Nation at War just because, the war has religious connotations. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we need to have a round table conference with the rest of the Country…

Brightening up ALVAN with a Blessing

Getting the top job was a surprise to Dr (Mrs) Blessing Ijioma, despite a revelation she had earlier. “It never crossed my wildest imagination that I’d ever be the provost. I am not from Imo State, and Alvan was still an Imo-State institution. I thought it was one of those revelations. But as years went bye, things started unfolding, with the Federal government taking over Alvan,” said the Abia-born, mother of five, beautifully attired in a traditional outfit and pouring over files. It was a surprise to the Methodist preacher, a doctor of food science and technology because she was chasing purpose rather than position. But when the opportunity came for her to seek the…