THE TEN ‘I’s THAT BREAK THE HOME (2)

INFIDELITY Infidelity in marriage can also be referred to as cheating, adultery or extramarital affair. Wikipedia defines it as the subjective feeling that one’s partner has violated a set of rules or relationship norms and this violation results in feelings of sexual jealousy and rivalry. The violation can be sexual in nature, for example involving kissing, sexual fondling or sex with another individual outside of the marriage relationship. Statistics reveal that the rate of infidelity in marriage is higher in men than in women. In their book, Close Encounters: Communication in relationships, Guerrero, Anderson and Afifi maintained that men are more likely than women to have a sexual affair, regardless of whether or not they…

Bandits raid Holy Rosary Hospital Emekuku

-As Anglican Church beefs up security following robbery attack on cathedral. As cases of kidnapping appear to be receding in Owerri Metropolis, bandits are shifting their notorious activities to homes, churches and their institutions. Last week, armed robbers raided Holy Rosary Hospital Emekuku, owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, carting away cash and hospital equipment. The Administrator of the hospital, Rev. Fr. Eunan Asomugha said the hoodlums numbering about 10 struck at about 12 midnight on Saturday, May 25, overpowered the security men before breaking into offices. The priest said they broke into his office and any other office that was locked, turning everything upside-down in search of money.  However no kobo was found…

Why I take Indian hemp -Pastor arrested for kidnapping tells police

A Pastor of a Pentecostal Church arrested for alleged kidnapping shocked detectives, when he was also arrested with a bundle of Indian hemp, found in his house as part of his daily meal. General Overseer of Divine Justice Church, Owerri, Imo State, Pastor Clement Ezeigbo, who is currently cooling his heels in the police Anti Kidnap Unit of the state police command, told the police: “I don’t know anything about kidnapping but I am the owner of the Indian hemp (Igbo) but the good thing is that I don’t smoke it but I use it to prepare my food.  I enjoy eating food prepared with Indian hemp”. “I don’t think there is anything wrong when…

Silver Jubilee anniversary: An act of thanksgiving – Bishop Ukwuoma

–     As Prof. & Mrs. Tony Uzoma clock 25 years in marriage It was all joy and merriments as Prof. Anthony Uwandu-Uzoma and Mrs. Beatrice Ifeyinwa Uzoma marked their silver jubilee wedding anniversary at St. Gregory’s Catholic Parish Amaigbo, Nwangele LGA, Imo State on Saturday, May 11, 2013. The silver jubilee celebration commenced with a concelebrated Eucharistic Mass presided over by the chief shepherd of Orlu diocese, Most Rev. Dr. A.T. Ukwuoma and assisted by about 50 priests from different dioceses of Igboland, including Very Rev. Fr. Patrick Ibole, Vicar-General Owerri Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Dr. Alphonsus Oha, Chancellor, Owerri Archdiocese and Rev. Fr. Prof. Louis Asiegbu of the Federal University of Technology Owerri. Delivering a…

Mr. Chucks Obiodu: DRIVEN BY PASSION

With a passion for business and a determination to be a haulage contractor just like his father, young Chucks Obiodu went to school knowing exactly what he wanted to do for a living. When life wanted to take him down a different path, he quickly made a U –turn and returned to his dream. Although his older siblings took up jobs in mining, telecommunications, teaching and health sectors, Chucks, the last of five children, preferred to stick with his father. Even so, the young Chucks did not choose his dad so he could work for him or inherit the business after him. All he wanted was a role model which he found in his father….

CAN backs emergency rule

  President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states has received the blessing of the Christian Association of ngieria (CAN), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) . But the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu rejected the decision. CAN President Ayo Oritsejafor said the decision vindicated its position that only force could end the insurgency. The Christian body called for the immediate scrapping of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue. Pastor Oritsejafor, in a statement in Abuja said: “With the declaration of a state of emergency in the three states, the amnesty committee is no longer relevant…

ACHEBE AND THE INVENTION OF AFRICAN LITERATURE (1)

came strong on the world stage with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart. It is a work widely considered to have defined African literature and brought balance to world literature. This is despite the fact that there were other pioneering efforts regarding African prose by African indigenous writers. By 1933 Omenụkọ by Pita Nwana had been published, followed by the Onitsha Market Literature through which Cyprian Ekwensi published pamphlet stories like Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales (1947) and When Love Whispers (1948). These were before Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952), which many regard as the pioneer novel form in English language by an indigenous African. However, it is Chinua…

Jonathan imposes emergency rule on Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.  However, the governors of the affected states are to continue in their constitutional roles.  In a nationwide radio/television broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan ordered the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, to deploy more troops to the affected states for more effective internal security operations. The soldiers had been given full orders to take necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to end the impunity of insurgents and terrorists. Full texts of the President’s broadcast on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 reads. It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate…

Priest raises alarm over extortion by lecturers -As KSM Owerri Sub-Council holds 2nd Degree investiture

A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Dr. Casimir Nzeh has expressed worry over the increasing level of corruption and extortion going on in institutions of higher learning in Imo State and other parts of the Eastern Nigeria. Preaching during the Second Degree Investiture of the Knights of St. Mulumba, Owerri Sub-Council, Fr. Nzeh regretted that no serious academic work is going on in most institutions of learning in Igboland as marks are simply awarded to students who can afford them. The priest further revealed that most lecturers have become authors, churning out all sorts of junks from the internet and selling them to students in the name of “text books”. Fr. Nzeh who is the Owerri…

A jewel in his Crown

In his hay days, Pius Ukaga was a simple, easygoing, ever smiling, hardworking and amiable man. Agriculturist by profession, when he became Eze Obibi in 2003, he took those qualities with him, aided by a reliable cabinet, peaceful community, supportive children, especially a resourceful first son. But the jewel in his crown was his Emii-born witty wife, a diligent and resilient woman, the Eze’s one and only spouse and companion of 55 years. It is she, the Ugoeze, who has held his hand in good and bad times. With her by his side, there was no obstacle the crown couldn’t overcome.  Ugoeze Beatrice onyegenonu, a retired school teacher is a woman who knows her community…

Which One are You?

A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter sucked her teeth and…

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C 12/5/2013

OPENING PRAYER Father, help us keep in mind that Christ our Saviour lives with you in glory and promised to remain with us until the end of time.  FIRST READING A READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 7:55-60 Theme: I can see the son of man standing at the right hand of God. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven  and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.  “I can see heaven thrown open”, he said, “and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they…

PASTOR’S CONER – COME, LORD JESUS!

A shout of love expresses the tension of Christ-spouse and of the Church (humanity)-spouse towards the definitive encounter at the end of the history of salvation: when the Passover of all creation will be accomplished through new heavens and new earth which the Lord will perform; when the love with which the Father loves the Son will be in the disciples in a perfect communion (Gosp).  Vat II speaking of the eschatological nature of the pilgrim Church and of its union with the heavenly Church (LG48), confirmed the vision of hope which the inauguration of the new humanity in Christ brings with itself.  The same Spirit which raised Jesus Christ-spouse of the Church from the…

Tribute To Monsignor Dr. Georg Huessler Of Caritas Fame

Only a few months into the Nigeria- Biafra war, the imbalance in the disposition of military hardware was already definitive in favour of Nigeria. U.S.S.R and Britain literally flung the gates of their armouries wide open for Nigeria to satisfy her wish-list of weapons on credit, while Biafra struggled to purchase obsolete bolt- action rifles at cut-throat black market prices. It was the peak of the cold war, the ideological conflict between the Communist East bloc (Russia and her allies) and the Capitalist West bloc (U.S and allies). To survive as a country then, you needed to belong to one bloc. Biafra belonged to none. An ideological orphan! Having denied Biafra access to weapons to…

Let’s look at some words and their wrong use among us

When you hear that someone, especially a top politician, has dropped a “bombshell” you would automatically want to know what the big news is all about. The expression connotes an earth shaking event which is actually what an exploded bomb is. To those who must have experienced the early wars in history, crude bombs, when detonated, left their empty covers, shells or, if you like, lifeless relic or empty cases. A couple of years ago an angry war veteran, possibly from World War 1, complained in the prestigious “Letter  to the editor” column of the Times of London  that  he couldn’t  understand  why the newspapers were excited by “bombshell” as an expression of something real…