Ogiri John Ogiri

Dear Mr. President, I commend your leadership dexterity and wisdom for signing into law, yesterday and very speedily so, the bill seeking to make us revert to the old national anthem "Nigeria, We Hail Thee"  However, it is important that the following few points are urgently brought to your attention so that we do not end up taking residence in self-deception as a country. Mr President Sir,  In our churches today, hungry people no longer have the strength to answer "Hallelujah" to the shout of "praise the Lord!" In our mosques, shouting"Allahu Akbar" takes great effort because we are not sure if the imam calling people to pray has eaten well. Because they are hungry, it is difficult for them to keep praying for the same Nigeria others keep destroying.  In the same way, a hungry man cannot hail Nigeria. A man who can no longer afford the three square meals, thanks to your unfriendly economic policies, may never be proud to hail Nigeria...

Three categories of women are always identifiable:  1. Those who plan to make money from you,  2. Those who plan to make money with you. 3. Those who plan to make money for you. The first one sees every relationship as transactionary so that how much you get from them in love is directly proportional to how much money they can get from you. They can tax you without any consideration.They're interested in today, not tomorrow.  The second category sees relationship as a journey that requires a selfless commitment to each other, bearing and making personal sacrifices together with the man as they walk from grass to grace. They usually don't demand anything from you. Just be true to them. Be hardworking and focused. Once they identify the vision in you, they can pledge their everything. They're not fools but they can overlook your shortcomings when you falter. Hold women in this group very dearly and guard them jealously. Don't disappoint them when you finally succeed. Tho...

By Ogiri John Ogiri. Sex is a very interesting but special experience created by nature (God) for the enjoyment of His creatures so that both the human society and animal society can continue to create and recreate itself in an unfettered evolutionary process. In fact, God ended the creation of man and animals several centuries ago. Consequently, the over 7 billion people who occupy the earth today were not created by God's traditional means of moulding a clay and breathing air into it. They were conceived through man's recreative ability through sex and other means of having children.  In the same manner, several millions of different species of animals on earth today were created through their own God-given abilities in sexual evolution.  Sexual intercourse is so crucial that, despite the increasing technological sophistication in child-bearing, it is still the dominant and most preferred means of having children today. Aside procreation, sex is equally had for the pleasure ...

By Ogiri John Ogiri. In your pursuit of power, remember this: 1. Have what to say. Know when and where to say what you have to say. Do not speak to impress; speak to communicate. Use a variety of language options if you can.  2. Be humble: You can win the most recalcitrant people with this. 2. Be loyal but be as wise as a serpent. You can break into the minds of the most difficult kings. 3. Do not overlook too many people and things. Everyone is important. Attend functions in religious houses. Talk to people- intellectuals, religious leaders, market women, youth groups and associations among others. If you find a community with an electoral power indispensable to your future victory, court their king. If possible, take a wife from an influential family in that community.  4. Do not trust too many people. Be wary of the few ones you trust. 5. Keep to the basic principles of the game. Avoid scandals by all means. 6. Choose your enemy wisely. 7. Do not be anyone's fri...

By Ogiri John Ogiri. I do not intend to provoke, by this piece , what philosophers would refer to as a conceptual crisis.Hence, I have decided to evade any academic attempt at a conceptual definition of the term "Critical Thinking" in order to focus on practical areas I think we should use it.  ( You can consult Silvano Borruso's The Art of Thinking published by Paulines Africa in 1998 for more on Critical thinking) Over the years, I have observed, of course, through personal interactions and pen contacts with some Africans particularly Nigerians, that Critical thinking is an area dreaded and avoided by many. Yes, critical thinking, the type that can dislodge and expunge from our minds, false religious beliefs and restore our minds to critical consciousness and bring about a fundamental change in what we believe, how we believe and the way we do things, is avoided by most Nigerians. Many believe that, there is nothing we can do, usually ending by saying "...

By Ogiri John Ogiri. Let me be straight with this. Our dear Governor, His Excellency, Very Revd Fr Hyacinth Alia PhD is the brainchild of a constituency with an interesting organizational structure and institutional arrangement.In that constituency, unalloyed loyalty and submission to a higher authority is usually more emphasized and condoned than an obedience to democratic ethos namely free speech, majority rule, rule of law among many others. All authority originates and terminates at the highest hierarchy. That constituency is the Church.  I am sorry but there is no democracy in the Church. Yes, in the Church, the majority does have a say but the minority, represented by the highest authority, usually have their way. Decision-making and general administration takes place within the hierarchical framework of what obtains in a purely theocratic government. Yes, the Church may be the most organized institution in the world but one could quite outrightly say that this en...

By Ogiri John Ogiri. As important as love may be in any relationship, it may not be enough to sustain the relationship until the end. Mutual tolerance and accommodation can prove quite instrumental.  Being deeply in love with each other is not the issue. The question is " can you live with him? Can you live with her? Can you live with each other? Can you tolerate or accommodate each other? For instance, some partners have bad breath. Some are very dirty. Some are gossipers. Some love hanging out; some do not like hanging out. Some smoke, drink and club. Some do not. Some love sex without any apology. It is not because they are wayward. It js who they are. Some do not like sex at all.It is not because they are unexposed to modernity, it is who they were brought up to be. Some love children; others do not. Some love reading books. Some can even argue over the most trivial issue. The list is inexhaustible. Can you live with a partner who exhibits some of these traits? Unfortunately, ...