Nigerians have turned into a case study of how money could turn a rich country into abject poverty. The worship of money and greed for more without knowing what to do with it has made Nigerians the laughingstock of fellow Africans. Yet, we glorify ourselves as the most educated, richest and successful Blacks in foreign land. It is actually authenticated and used against other Blacks by those who never wished Africa well in the first place. What they hide in the success of Nigerians abroad is that to live the same “comfortable” life their colleagues enjoy; they have two or…
Author: Farouk Martins Aresa
It is indisputable who the owners or Omo-Onile of Lagos are: The Olumegbon, Suenu, Ojora, Onitolo, Onitana, Onido and others. They know their own history before the first Europeans or Arabs set their foot in Africa on their mission to pillage our resources, capture slaves, debase African cultures and people with religious platitudes. Most historians trace the Ogunfunminire Awori, Aresa, Onikoyi and Olugbon from Ife to Oyo, Ilesa, Oshogbo, Ogbomoso, Abeokuta to Lagos. Ife is the cradle of Yoruba Civilization. Igbon_Iresa_and_Ikoyi_A_Pre-Historic_Relationship_Till_Present_Time Leyin Orun Olugbon, Orun Aresa, Orun OnIkoyi, Orun oun lori ile: apart from the authority of Olugbon, of Aresa and…
How can African Militricians, especially Nigerians without the knowledge of history, Agreement and contract suddenly become such Experts for Power? Those ignorant of how the French imperialists crippled Haiti for daring Independence, cannot understand the devastating effects of the French Agreement with West African French Speaking countries. Though the British do not spell out their Agreement with English Speaking African countries with such impunity, the opium effects are no less disadvantageous. Ironically, it was the far Right Italian before she became Prime Minister that challenged France on this. The more they sugarcoat their inhumanity to man, the more they exposed…
The Niger military junta must be left guessing if ECOWAS is going to invade or not. Right now, there are more African countries under civilian rule than military rule. Economic sanctions from each of them against Niger is more effective than war, but must always be an option on the table. War is less productive because it is a double edge sword. Any strong man, no matter how ambitious, should not impose his will on the whole country. May African God forbid another proxy war in Africa generally and the Niger Republic in particular. ECOWAS is struggling to find a…
Victims of Modern Slavery are not only illegal migrants used as slaves and sex workers in the Middle East, Europe and Americas. While African and Indian physicians have gained sympathy from the International Press in the United Kingdom, one of the most exploited legally, are the Care Workers. Modern Slavery gang masters have taken advantage of the shortage of health and care workers to channel Africans into the United Kingdom through relaxed legal means by unscrupulous agents inside and outside the U.K and USA. One of the Care Workers was told her salary would be 29,000 British pounds. She was…
Africans traded with one another before the arrival of the Europeans. Trade by barter was the world’s most common form of exchanging goods and services, locally and across the seas. Cowries replaced trade by barter. Later, coins and gold replaced cowries. The way to strengthen African currency is to increase its buying power within our big population. What we are doing right now is weakening each African currency with euro and US dollar exchange to trade with one another. Illogically, we are making foreign currencies our common currency. Once we have our one currency, there will be an adjustment period…
Nigerians have just elected a new leader. No matter our differences with Tinubu as a person, his character or our party affiliation; we should accord him the goodwill and benefit of doubt given to new leaders for the hope of a better country. Africans have had their share of bad leaders but Nigerians always have this optimistic view of new leaders, even the military ones: he go better. It could be an indication of how bad the situation had been before they came. The first coup d’etat by Nzeogwu gave hope after condemning the corruption of our “ten percenters”. Some…
There is no substitute for love of relatives and friends. Our love for one another is paramount but we cannot be blinded or take the rewards for granted before euphoria sets in. It is at this point where we are caught unaware and flat footed. At the same time, we cannot be on alert all the time, weakening our defense mechanisms that are needed in case of real threats. Unfortunately, many people have succumbed without adequate defense mechanisms because we did not learn how to prevent, run or move far away from threats. We must distinguish the times to run…
This writer has never been a supporter of Tinubu but accepted that he won more votes in the North and South, fair and square. Regardless of our past reservations about his character, born out by the people of Lagos, his adopted state and Osun, his home state. Tinubu can still join world philanthropists that gave most, if not all their money away, after making it through some vile and dubious means. Tinubu would then restore Nigeria’s glory, taking Africa along. Nobel Peace Prize donated by Nobel, like other capitalist venturers made their money from the spoil of wars, slavery and…
Sudan leaders powerplay today is not different from Somali, Rwanda, Sierra Leone or Biafra/Nigeria wars. It has blinded our Youths, desperately jumping from the frying pan into fire. They usually realize too late that they have an African country that can rescue them in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Ukraine and Asian countries. While those in Nigeria wanted to fight for Ukraine until they were asked to pay to be recruited. It shows how cheap African life is. Africa was progressing and building needed potential after Independence, we must constantly be reminded. Arrested development started when these same soldiers that were trained…
There was this popular Radio Talk show host diagnosed with cancer at the peak of his career. We all felt bad and scared that he was going to die. Surprisingly, he was the one reassuring us that he would enjoy and spend the rest of his time fulfilling his activities with all the time left in him with grace. After all, we are all getting closer everyday to the day we die. This wonderful guy told his listeners that none of us know when we are going to die, not even the doctors that predicted his time because he could…
One of the most important prayers of our parents was: our children would grow to achieve more than they did. Those prayers and struggle to accomplish better goals for our Youths bestow admiration and respect for elders everywhere, not only in Africa. Even when we disagree with elders, our Youths always had a way of expressing their objections without being disrespectful. We have opponents among learned cultures and reasonable people like ours, they leave enough room to disagree without being disagreeable. Youths everywhere are the social conscience of their communities and countries. It is no longer valid that most Youths…
Scholars throughout the world that have studied the Yoruba Culture and Religion have been intrigued by the ancient history of YORUBA of West Africa. German explorer Leo Frobenius came across some sculpted bronze heads and terracotta figures in Ile-Ife, convinced he had discovered remains of the mythical lost city of Atlantis. Beyond the way Yoruba accommodate other religions and cultures without giving up their own, they have surprised other scholars, so much that doctoral students must be careful how they present dissertations for approval. You may see within the same family a Reverend father, a respectable Imam and a prominent…
There is a President-Elect in Nigeria, but most do not believe any of the 3 candidates could restore our dignity. We dearly missed the days when Nigerians were welcomed and respected around the world. Nigerian institutions from Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Professionals to Police and Military were invited to prestigious institutions in and outside Africa. We contributed to Peace Missions around the world, building and developing budding institutions in Africa. The face of poverty has shifted from Asia to Africa. Compared to when Nigerians were furious at Umaru Dikko for insinuating that he had never seen people picking food from the…
What is clear in this Election is the utmost impunity of the selfish interest groups claiming to be acting as the representatives or leader of the people they have failed woefully! Presidency is back to the South. This writer predicted that by hook or crook, Atiku would be installed as President by the Oligarchy that had always chosen the leaders. If Atiku had won, hell would then break out making it easier to split the country into Regions. Even the few members of the Northern Oligarchy that were using Fulani grassroots to buttress their bases have been rejected. They intentionally…
When did it come to this? Women have always been the backbone of the families for being the better managers. Before getting into the sack, they size up their men to make sure he has prospects to discharge his part of the responsibility of taking care of the family. In a polygamous family, which is the typical marriage in most parts of the world. Whatever the case, women remain the better organizers in most societies. Along the way, something changed. Before many relationships with different women called serial monogamy from foreign land gained ground, African traditional marriage expected that younger…
There is nothing more embarrassing than telling foreigners that Africans modeled our constitution to theirs despite obvious cultural differences. We must stop adopting foreign constitutions, they are neither made for Africans nor are their framers more civilized than you. There are historical cultures and philosophies built into Western and Eastern political ways of life that are incongruous to Africa’s: it takes a village to raise a child. When they claim that their legal system is built on Judeo Christian philosophy, believe it. The reason for the constitutional assembly of representatives from all walks of life is to harmonize cultures and…
Are we supposed to ruin the future of our children by joining murderers and kleptomaniacs in a race to the bottom? If politicians get away with murder, so should we. There is this mentality that we must get rich through the Government or by any possible means. It leads to the expectation of huge salaries as the rogue politicians we denounced. The jungle created by leaders that should know better. Even more glaring is the comparison of politicians’ humongous salary to the minimum wage within the country. There is nothing in the country’s economy to justify such salaries that even…
We hear a great deal about ladies chasing moneybags but not enough about those that are neither interested in you nor your money. If it is a choice between men and money, there are ladies out there that would rather have dignified brokeass men in their families than arrogant rich men. They never let most of their friends know they are the major provider for their family. These ladies are willing to spend their money to bring poor men to their taste and standard. Before you run out looking for one, there is a catch though. The day you messed…
Farouk Martins Aresa @oomoaresa There was a once in a generation cold winter blast that gripped most of the United States and Canada days ago. The snow overwhelmed government services in some American cities. Individuals within towns and cities had to form self-help groups to get other people that were stuck at home with some groceries, medicines and rides to the hospitals. Like most winter storms, some lives were lost. Life is not as comfortable as outsiders trying to get in may think. On the southern border of the United States where migrants were waiting to cross, the cold blast…
Farouk Martins Aresa @oomoaresa Africa has the youngest median population age in the world. We must nurture the Youths for future tasks in order to compete right now and rise as a people later. We can encourage their contribution at home because they can never be adequately rewarded as outsiders. As a result, humans are willing to work harder against fear of hostility outside than in a place we are so comfortable. Those that grew up when it took a village to raise a child in Africa, saw it as an obligation to make sure most children succeed. It created…
Take a good look at the three leading Presidential candidates in Nigeria, if you do not empathize with the fate of Africans at home and in the Diaspora, you are not human. Even one of the worst Presidents in democracy had supporters against Impeachment. There would be no stupendous wealth without the naive and the poor. They swim and exist against their own self interest. If this is pointed out, they get offended or feel insulted by doubling down on what gets them deeper to the bottom of the food chain. Some people patronize and worship those that exploit their…
Africans launder more money abroad that can create wealth locally than all the Foreign Aid tokens given as economic assistance. It is easier to enjoy a full economic and social life by creating wealth at home than trying to capture wealth in Europe and America. Unless you think you have enough guns, cowries and mirrors to charms or capture the American Indians and Africans as they did centuries ago. We must congratulate many talented and skilled Africans that were trained abroad without draining their countries’ Central Bank. Yet, they left all incentives abroad and returned home to render services as…
Most Africans at home and Blacks in Diaspora wonder out aloud where the so-called Giant of Africa went wrong and how it can be corrected. The explanation remains the same in every African country. Our talents, skills and resources are out of control. Successful countries manage and account for these talents and resources but a country like Nigeria sabotaged themselves in favor of anything foreign. We must face reality and stop the drainage. Who dares demand and enforce accountability as miners scrabble for our resources like the Fortune of war today? Upon all the laws and regulations, gas flaring, electricity…
Children are social animals like most of us. It is becoming more dangerous in Africa as in Diaspora for both sons and daughters out there to roam around. We hear and read about Police stopping them but more so if they are Black in the Diaspora and at checkpoints in African big cities. Adolescents do not know how joyful parents are when they return home on time without getting into trouble, especially while driving. It is so different these days with all kinds of crimes and Police brutality on the streets. Even good young men do get into trouble, unfortunately.…
Formula to economic success by hard work and perseverance is not a secret. Britain made history recently when Conservative Party members, not by direct election of the British people, chose Rashi Sunak as the Prime Minister. He came close the last time before Liz Truss without his experience became the Prime Minister. There were celebrations throughout the world by Asians and Indians in particular whose countries were colonized. It might be too early to expect a sustained change in the United Kingdom. Rashi Sunak may and may not turn out to be Obama of the United States. But it reminds…
Anyone that thinks a country that was flowing with milk and honey is going to get out of abject poverty soon, with the parade of these Presidential candidates, is a joker. Atiku, Tinubu and Obi have already told you what they are going to do. More of the same by selling off state asserts, becoming the only free open market in the world and turning the whole country into personal or family property. Let us face it, Activists will not be elected President because they lack experience in looting, terrorism, drug peddling and ritual sacrifice. General Buhari, regardless of party…
What does Russia and Arab oil cut back, a United States Supreme Court Justice, a former Secretary of State, Britain Chancellor of Exchequer have in common with African Politicians? They are all minorities used as accomplices of oppressive and draconian policies that adversely affect the vast number of poor, minorities and weaker countries. Most of these conservative policies are from an old entrenched belief that the best way to rule the majority is to use token minorities against their self-interest to implement oppressive Agendas. The war in Ukraine has exposed the hypocrisy of oil politics. Russia gained the support of…
Africans spend more of their time over the centuries defending their Empires, Continent and Civilization from slave raiders looking for cheap labor than capturing others as slaves. Looking for excuses to blame the victims for their own impoverished status is not even close to the reasons Africa remained impoverished. We must admit what it is true; that Africans must confront their own self-inflicted demons. However, the outside enablers willing to aid and abet Vagabonds-In-Power in their self-interest, make progress regressive. Of course their self-interest comes before African interest, making African progress harder to achieve. Africans’ main focus for survival has…
Africans have been fighting slavery since early ADs. Lourenço da Silva Mendouça, the First world Abolitionist, was a Prince from the royal family of Ndongo Kingdom in Angola. He had successfully convinced authorities to end slavery in Europe. What Nafafé discovered is that in 1684, Mendonça went to the Vatican, where he accused the nations involved in the trans Atlantic slave trade of crimes against humanity. It was not just a petition, it became court cases, undertaken by Black Africans and supported through highly organized international solidarity. Why the Vatican? It was Pope VI who had issued Papal Bull that…
