Monday, December 4, 2017

Endless Search for Peace and Love



Author:            Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga
Title of book:  Domestic Daddy
Publisher:       Bulkybon Publications Company, Lagos
Pages:             230
Reviewer:        Gift Amukoyo

Domestic Daddy is a novel set in post-colonial Nigeria; written by a presidential award winning author, Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga, with streams of flashback recounting tidbits of the wars that ravaged Nigeria, Africa, and the world in the past, which reminds one of Chinua Achebe’s book, ‘There was a Country,’ perhaps Biafra that barely glowed in the rising sun, as there is no present existence without a past, though a destiny may be delayed but it would never alter.
Bringing into limelight three representatives of the major ethnic groups in the country in the characters of Mr Adolphus Ugochukwu, Alhaji Dauda and Ilesanmi Adegoke, the trio who symbolises love, support, peace, and emotional comprehension that co-exist amidst unfiltered bitterness as fact to the mayhem which spiraled among brothers from different mothers’ hut, the novel is very engaging from the beginning to end.
However, there is no way a red-coal is set to dry vegetation and it will not blaze to a frenzy fire. The author with his wealth of wits and bank of mirth, plunges one into fits of laughter that could cause the reader to topple from a chair with tears in eyes as if onion juice popped into it. The contents have a way of relieving its readers with comics by many hilarious incidents and characters such as Mrs. Ogheneochuko, Ekaete alias ‘I-Know-Everybody’s history-In-Nigeria,’ Mrs. Rabbit-Must-Not-Escape, Okonoko Darlington, the ‘gagaperen rider’, owner of an ‘ancient bicycle’ and his exclusive escapades as a student of Otovwodo Grammar School. Another noteworthy character in the plot is Udu-boy, a sarcastic comedian, whose slaying tongue can mostly induce laughter. For instance, he tells Ororbor, a student in the novel that, “Because your father is a serving commissioner...where bribery and corruption are kings among people…you can afford to eat ten bags of rice, three cows...you happily gulp the nearby lagoon water that is well fertilised by human faeces...no wonder your tummy is as big as that of three pregnant women joined together.”
The theme of interlocking destinies through the union between children of bosom friends who reunite and create greater bond also runs through the story line. As fate prevails, the daughter of Ugochukwu and Nwayiocha gets married to Adegoke’s son, Dauda and Titi’s daughter ties the knot with Udu’s son. In a cracking shell, the never blossomed love Titi had for Udu back in his school days, is reincarnated in their children’s love for each other. The novel delves into events of Joy, Halimat, Julius, and Uzo’s amorous relationships with one another, depicting the trivial of everyday teenage and youth’s exuberant lifestyle. It also portrays an exemplary courtship of the highly cultured Nigerian tradition by Uzo as he says “Halimat, I want to pay your bride price to start my own family. I love you.” Whereas, Halimat untwines an epitome of love and curiosity among teenage girls with a lush of daring modernity, which mesmerises him to blow off her chastity, she tells him: “Are you afraid to touch me? I want you to kiss me.”
Also, fate itself is oblivious to the uncontrollable situations that Joy encounters, despite being chaste, she experiences the worst of matrimonial relationships, but Halimat who was defiled before her wedlock lives a happy and successful marital life.
The novel is highly informative and educative for any reader. It unfolds themes of love, unity, friendship, betrayal, deceit, war, loss, anguish, value, criticism and destiny. By and large, kudos to the author for emphasising the feminist in Joy as opposed to conventional single mothers who make despair a headrest and depression a foot stool, when let off the hook by the spouse. This work is recommended to the public to find out who among the prominent men earlier mentioned turned out to be the ‘Domestic Daddy.’ I believe everyman is muggy in nature, outward and inwardly. But, the moment a man sows his seedlings in his wife’s warm soil; he has become domestic and therefore an awaiting daddy.


END



SOURCE: https://ng.newshub.org/endless-search-peace-and-love-4661517.html# 
(October 8, 2014)




Tuesday, October 31, 2017

“Literary Communication In Mass Communication, is a good book for Mass Communication students” - Chidi Ndupuechi

Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

Mr. Chidi I.N., CEO Princess Bookshop
The winner of the 2008 “Best Bookshop Manager in Nigeria Award,” Mr. Chidi I. Ndupuechi, upon receiving on Monday 30, 2017, some copies of Literary Communication In Mass Communication (Critical Writing / Reviewing & Drama / Documentary Production) and other books published by Bulkybon Publications Company, praised the company’s effort for producing a book that would help to improve the knowledge of Mass Communication students in Nigeria and other countries worldwide.
On the occasion, Bulkybon Periscopes asked him what it takes to successfully manage a big bookshop like Princess Bookshop, which he now owns as the Managing Director. He offers that, “First, you have to be honest. When you sell someone’s books, you have to pay the person.
“Once a person or publisher’s book is no longer on a bookshop’s shelf, it means it has been sold, and his money should be remitted into his bank account. With that, the publisher will have confidence to supply more books.”
Another salient point he raised is that of having a good relationship with your customers. In this vein, Ndupuechi posits that, “If you don’t have good relationship with your customers, your business will fall. You don’t have to be hostile or bluff your customers by diverting their money into another business and keep them waiting endlessly for their money.
“When you divert their money, they lose confidence in you and look for other reliable outlets to sell their books.”
Commenting on Literary Communication In Mass Communication textbook while opening the pages one after the other, he smiled and said, “I like the neatness of the printing. The packaging is very okay and the pages are machine sewn. It is a good book that will be very useful for Mass Communication students. As a bookshop manager for decades, I know a book that students will appreciate by looking at the topics in it and how it is well arranged.”
Recalling his tenure at the University of Lagos Bookshop, he said, “Publishers can testify that their money was not withheld as soon as their books were sold. The thing they usually receive even without calling to ask whether their books have been sold, was bank payment alert.
“Many are still supplying books to me. As you can see the whole shelves are filled up with different types of books for every course in all departments you can mention in human academic pursuit and general knowledge.”
The level of the University of Lagos Bookshop’s indebtedness to publishers and authors has become very embarrassing to the image of the institution after Ndupiechi’s tenure. Bulkybon Periscopes asked why it has become a trend since he retired. He enlightens that, during his era as the bookshop manager, he did not allow the use of money made from publishers’ books sold, to be used to buy stationeries for supply to departments of the university. He said that is the reason no publisher was owed a dime throughout his tenure.
The 2008 Best Bookshop Manager Award
In retrospect, Ndupuechi who was the most outstanding among other managers of the University of Lagos bookshop until he retired many years ago, won the Nigerian Education Times ‘Best Bookshop Manager in Nigeria award’ in 2008, for his exemplary accountability and administrative expertise in bookshop management.
The award was presented to him at the occasion by the guest of honour, Chief Lateef Jakande, a noteworthy and commendable former governor of Lagos state. Ndupuechi says, it remains one of the most memorable days in his life as his hard work and honesty were recognized by the authority of The Nigerian Education Times magazine.
END

Thursday, October 19, 2017

British erotic artist, Bircham slams London Police for compromising rape case



Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

Ruth and the rapist, when they first met physically
The case of a Jamaican born British erotic artist, Ruth Bircham, who was raped by a Nigerian, Mr. Olufemi Ali, in London has taken a new dimension as the London Metropolitan Police discharges the offender without charging him to court, even after the culprit had in the process of investigation openly admitted to the police that he committed the offence.
During a chat with Bulkybon Periscopes, the rape victim said the police said they did not charge the rapist to court, because, after the crime was committed, she had sent a whatsapp message to ask the rapist why he did what he did to her.
According to Bircham, “The Councillor asked me why I contacted the rapist after he had committed the crime.  I told her the rapist was my social media friend before he raped me. I was terribly shaken by his evil action and wanted to know why he did what he did to me. 
“It is shocking to be raped by someone you least expected to harm you, that was why I called to ask why he took advantage of my ill health to rape me. Rape does not come with a manual to say this is what they will do and what they will not do to you, when the culprits come to you in any form as friends or complete strangers. And the Councilor agreed with my reasoning.” 
However, Bircham wonders why the UK police victimize victims of rape by treating them like criminals while treating rapists as saints. She says she does not need to prove that she is a victim of rape if the police had done their job well from the onset after she reported the case. Instead, she has been victimized by the police, either because she is not a white woman, or the rapist had bought them over.
Reiterating how her case has been badly treated by the police, she offers that, “I am not a solicitor. I am an artist who has been raped and treated unfairly by the police and the UK justice system. My main focus is my art, family, friends and fans and nothing else.  I don't give a shit about the UK and their lies, perjury, bullshit and racist fucking laws that incriminate or victimize black people that are victims of crimes.  All I know is that in between what I am doing with my art, I am letting the world know that what the UK police have done to me is wrong, for not charging the rapist to court after he has admitted to committing the crime. It shows that the police have compromised.
“This type of rubbish must never be allowed to happen to another victim with a repeat of the police and racist justice system, sweeping it under the carpet.” 
In a civilized society as the UK claims to be, all rape and sexual assault cases should be tried in the courts of England, in front of a judge and 12 juries.  It is not the duty of police to discharge a serious crime of rape after it has been reported to them. In truly honest and non-racial climes, all rape victims are usually assigned with a solicitor, a counsellor, and a forensic hospital doctor that does not shy away from examining the victim’s cervix to collect evidence to prove the crime. Based on the information given by the lively erotic artist, these were not done in her own rape case.
At no time at all should ordinary inexperienced and biased police personnel be included in investigating any rape case. Special detectives are the persons that ought to handle such criminal cases of rape, by collecting evidence from the victim, while a counsellor is assigned to the victim, and works alongside solicitors for the victim, and forensic doctors.
From the look of things, Bircham’s rape case was tried and discharged by the suspiciously dubious London Metropolitan police, instead of charging the rapist to court even after he had admitted to committing the crime, according to information shared by the victim. All rape cases should be tried in the law courts not at any police station. Victims should be given every support by listening to them, and made to feel that they are being protected and not selectively intimidated and victimized based on their racial diversity or skin complexion. 
In this wise, the erotic artist posits that “UK law system should give better treatment and protection to rape victims irrespective of their ancestral background, instead of victimizing them because they are not white.  A rapist must be treated as a rapist until the court says otherwise.  It is not the duty of police to determine the fate of any criminal.”
Basic common sense was enough to have made the London police know that all dangerous criminals like rapists should be held in prison until the date of their cases with solicitors. These are some of the conditions that the UK legal system should put in place for rapists.
In Bircham’s very candid view, she emphasizes that “I have been treated as if I am a criminal who had committed a crime for reporting a rapist to the police. My mistake was that I reported that I was raped by Olufemi Ali on the 24th June 2017. Apart from hanging on why I called the rapist to ask him his reason for raping me, as one of the dubious reasons for setting him free, the police discharged my case by conspiratorially using an inadmissible un-amended statement without the knowledge of my contact witness, who is my friend. 
“My friend (witness) told the police on phone that she felt that she had written something wrong in her statement. The officer, Det LP told her that she could amend any error in her statement when she comes back from a trip she made outside the UK that period.  My friend left the UK on the 20th of July 2017. Yet, the discharge letter that sets the rapist free was also written on the 20th of July 2017 and sent out to me by PC CA, after I received a call from PC CA. My friend’s right to correct the error she made was denied her.  
“She says that there is something more to the hasty discharge of the case than meets the eye. I also strongly reason along that line; otherwise, why did they discharge and acquit the rapist without waiting for the amendment of the witness’s statement? When my friend came back to the UK, she wrote to Det LP asking her why she had used her un-amended statement as one of the reasons to discharge the case. Afterwards, my friend got a phone call from PC AW. He told my friend to withdraw her statement, but she insisted that she will not withdraw her statement because she knows her rights.
“But out of the blues, the PC CA, then told my friend that they never quoted any part of her un-amended statement in the discharge letter. But my friend countered the PC CA by pointing out his lies, by telling him that she had seen the discharged letter and have read sections of her un-amended statement quoted in the discharge letter sent out to her friend  (me).
“By this time I had already draw the attention of my Councillor, MP, the Mayor of London and the high police commissioner D, to the issue. Suddenly, I received a letter from the DPS saying that they had received a letter from me, when I did not write any letter to the DPS or to the IPPC.
“The dubious letter showed a chart of the PC AW implicating himself in the letter. But I had told this policeman that I would write my own letter to the DPS when I was ready. He criminally went ahead and wrote a letter without my knowledge to the IPPC and implicated himself and DET LP by impersonating me through the fake letter he wrote.
From the foregoing, Bircham has released the can of worms of the London Metropolitan Police that handled her rape case. This calls the integrity of the London Police to question, as far as her rape case is concerned.
Pinpointing the criminality of impersonation by the police, Bircham says “PC AW robbed me of my right to write a letter to the IPPC, by impersonating me. I suspect he committed that criminal offence with the hope that they won't touch on the facts that he had committed perjury on the discharge letter by using un-amended document to discharge my case.”
Ruth Bircham looking well composed
The reason behind the perjury and impersonation could clearly be attributed to the police grand plan of denying the rape victim an opportunity to get her case reviewed as every rape victim has the right for her case to be reviewed. 
“The police perjury is further more horrible for depending on an un-amended witness statement and the digital media whereby I had written to Olufemi Ali (whose current name on facebook is Alifem Alifem) asking him why he raped me, including the text message with which I sent him my address before he raped me. And also the content of my facebook chat where I had accused him of being bad, are pointers to the conspiracy used by the police to discharge my case by halting it from receiving a hearing at a law court for trial. It therefore blocks opportunity to put a dangerous rapist in prison and prevent him from further capitalizing on using the social media to hunt for other unsuspecting victims to rape. I believe some type of corruption took place between the police and the rapist. The police compromised.”
The highly celebrated British erotic artist with large followership on social media also said the police added insult to her injury because, “The PC CA insinuates that my artworks and my profession was the cause for the rape that happened to me as he said ‘men think with their dicks.’

It is very essential that all rape victims should be assigned forensic doctors who examine the cervix for proof of the crime, solicitors to defend their legal and human rights, and counsellors to help them overcome the effects of the trauma. Unfortunately, none of these aforementioned experts is assigned to victims of rape in the U.K, which hypocritically prides itself as a kingdom of uprightness. Instead, rapists are given free of charge solicitors, while the victims of rape are not given such free legal service by the judicial system in the U.K.
To make matters worse for victims of rape, it is very difficult or almost impossible for them to get a solicitor to defend their right even when the victims are ready to pay for legal services of solicitors. One begins to wonder why many solicitors reject the handling of the cases of rape victims in the U.K. This attitude further frustrates victims of rape, and it seems the entire society is against the victims, while rapists are treated as kings of the land, parading freely to rape more females. It is insane.  
It is a shame that the UK which promotes itself as a kingdom of morality could support a rapist to go free to keep committing his crime on other unsuspecting females while the victim is blamed for falling prey. What hypocrites the UK and its police have proven to be!

END