Cover, Edition 175, March 8-14, 2009

Let’s Go Fishing

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
THE 2009 Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival will hold from March 11 to 14.
Besides being the first and major event heralding the 2009 tourism calendar of events of the country, its significance also touches on preserving the culture heritage of the people as well as boosting the socio-economic fortunes of the people.
The hosts and organisers –– the Kebbi State government; the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC); and a pack of sponsors –– are enthusiastic about the four-day tourism and cultural gathering.
This was gathered from the two separate media conferences held in the last few weeks to give details of the celebration. At the first forum held in Abuja last month, the Kebbi State governor, Alhaji Sa’idu Usman Nasmu Dakingari, spoke extensively about plans for the event.
And just last week, the deputy governor of the state, Ibrahim Aliyu, who heads the festival’s main organising committee, also led a team to Lagos to speak on the event.

IN Lagos, Elizade Toyota, the motor company supplying vehicles for the motor race had on display, a fleet of cars painted in the festival’s colours while Nigerian Brewery Limited (Maltina) and MTN have also shown their support.
As observed by someone at the event — ‘I hope say this blitz go also show face when we reach Argungu next (this) week.’
Aliyu promised that this year’s event would be remarkably different.
He stated that the approach adopted by the state government is that of public – private partnership, stressing that the reason is not only to ensure the active participation of all the sections of the society, but to completely hand over the staging and management of the annual festival to the private sector.
He also spoke of plans to restructure the entire processes of the event and expand the existing infrastructure. “We are also making arrangements to reconstruct, replace and upgrade the ageing structures at the Argungu Fishing Village under the same private – public partnership arrangements.
“We hope that by the time the re-organisations of the festival are completed, the festival will not only be made more attractive, but will be used to attract other activities, through out the year, in the state and the fishing village in particular,” he re-iterated.

OVER 16 different events have been lined up. These are the motor rally, which is to herald the festival. Others are archery, catapulting, cultural dances and music, agricultural exhibition, fish fair, traditional boxing and wrestling.
The Durbar event would also be re-enacted along horse race, Fulani cultural activities, kabanchi display, camel, donkey and bicycle races. There is also the grand fishing event holding at River Rima.
This actually is the most colourful and dramatic aspect of the festival with thousands of fishermen clinging to their gourds and fishing nets diving into the river at the same time. It is always a captivating scene to behold.


Historical Background
Historically, the festival is believed to predate the era of ‘Kanta’ — Mohammed Kanta — one of the most powerful and popular emirs of Argungu, whose influence and reign is said to have resounded round the region.
It used to be a local celebration, where the people gather to entertain themselves in different acts. However, it assumed a new dimension in 1934, when the then Sarkin Musulmi Sultan Hanssan Dan Mua’azu (Sultan of Sokoto) visited the community and a grand fishing festival was organised in his honour. The ceremony apart from being used to entertain the visiting Sultan, also served as a peace offering and a bridge to build good friendship between Sokoto and the Kabawa people, which before then had a fragile relationship. Since then, the festival, which has held annually except for a short break, has continued to hold the fancy of the people.
In terms of organisation and form, the festival has undergone a series of changes with new contents and formats introduced.
Today, it is about the only known cultural and communal event that has come to signpost the state, giving it a cultural identity that is a notch higher than most of the states in the country. If not for anything, the festival has huge potential; and if exploited beyond its present level can take the economy state higher.
Despite the inability of the people to latch on the festival, to build an enviable tourism product and destination for Kebbi, however, the cultural festival is believed to have contributed immensely to the infrastructural and socio-economic growth of Argungu town and its environs. It has also brought both national and international acclaim to the Argungu Emirate.
Events’ Billboard
Day One — Wednesday
National Archery: It’s a shooting competition using bows and arrows; and holds at the fishing village race course. The traditional hunters are the participants. A target range of 15, 20, and 30 meters will be set with the contestants lined up in one section to aim and shoot at the target one after the other. Local guitarists and praise singers (Makadan Gurumi) would buoy the contestants.
Catapulting: This would also take place at the race course and is a junior category of target shooting competition by young men, who practise day to day catapulting; a target is set by hanging an object at a distance range of 15, 20 and 30 meters respectively.
Cultural Display Competition: This is staged in the evenings with cultural troupes from different parts of the country in attendance alongside other cultural troupes from countries such as Niger Republic and Republic of Mali. This holds at the open-air theatre in the fishing village.
Day Two — Thursday
The morning session would feature Agricultural shows and trade fair to be followed by the flag-off of the motor rally while the afternoon session would witness such activities as Tug-of-war; animal skinning competition; traditional wrestling and boxing.

Day Three — Friday
The day begins with Kabanchi display (Water sports and games) while horse, bicycle, camel and donkey races would be in the afternoon; followed by the final laps of the motor race in the evening.
Day Four — Saturday
It is the grand finale, when the grand fishing competition will hold. It is indeed the climax of the four-day gathering with thousands of fishermen fishing in the river and expecting to take the coveted prize that would be given out later in the day.
Last year’s event was won by 28 years old Malam Bello Yau, who caught a fish weighing 65.95 kilogramme. However, his celebration was short lived, when he was discovered to have engaged in fraudulent practice by presenting a lifeless catch, which was undetected until the end of the event.
That was the first time of recording sharp practices in the history of the festival. To forestall future occurrence, the organising committee has set up a monitoring committee that will prevent people from getting to the river before the event.
Accessing Argungu
Argungu, venue of the feast can be accessed by road and air. Virgin Nigeria, which is one of the event’s partners, is providing air services during the festival. By road one can get to Argungu either from Sokoto or Birnin Kebbi, the capital city of Kebbi.
The Sokoto and Birnin Kebbi roads are in good condition and can be covered in less than one hour.

Arrested by music

BY CHUKS NWANNE AND ADEOLA OJEDOKUN
As younger brother of a popular Afrobeat artiste, Kola Ogunkoya, one would have expected Olufemi to feel at home with music, but that was not the case. Rather, he dreamt of becoming an international football star.
“I wasn’t interested in his music; in fact, that time, whenever he was rehearsing with his band, I saw it as a disturbance,” he recalls. “I didn’t just want to take anything music from him. I used to play football; I just wanted to be a footballer all my life.”
All that changed, when Olufemi encountered one of Kola’s trumpeters in action. By then, his brother, Kola, who tutored the trumpeter, had jetted out of the country.
“I saw him playing the trumpet, and I was like, ‘my brother plays this thing very well, let me even see if I can blow it.’ I went to the guy to tell him I wanted to try it out. He gave it to me and I played it well; I could play notes,” he says. “So, I decided to go into it and ever since I started learning to play trumpet, music took over every other things.”
Including football?
“No more soccer at all; music took away everything,” he harps.
What of your football boots?
“My boots… I don’t even know where I left it; music took over my life,” he says amidst laughs. “I mean, it’s like a drastic change; I just left it and started playing music, and music is everything to me.”

AT 24, Ogunkoya’s passion and love for Jazz moved him to MUSON Music School, Onikan Lagos, where he was formally trained in music.
Initially, Olufemi started playing trumpet for the Redeemed Christian Church Choir, then he moved on to saxophone, flute, trombone, piano…
“Basically, I play all wind instruments. I sing as well.”
Did you play with your brother’s band?
“Yes, I played with Kola’s band; I did one of the albums with him. I did the Sweetie Baby track with him, where I played the saxophone. In fact, I did the recording with him before I left for Johannesburg in 2005.”
Unlike most young Nigerians, who troop to South Africa for greener pastures, Olufemi’s mission to Madiba’s country was totally driven by music.
“Johannesburg is closer to the world; it gives every musician a chance to be seen. At a particular time, I felt music was dying in Nigeria, I felt potentials wasting; there and then, I saw the need to unleash my potentials and to show the world what I have or capable of doing.”
He continues: “I left Nigeria in 2005, basically for music reasons. I listened to music from the Southern Africa and I really loved their style of music. For me, I’ve got the root in playing Afrobeat and highlife, so, I wanted to fuse the Southern African music with Afrobeat and highlife from Nigeria.”

IN South Africa, the Mushin-brought up developed his skills on the saxophone to the level of having his own jazz band, playing at different events in Johannesburg. Today, the multi-talented artiste has become one of the amazing saxophonists desinous of making Africa proud with his Afro-Soul fusion; a blend of the West and the Southern African rhythm.
Through the thick and thin of music, Ogunkoya and his team have been able to win the hearts of Jazz music lovers in Johannesburg. Recently, their band was in Lagos, where they performed at the 2009 edition of the CAF Awards ceremony alongside Nigeria’s Ego, Sammie Okposo, P Square and South Africa’s Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
“I felt very elated to have been given the privilege to perform in Nigeria; it’s a memorable one indeed. I did the national anthem with Ego.”
How did you manage to get into the bill?
“The organisers of that event is a company from Johannesburg; Globacom is the sponsoring company, but True Colour Event Company was in charge,” he informs. “I’ve been working with them and they know me as a musician. So, they listed me alongside Chaka Chaka to perform.”

OLUFEMI’s long experiment in the music industry has culminated into his debut album, Just In Newstown, which he’s currently promoting.
On the album title, the saxophonist informs, “There’s a place called Newtown in Johannesburg; that’s where things happen, it’s a popular place. So, when I got there, I realised there’s this energy of music around the place; you find musicians playing all sorts of music there. So, I found myself in a new place; it’s just like a new place to me, where I started to grow and develop. It’s a new upbringing, so, I decided to call the album Just in Newstown.”
Describing music as a life-giver and food for the soul, Ogunkoya informs, “my inspiration comes from God and by simply listening to music.”
Having taken his music to Switzerland, Republic of Benin and Nigeria, performing at events, Olufemi’s ambition is to push his album into the international market, while working in collaboration with Freiza – a South African artiste alongside his plan to move steadily on his African Percussion album.
He will be grateful to work with artistes such as Hugh Masekela of South Africa.
“That will be great for me,” he says. “For Nigeria, I can’t really pick one for now.”

ON his busiest day, Olufemi gets up at 6:30am and runs through his morning devotion as a Christian, followed by routine rehearsals that usually last into the evening hours.
When relaxing, he enjoys reading books on true-life stories, biographies and autobiographies, while chilling outside with his saxophone.

Timeout with WAZOBIA FM chics

BY CHUKS NWANNE
A LAW graduate from the Lagos State University, Omotunde Adebowale David practised law for three years, before she switched to broadcasting, which she described as passion. And since she came on air, she has registered herself in the minds of listeners, especially now on the pidgin station, WAZOBIA 95.1, where she has irresistible presence. She first started with Radio Nigeria, Lagos, from where she moved to Radio1.
“I knew, I wanted to do broadcasting; I wanted to do radio, TV, and acting… do other things that are inside me that are art inclined,” she said, “I knew that; but I practised law a bit, because I didn’t want to start off from what I wanted to do without even giving Law a chance at all. Even when I was doing my project, I wrote on Performance Rights because that was the only thing I could really identify with, when I was in school,” she revealed.
Then, why study Law in the first place?
“Well, many of us are just creatures of our parents; they want us to do something because they think that something is good for you,” she noted. “But we all walk on our path as we grow older and are able to have independence. But broadcasting has always been the second nature for me.”
Many will be wondering what a ‘learned person’ is doing in a broadcasting house?
“It’s not about what you studied; anybody can work anywhere; what is an agriculturist doing in a bank,” she quizzed amidst laughter.
Probably they are looking for money?
“Better,” she harped.
There’s no money in broadcasting?
“It’s not as if there’s money; it’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do for life.”

OMOTUNDE’s broadcasting career had a break after her marriage, but not for too long.
“I got married and wanted to have children. I wanted to take all those things out of the way, so, that I could really concentrate on my career.”
With the break over, Omotunde returned to broadcasting, but this time in a very different medium and style.
“When I came, they said it’s a pidgin station, and I knew I’m a regular pidgin speaker like every Lagosian, but many of us have talents that we don’t even know exist; that’s why it’s always good to face challenges. No matter how difficult it is, if you put your heart to it, you will be able to go through it.”
She continued: “I came in for an audition and I guess my audition was really good, so, I was called and I found myself doing what has been in the inside of me. You know, WAZOBIA FM is a very creative station, it’s full of creative people; I mean people that you just can’t believe what will come out of their mind until they open it.”
Omotunde believes that working with different kinds of people influenced her performance as a newscaster and presenter in the station.
“I try to work with people from everywhere. I try to relate with all kinds of people; people that speak Warri pidgin, Yoruba pidgin, Ijebu pidgin… you know pidgin is not particular to anyone; you speak the one that is typical to you,” she noted. “That’s why I love pidgin because, you can create your own vocabulary—me, I fit say kampe, you fit say tanda, you fit say pere, somebody go say kponkwem, some people will say gbadu, somebody go say gbege…so, it’s a very versatile thing and it’s unending. So, you can create your own vocabulary as you go.”
How has it been working with the station?
“It’s been good, I’ve been doing it,” she sang.
For how long now?
“I will be a year in April.”
And you wanted to do TV?
“Actually, I did TV a bit; I’ve done a few presentations here and there. I did one campaign for OMO two years ago. I’ve done some Sitcoms; I did Adults Only (I played Iya Leja there). I’ve done a movie or two; I did a TV soap, but it’s not yet out.”
You know your audience sometimes imagine what you look like?
“That’s how it is. A lot of people, who listen to WAZOBIA FM wonder who Omotunde is; Omotunde is just a regular woman doing what she loves to do,” she said jokingly.
For those who think Omotunde just jumps behind the microphone and starts talking, the lawyer informs that it goes beyond that.
“Of course, everybody preps themselves. Before I come for my show, I know exactly what my show is going to be like; I know my elements, I know wetin to do. I write some things down, I do research, I listen to people, I read newspapers; you have to read and read, and keep reading,” she says.
Omotunde’s line of duty also involves translating news stories from English to pidgin.
“Our news is written in English, so, I have to transcribe it into pidgin; that means I have to read the news and understand what it’s trying to pass across and I have to make it as grassroots as possible. That’s why something like minister of transport, you hear me say, ‘minister wey dey in charge of wakament,’ because na him dey in charge of waka waka. So, I have to think of how pepper seller on the street, will understand you. So, you have to read and understand, and then translate on paper, before you jump behind the microphone to talk.”
Will Omotunde switch to another job or even return to the bench?
“This is my life; there’s no entrance, there’s no exit. It’s a way of life,” she sings. “I’m not doing broadcasting because it’s a job; I’m doing it because it’s something I love to do.
“WAZOBIA FM has really exposed me because I’ve always spoken English. It has given me a paradigm shift; I’m now doing pidgin — at any level — something I really did not ordinarily believe I could do. If you hear me speak English, you will be wondering, ‘ah, this madam fit yan pidgin.’ But when I come switch again, you will be wondering. It tasks my creativity and that’s what I love about it.”
You were somehow forced into studying law. What will happen if one of your kids opted to be a comedian?
“Ah! I’m an art mummy at home; my house is a singing and dancing home,” she quipped. “My husband is relatively creative in his own way; he’s quiet, but he’s very comic too. How can I… with all I went through with my parents?’ Anything any of them wants to do let them go ahead; the only thing I will ask you is, ‘are you sure that’s what you want to do? Who would have thought dance a couple of years ago will be this big? So, I wouldn’t stop my children at all, at all!”


Though a graduate of History and International Studies from the Lagos State University, Ehidiana, right from the beginning, has also shown serious interest in the arts.
For instance, as a history student, she was part of the Optimum Art Consortium directed then by Tunde Azeez. On graduation, she moved on to join the Gong Beat of Africa, a dance troupe based at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, from where she started building up her career as an artiste.
“Something actually made me study history, but that did not stop me from doing what I wanted to do,” she said. “In school, I used to shuttle from my department to dance rehearsal.”
How did you get into dance?
“It’s just something I was doing when I was small; I used to be a member of the dance group in the church — I drum and dance. Eventually, I continued in secondary school, even in the university, I was fully involved in dance.”
Along the line of dancing from stage to stage, Ehidiana dabbled into business, until Steve Onuh (Yaw) called.
“I used to travel to Ghana to buy fabrics to sell,” she said with laughter. “Yaw called me one day and said, ‘are you ready to work,’ and I said yes. He said to me, ‘you that’s always travelling; today Ekpoma, tomorrow, Ghana, next tomorrow Lagos–– you are Ajala travel,’ she says. “Later he said if I want to work, I should come to Etim Inyang for an audition.”
How was the audition?
“The audition was very interesting because I was expecting them to be formal. But it was so funny when I came and the GM was like, ‘babe, how far now, how you dey?’ He was just flowing in pidgin and that’s that. He asked, if I was going to answer my English name and that was how I came about using my native name, Ehidiana on air.”
Despite her love for the arts, Ehidiana never dreamt of becoming a broadcaster.
“I never thought of doing broadcasting; just the stage and the feel of it. But broadcasting… it was really far from it,” she said. “But now that I’m in it, I can tell you that I enjoy every bit of it because, it’s like me being on stage or TV; I still do the same crazy stuff, so, there’s really no difference for me. It’s my life; it’s what I love doing.”
Ehidiana recalled an encounter she had in a bus in Lagos while still working as a part time presenter with WAZOBIA FM.
“There was this lady in the bus that said, ‘ah, thank God for this station. At least, we can hear everything they are saying; not all those smi smi, they are always speaking on radio.’ That means everybody wants to understand what is being said on air.”
She continued: “For instance, I’m not good in Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa… any other language except my language, Ishan. Outside Ishan and English language; pidgin becomes the language with which I can communicate with people –– the aged, the illiterate and the literate; it’s something I speak in my house. You know, from my area, we speak pidgin a lot. So, coming to WAZOBIA to speak pidgin was not really a tough one.”
Though presenting in Pidgin English was a smooth sail, but translating English news to pidgin was tough for Ehidiana, the Edo State native.
“When I started, they gave me a script in English to translate into pidgin. Initially, it was not smooth; it was rough, but eventually, I got there. That was basically one challenge I had when I started. It’s really fun,” she said.
According to the dancer, who will likely be heading for the Port Harcourt branch of the station, it takes extra effort to be able to carry the audience along.
“Trying to source for topics could be very challenging; there are times I pick up the newspaper, those pages sometimes inspire me and I will tell Mashe, ‘let’s talk about this thing and see the people’s response.’ Sometimes, I will be walking on the road –– it may just be a signpost or sticker –– I will just pick it and discuss it with my listeners. Sometimes it may be something that happened between two people.”

IF you are a regular radio listener, you will surely agree that some callers could be very annoying with their comments, yet, Ehidiana sees it as part of the show.
“You just have to listen to them; that’s why you are there and that’s why you make them call you in the first place,” she says. “You have to be patient with them even when it doesn’t make sense.”
Notwithstanding, the presenter is of the opinion that comments by listeners are of utmost important to the development of the broadcaster.
“There are good listeners, for instance, if you just make one mistake, be rest assured that the next SMS will come from them,” she reveals. “Sometime ago… it was just a little mistake, though it wasn’t my fault; but as the one reading the news I have to accept it.”
What was the mistake?
“The guy that printed the news for me wrote 2008, and I just went on reading; I didn’t take note of that. After the news the call came, ‘eh, Ehidiana, you are taking us back, why? It’s not 2008; it’s 2009.’ You know, just little thing like that, they will want to correct you and that’s what I like about the audience because when you get such feedbacks, it helps you grow.”
But such comments could throw one off balance?
“Yes, it can make you fidget.”
It happened to you?
“Yes. Initially when I started reading the news, one guy was like, ‘eh, Yaw, who be dat girl wey dey air? Abeg make una comot am joo, which kin thing she dey read sef.’ And Yaw was like, ‘wetin be your own; she’s learning now; if I don’t give her room to learn, how’s she going to be strong.’ It sorts of brought me down, but Yaw will always say to me, “if you listen to them, you won’t survive.” Mashe too was of great help; she would call and say, “if they don’t do that, you won’t be strong,’ and that was it.”

DOES she intends to stitch to another radio station, possibly pure English station in future, Ehidiana says, “you know I didn’t really thought of doing broadcasting before, so, I don’t know if I’m going to any other station. For now, I really can’t say; it may just be my acting, dancing and so on.”
Are you saying you won’t fit into such stations?
“It’s not as if I’m not going to fit into other stations; definitely, I will. But the thing is, will I be able to express myself freely the way I’m now? That’s another question; I may be restricted to do some things, but in WAZOBIA, I’m not.”
In-between her broadcasting job, Ehidiana plans to do more of acting and dancing.
“Recently, I did a radio drama. City Sisters, one of the Sitcoms we did last year before I started work, is already on air. But the thing right now is that I need to get used to my work. With time, I may still start my business because I’m not going to depend on my broadcasting alone.”
You like business a lot?
“Even when I’m married, I won’t like to depend on my husband alone; I will like to contribute and the only way I can do that is by doing something on my own.”
You are lucky many people can’t put a face to your name, else, it would have been difficult doing buying and selling?
“I like it that way; that was why when the idea of using my native name came up, I really loved it because I didn’t want people to know that this is the same Rachael. But some people are just used to my voice; even when I try to fake it, they still catch me. There was even a time I mistakenly introduced myself on air as Rachael Ehidiana, and I was like, ‘oh, my God.’

This life of ‘techie’

GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
ON a breezy afternoon, Dele Odufuye sits comfortably in front of the computer. The atmosphere is calm, and the only noise is the buzz from the computer. He is enthusiastically touring the Internet regions; logging on sites offering new programmes and software. He is a young IT entrepreneur, trying to carve a niche for himself in the sector.
Early this year, he was feted at The Futures Award, as winner in the Best Use of Technology category.
Surprisingly, at the Awards, there had been a sudden surge of adrenaline. Many had reacted to the decision to give him the award back-to-back. Many had asked what was so special about him that he could win back-to-back.
These uninspiring vituperations did not change the fact that Dele is one of the oddest kinds of ‘techies’ to be with. At 10, he was already dreaming a world in computer. “Everything started about that age,” he says. He hardly leaves his computer for anything apart from food.

HOW does he feel winning the award back-to-back?
“ I feel fulfilled that within a year, I kept the trend of bringing out the best in what I do,” he says.
According to him, “the first year services were definitely different from that of this year. Apart from the services we render, we create products that are thought-provoking; and also, leveraging on the past award, we are engaged in social responsibility activities, for instance, organising mentorship programmes in secondary schools in Lagos and a couple of workshops and training for website designers and software developers for the general public, where many people enjoyed the programmes.”
Dele confides in his bemused guest. “My simple nature is largely dependent on how I was brought up. I hardly went out, always indoors; and apart from school, you wouldn’t find me outside.”
He says this trait has been maintained and as a computer person, you hardly see him outside. “The only relationship I have with the outside world is my computer,” he muses.
The computer geek does not feel guilty about his relationship with computer. In fact, it has made him very conservative.
“Everything about me is the computer. That’s the cause I believe in and my interest is to be part of a platform or create a platform, which will inspire young Nigerians making positive use of the internet/ technology — rather than porno and frauds on net. I believe and I dream that the next phase of technology should come from Nigeria,” he says. “People should buy their children computer games to help build their level of reasoning,”
Dele adds, “You like it when we are both lazing and gisting, I play guitar at my spare moment. I have mine, so, when I’m less busy, I play it. In fact, the strings of guitar turn me on. If I need to unwind, I just sleep.”
“Me? Watch TV? No, the only thing I do to keep abreast is to listen to news on radio. I’m very stale with music, prefer the old one, not the new generation songs. And really, when it is past news time, I switch off my radio, I then make do with newspapers,” he says.
His kind of person? “In between — to my friends, I’m an okay guy, but for those who are meeting me for the first time, they say I’m an introvert and shy person. It depends on the person to choose.”

HIS love for the computer is a recompense for the gifts his parents bought him years ago. “My parents engaged us in computer Games on holidays, long ago. That was when computer was not very common. Then, computer was just being introduced as a course in my junior secondary school. Basically, I picked interest in the subject than any other one,” he sings.
Perhaps, a shocking release. Dele did not read computer science or even informatics in school. He studied Environmental Management and Toxicology at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB); however, his interest in the computer never stopped.
Two years before he left school, he started working part time for an IT company in Lagos. So, he was able to marry the school and work together.
According to him, “immediately after school, I founded my company, Tsaboin Tech World, and I have been working since then.”
So, what engages his time at Tsaboin?
“We are into building Internet/Intranet application and also business process automation. We have a product that major in photography services — photesteem— so, basically, photography is not a hobby to me. We also manage a social network site called TSARITE — a Nigerian based social network site,” he says.

DELE believes that IT literacy level, compared to the population is lamentably low in Nigeria. To him, the government is trying, as the rate at which it is increasing is geometric, “so, we can say we are moving forward. Five years ago, how many people were able to access the Internet compared to now? The good part is that the idea of computer is no longer strange, but the accessibility is still low. In other words, the dream of having one-person-per computer is still far from being realised,” he says.
What books does he read?
“I read a lot of Christian Literature, business books and Business/IT magazines.”
The book he is actually reading now is Success is Who You are by Sam Adeyemi. “But my favourite is The Richest Man in Babylon. The most inspiring thing is that if you apply it in your financial life, it works as expected in the book and I can recommend it to anyone.”

WHO would he love to meet?
“Steve Jobs,” he replies. “I’ll rather meet him than Bill Gate. He is an open source person — any programme/ software released on Internet, where other developers have access to the source code to recreate, modify or upgrade. Currently, Microsoft is not close to that. The person next to that is Michael Jackson, he is just unique in every way.”
His role models(s)? He has five, who fall within different job categories. “For IT, it is Steve Jobs; Entertainment and Life is Dele Momodu, while Business is Jim Ovia. And you know one thing about Jim and I? We are not too tall. For Success it is Sam Adeyemi and Achievement is Wole Soyinka. These are the people that inspire my creativity,” he says.
The computer geek, who believes in retributive justice, says that in life, it is better to sow a good seed. That’s why the best practical advice he will give anybody is to work hard. “Hardwork always pays off,” he explains.
Dele attended Ogun State Polytechnic Primary School, Abeokuta and African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta, for his secondary education. His tertiary education was at
UNAAB.

Mission to save street girls

BY CHUKS NWANNE
Initially, she was introduced to me as a gospel artiste, but from our discussion, there’s more to Ebele Nwuzor than just singing on stage.
“Music is a cut away from what I do,” she says smiling. “I run a Foundation that discourages prostitution. We also have some other sections of the Foundation that is into childcare…basically for the less privileged. But the one closer to my heart, is the prostitution thing.”
For Ebele, the mission is to take prostitutes off the streets and make them useful to themselves and the country in general, through her Sympathy Worldwide Foundation.
“We have a lot of beautiful girls on the street, and we are depending on God to help us pull them out of the street, rehabilitate them and probably give them back to the society; I believe they have a lot to offer,” she says.
But why is the Anambra State native so much interested in sex hawkers, who seem to be having the fun of their lives?
“It was God’s inspiration coupled with my passion to save the girls because I grew up in a home that almost exposed me to prostitution,” she quips.

BELMON, as she’s popularly known, lost her father at the age of two, and the burden of training the six children of the family fell on the mother. “He left a young lady of about 23 to cater for six children; I’m the fifth and the last girl. As a young girl growing up, a lot of people will tell you, ‘oh, you are a fine girl.’ And if you have limited resources to bring out what you believe is inside of you, you will be wooed by men into prostitution.”
Are you saying you’ve been in such situation before?
“Of course I have,” she says. “I’ve been in the middle many times and it was like, ‘where do I go from here?’ And the only option was prostitution. But if you are somebody that places value… if you have value for yourself, that’s the first thing that will discourage you from prostitution.”
According to the History and Humanities graduate from the University of Calabar, a good number of the girls go into prostitution as a result of poor value system.
“Of course they don’t have value for themselves,” she says. “You first of all need to understand that you are a woman. From that point, you ask yourself, ‘whom do I give my body to?’ I’m not saying don’t have a boyfriend — it’s a different thing. But your body should go to somebody you adore, and somebody that adores you in return. From there, anything can spark up,” she notes. “But to stand on the street and say, ‘I’m ready for Charlie; I’m ready for Peter; I’m ready for Paul, I’m ready for James… that’s not placing value on you.”

DESPITE all the challenges, Ebele was able to hold herself throughout the university, to the extent of having a foundation for other ladies, who unfortunately fell out of the way due to hardship.
“One of the hardest foundations to run is the one that deals with commercial sex hawkers because they are addicted to what they do,” she says ruefully. “Pulling someone out of the addiction takes a whole lot of resources; they don’t even believe they could come out of it; even when they do, the other side of life seems to be very boring to them. As I said earlier, with passion and perseverance, we will restore them.”
She continues: “I believe in what I’m doing, and I’m focused. It’s very discouraging especially in a situation where you don’t have people encouraging you. Everywhere we turn to they tell you, ‘oh no, anything from Nigeria, we don’t want to be involved.’ So, you don’t seem to have sponsors; even when you tell people what you do, they will be like, ‘ah, I’m scared, I can’t go into that.’ You need to have a large heart to do this. You must understand in life that everything you do is one step at a time; you can’t change the whole world at the same time, but you can change one person that can change others.”

REGISTERED with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2003, the Foundation, which has an office in Lagos, is struggling to provide the girls with a home.
“Most times, because we don’t have shelter to house some of the girls we’ve been able to pull out, they tend to go back. Sometimes when they go back, they don’t go to their former state, they change location and it becomes more challenging. But then, we keep doing it with the hope that one-day, we will have a hostel for them.”
On the Foundations mode of operation, Ebele informs, “We talk to them and try to bring them out.”
Do you go to them?
“Yes, I go to their brothel myself; I do; I try to be their friend.”
How was the experience?
“It’s not fun at all because you come to talk to someone, who has been smoking marijuana (Igbo) or alcohol; and you are going to disturb their peace, ‘who are you?’ If you are not careful, they will break your head,” she says. “But most times, you go as their friend; you don’t even need to tell them anything. Just keep visiting and after sometime, they will be interested in you.”
Sometimes, she’s attacked.
“I’ve been attacked, but it was not too aggressive; at least someone has once told me ‘stop disturbing my peace.’ But I take it to be one of those challenges.
“For instance, I was in Hearts Exclusive Club, FESTAC, Lagos, three weeks ago, and I was able to get two girls; they gave me their names, but you know they always change names,” she discloses. “Through one of them, I was able to get to their brothel, where I discovered a lot of them. So, right now, I’m working on four of them.”
From her personal savings, Ebele intends to put a roof over the four girls.
“I intend to move them gradually without letting each know that the other is moving. There’s a particular one that is more homely; I intend to move her to my house. I’m planning to get an apartment for the rest, but you still need somebody to stay there and oversee them. So, everything goes down to getting a hostel for them.”
Aside getting the girls our of the brothels, the Foundation is also trying to provide something through which they can earn a living and stay away from prostitution.
“I am trying to get a job for one of them. One of them has indicated interest in singing and since I sing, I intend to take her along while another has shown interest in sewing; I’ll send her to a friend, who has a fashion house,” she pledged. “So, it’s when you get closer to them that you discover their talent. We help them to push on without letting people know what they were –– if they dress well, you will never find out what they were.”
Where does the money come from?
“I deny myself dresses and comfort to keep the girls.”
So, you deny yourself sometimes?
“Of course I do,” she says. “For the past few days, I did… there are things you do and after you ask yourself, ‘did I really do this?’ The money I spent in the past two days, if anyone had told me I was going to spend it, I would not have believed it. But I did it because, someday, it’s going to pay off. Pay off in the sense that you will see the tears of fulfillment coming down your cheeks, then you look and say, ‘oh, I’ve finished this work.”
According to the initiator, her decision to set up the foundation has nothing to do with amassing wealth.
“I’m putting my money; it’s all about my money, there’s no other sponsor. As I’m talking to you now, I’ve not received a Kobo from anyone in form of sponsorship,” she said. “It’s not because people are going to appreciate you; well if you are going to have all that, glory be to God. But because you look at some job that is finished; a life that is headed towards destruction and you took part in bringing them back, there’s nothing as rewarding as that.”
Though music was the last thing on Ebele’s mind, today, it has become one of her major tools in the foundation.
“Sometimes, I play free for students, after which I mentor them on how to avoid social vices. I’ve always wondered how people write songs; it’s like a mystery to me,” she muses. “But how I wrote up to eight tracks for my album, Emio, I can’t explain. In fact, I never wanted to associate myself with anything music. Those days, in the university, I used to see people wake up and go to theatre to dance; and I will be wondering why. But later on, I began to write, and I’ve started jumping on the stage too. But it’s all about the passion I have for the foundation.”