JULY IN NSUKKA

Ice-chilled and damp

My surrounding was almost unfamiliar.

My old cardigan I wore and a cup of whisky in my throat down,

Down with hunger but to step outdoor I was afraid.

It had been raining all weeks and days.

Works abandoned in the farm

No man works under constant rain and cold

It kills with fever.

Trade was slow and unusual

Too many things are not selling out

Beers and sachet water not sold out as usual

Bread and pastry thin out

The only thriving market is usury

The market was full, muddy and slow

Traders talking in small groups ‘cause no business as usual.

They were clad in heavy wooly cloths.

Church attendance thins down

Many a church is in the open or poor shades.

Pastors mustn’t die;

They must preach door-to-door,

They should live by the gospel those that preach it,

And ‘cause of July souls mustn’t go to Hades.

Towards the end of July we saw the sun

Bright and bright

It brought life

Life to life

There were smiles

And sales

There were stories and merries

For the sun not the rain

Washes out tears.

© Osy Ugwu

31^st July, 2013.

At Nsukka

HAPHAZARD THOUGHT: NS’KKA DEJE!

By Osy Ugwu

osyugwu@gmail.com

As the year draws to the end, it is pertinent for us to look back on certain things and appraise ourselves. In this piece, we are going to look into those little things that confront us today in Nsukka that will certainly define where we’ll be tomorrow and too improve our standard of living in no mean way. Even though there were several things that pepped us up throughout the year, there were others that sapped our morale but nevertheless left us with a food of thought.

First thing first! Let’s take a cursory look into Enugu State politics. As far as now is concerned, we are first from the rear. Forget the few that are privileged to be part and parcel of the state politics. What matters is who occupies the apex position and since this political dispensation, we are yet to get there.  It appears Nsukka is jinxed. Not that we don’t have what it takes but we are engrossed in building individual political dynasty. No one wants to give way to the other and at the end we align with outside forces instead of coming together to make a head way. This has been our problem and till date we have failed to acknowledge that. And to say, our dream of becoming a state has been hampered by this our inability to form a common front.  We act like phlegmatic in face of politics. We are only powerful in local government level.

It is now a subject of small talks that Nsukka will produce the next governor of the state. The governor even openly confirmed his resolution to have an Nsukka man in the Lion Building come 2015 in the Town Hall Meeting at Nike Lake Resort on 29^th May 2013 as reported in Sun Newspaper of August 19, 2013. . This stems from what he chose to refer to as ‘zoning’ in PDP. We shouldn’t forget that power is won not given. Therefore, how are we priming ourselves to cease this opportunity given to us as we have a couple of forces with and outside PDP to contend with? A giant force stands out – a flamboyant force that demands a lot of attention.

It is a conventional wisdom that otu onye adighi akari oha but these days, one can never tell. Otu onye has started turning into oha and oha has clownishly metamorphosed into otu onye. This is the reason Ike Ekweremadu is a flamboyant force. Many may disagree on this and ask how influential Ike is. True his name may be missing in TIMES 2013 list of 100 most influential people on earth but he is quite a name. Perhaps he used his influence to even drop his name from the list. We should not be in a haste to forget that had it been Ike and his cohorts at the National Assembly did acknowledge the updated version of the document for Adada State creation submitted, maybe by now we’ll would been declared.... Words are not enough!

I must remind you that Ike is not only the senator out there. Even among the rumoured people that have interest in contesting for the seat from Enugu North Senatorial district is a senator. Believe you me, Ike has touched a lot of lives out there and the masses will go all out to vote for him should he declare an interest in the seat. Yeah, the masses are always looking out for one who can deliver the democracy dividend to them.  This goes a long way to ask the people that have been representing us in different levels how they have used their position to bring smile on the faces of Nsukka people. This is not a question of littering the whole streets of Nsukka with eateries, hotels and beer parlours to eat and drink ourselves sick. It is not a question of how many youths you have helped to get job as taskforce in the local government but in federal level.  It is not a question of how many houses you’ve built.  It is not a question of how many times you’ve visited us in a helicopter. It is not a question of how many people you’ve used your influence to swindle. It is not a question of how helpless you made the masses look with you re-election when they didn’t vote you. It is a question of how many industries emerged in Nsukka because of you. It is a question of how many youths you gave scholarship or helped in their search for definition of self, etc. It is a question how far you’ve used the confidence the masses reposed on you to bring them access to basic things of life.

 The bottom line is that as a people, we’ve to come strong and together and form the proverbial oha that is always stronger than otu onye in order to cash in on the benevolence of Gov. Chime and other well-meaning Enugu people that want us to produce the next governor of Enugu state. We need to have a round table discussion so that we witness less posters and bills of Nsukka people clamouring for the seat and unnecessary political prostitution. Every person mustn’t lead. Even though somebody must lead but it mustn’t be you. If you lose, support the winner to make Enugu better. If you’ve been there, give others chance no matter how much you’re loved. Remember greedy people like Chris Ngige always have a fate befall them. You cannot be in power forever. Take lessons from Nelson Mandela. Think right. Think Nsukka. Think Enugu State. Ns’kka dejeenu!