Welcome to Ikenna Ugwu's Blog

Nigeria continues to bleed from the piercing, cruel claws of her sentient venality. In spite of what is read on the pages of newspaper, the disgusting smell and stench of a dying, or is it dead economy hits us in the face every day. It is a pricking reality.   Did you vote in last general election? Unfortunately, your answer, whatever it is, does not vindicate you neither does it immune you from the harsh reality. We are in it together. This is why we must all be active and political; we must be part of the process. The saying that it’s always ugly before it gets beautiful has been used to justify the characteristic slow pace of governance of current administration. But beauty, I insist, does not appeal to the dead. It is the living that appreciates beauty. So, while we still breath, it is pertinent that we make conscious attempt at inspiring the kind of change we desire.

It’s Sunday. I hope you went to church. I did. You may agree, that going to church  doesn't  make us good people. However, it does help to keep us on track; to continue in the very essence of our creation: to know him, and to worship him…. I’m learning to be carefree, sort of. That’s what the Gospel, as read today, enjoins me to do – “Do not let your heart be troubled…”. But how realistic is this? Can I really, ever be worry-free? I live in a strange clime. There’s always a reason to worry. No, it is more appropriate to say ‘concerned’ not ‘worry’. After church today, I sit (and would later hunch over my laptop) to review few incidents that occurred in the past week of which I feel concerned. I will tell you about them. I choose only two. First , during the week, I read how Nigeria’s political fraternity, the ones you call elites gathered in Minna. It was a gathering of the high and mighty, of predatory characters, you know, like vultures. Former head of state,

When someone says you are poor, it does not necessarily mean you have a tag of indigence dangling from your neck; lacking food, water or roof over your head and other 'very' basic necessities of life. Poverty too, is the lack of power and choice, especially in a democracy. Last Saturday, Nigerians woke to the dispiriting news of Tuface yielding to pressure; and consequently cancelling the proposed (eagerly awaited by many Nigerians) "one voice protest" that was to hold across major cities in the country. The music maestro was on the verge of making incredible statement, until he burst the bubble that Saturday morning.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo ordered for made-in-Aba shoes, and the media went agog. It is not his fault. The media is just so perpetually and unrepentantly clung to the conventional news values of "prominence"; because Obasanjo is involved. It is a ridiculously crazy situation, and the media can be much more responsible and creative. Oh, another news value - "unusual-ness." Because in our clime, it is actually unusual, if not impossible for a "big man" to buy or wear locally made products. "Big men" don't wear local stuffs. No, even the very sense and impression of wearing a made-in-Nigeria clothe or shoe is demeaning. Have you heard the parlance "Aba-made" of "Igbo-made" before? When they say your shoe is Aba-made, it has a social stigma attached to it. It's something that places you a little lower than where you know you belong, makes you feel a little less human. Just because it is made-in Aba, because it

Intelligence is a unique feature in every human, the variation, however, is in the conscious, accurate or otherwise application of it. One is not just intelligent because of his physical attributes, not even the size of his brain; it is, in the most realistic sense, because of the quality which that intelligence displays. I consider Uzoamaka Doris Aniunoh intelligent for the incisiveness in her Balcony story. You may not have heard about Doris, probably you may not even think she is capable of anything. But I tell you of truth, Doris is likely another Nigerian literary topnotch on the rise. Through art man is able to imitate, supplement, and in some cases even counteract the course and works of nature. And that underscores his incontestable brilliance and wittiness. One of the benefits and beauties of literature is that through it we are able see ourselves, our world, as in a mirror, and review our lives. And “Balcony” a succinctly brilliant story by Doris - a sure literary