RiverNaija

There has been much backlash towards Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘feminist’ views, as well as towards her tasteless style of performance. Chimamanda Adichie Chimamanda Adichie Photo Credit:Huffington Post I have, until now, wanted to stay out of the debate, mainly because of her arguments being pathetic as opposed to well-thought-out. But as the conversation has grown on social media—it seems to linger eternally, for Adichie keeps fuelling it with her well-timed, divisive remarks—I realise thoroughly the significance of the debate per se, and the need for me to partake in it. I should mention here that because of certain factors I consider myself well-positioned to examine and to present opinions on the matters in question. 1) The first is that the Igbo culture of south-eastern Nigeria, which Adichie constantly attempts to exploit to support her positions, is equally mine. 2) I left Nigeria to study and settle overseas at about the same age as Adichie. I left Nigeria for Fi...

Ever wish you had the answers to a test before you walked into the classroom? Maybe some of you did have the answers, but you better keep that to yourself. I took some really hard tests during my college tenure. An engineering curriculum will do that. And if you spent time in college you remember review days. The professor would walk into a class full of students (some of which I had never seen) and give some insights about the impending test. Miss review day, and it would be foolish to expect a passing grade. But it never failed. I would follow the guideline. I would study the handout. But on the day of the exam, the professor would put the exam on my desk…and there it was. A foreign formula or equation I had never seen. At least one I did not see on the study guide. Looking back, I realize something…the teacher did not intend for the study guide to be comprehensive. It was simply not possible to include everything from the required reading, class notes, and lectures. Such is the case...

Does your mental soundtrack go anything like this? ‘’I don’t want to go out tonight, but Mike will think I’m boring if I stay in.’’ ‘’I can’t wear these same shoes I wore last week again – people will think there’s something wrong with me.’’ ‘’I’m over-committed already, but how can I say no to John? He’ll think I don’t like him.’’ ‘’I’d be really refreshed by taking a day off just to do what I like … but my colleagues will think I’m just being lazy.’’ When we were kids, we didn’t have many things to worry about. We saw adulthood as a place of amazing freedom: when you’re an adult, you can do the things you like and go to places you like. Yeah, so much freedom But somehow, by the time we reach adulthood, this world of vast possibilities has narrowed. We go to tertiary institution, because that’s what everyone else is doing. Then we look for a sensible, entry-level job, because that’s what everyone else is doing. Pretty soon, we think about getting a house, getting a better car, workin...

By Uche Igwe :- Nigerians find it very difficult these days to trust others and even themselves. Corruption, dishonesty and cheating have become the rule of the game rather than an exception to the rule. It has permeated all sectors of the economy. In anything you are doing with anybody, you must remain vigilant, literally with one of your eyes open except you want them to undercut you. The country has become so corrupt that a majority of the people now believe that it is the only way to survive. If you decide not to cheat, you will lose out. It is a game of the smart– each person trying to outsmart the other. Some people say that it is a cultural thing. I disagree, in indigenous Igbo culture, those who have questionable wealth are ostracised and their children will hardly get married. I suspect that white collar jobs i.e. civil service and politics changed everything. At a time, it was only those who worked with the colonial masters and who collected taxes and rents who could afford...

by Lekan Sote :- That German friend, in his halting English, has a new theory: Nigeria, with its immense resources, is lumbering instead of soaring, because its people aren’t critical in their thinking. Nigerians usually fail to subject ideas, actions and their results, to rigorous scrutiny and careful analysis. He believes that Nigerians, otherwise a brilliant lot, avoid the tedium of deep critical analysis, due to intellectual laziness, or sentimental considerations. You may agree with him when you consider the blighted Nigerian economic and political landscape. Though they have the head-knowledge, Nigerians would shun simple management tools, like a decision-table quadrant of four sections, each showing actions that match the conditions therein. This idea comes from linear programming, a mathematical method for matching resources to tasks. Management students who run elementary SWOT Analysis – an assessment of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, of a business ent...

By Basil Enwegbaram Since his ouster from the Garden of Eden ended his free lunch, man has lived and consumed the product of man’s labour. Since plundering is the shortest way to avoid the pain of labour, man has been doing everything to plunder others. In his famous book, ‘’The Law,’’ Frederic Bastiat, renowned French economist and politician, argued, ‘’Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labour, by the ceaseless application of his faculties to national resources…. But it is also true that man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labour of others. This process is the origin of plunder.’’ I will confess here that what I have been trying to convince the reader is to agree that like precious imperial powers, the US used its power to pursue its narrow national interests. And the dollar’s de facto reserve currency power has since 1945 been used to plunder the world’s vast wealth. To continue acting as the world central bank forcin...

They are the real pleas of God. It is not a call to kneel down and pray until God comes down from heaven and remove the broken car in the middle of an unlit Lagos-Benin road. Removing the car is the only way to avoid an accident that will happen despite the fact that the occupants of an approaching jeep prayed for hours before they left their home in FESTAC.In the middle of Lagos- Benin expressway, before the Ore junction, sits a rusty disabled car with a partially burnt-out engine. It has been there for weeks, abandoned by the owner and by the state. There is no light where the car rests, yet thieves have managed to visit at night and extract anything of value in the car. Meanwhile, at their home in FESTAC, a patriarch and his family are preparing to travel to Onitsha. They have packed their luggage and taken them into their Honda Pilot jeep. They pray for God to grant them safe trip. The parents speak in tongues and the children sing choruses. Their neighbors and friends come ou...

One of the most brutal and painful reality about life is that we cannot be here forever, hence we are compelled to make decisions on the best use of time since there is time and season for everything under the sun. Quite as expected, we also live with the consequences of our choices, which many of us may not like, especially when we feel there is a gap between what we spend time on and those things that are deeply important to us. Putting first things first is an issue at the very heart of life. Life is a great challenge; and the most important resource that must be well utilised is time, which is intricately tied to our mental well-being. As we navigate through the seasons of life, the pertinent question with grave consequence on our mental health is how best we had used our time. The unfortunate thing about time is that once expended, it cannot be recalled. Our struggle to do the best within the framework of time compels us to harmonise two powerful tools that direct our lives...

Are you in your thirties or probably in the twilight of your twenties? Then this article is for you. For some of us who are in the twilight of our thirties, it’s easy to look back and wish there were things that we did that we probably should’ve done better or things that we perhaps shouldn’t have done. There are also things we should have done that we did not do. These are financial missteps that younger people must avoid making. I have picked out some. Avoid depending on one source of income Whether you are an entrepreneur or employee, an alternative source of income is always a welcome financial buffer. This becomes even more important in your thirties, when the demand of bills and other financial commitments bites harder. In your thirties, you have age on your side, experience and wisdom to take on other jobs, investments or businesses that can help augment your cash flow. Avoid not having an emergency fund An emergency fund is a dedicated savings account that caters for a...