Oru East, Yearning for Rescue

ORU EAST, YEARNING FOR RESCUE

    As Imo North Senatorial District is currently wearing a pathetic physiognomy at the federal level, the famous and proactive Oru East Local Government Area (LGA), among others, is indeed not unlike an arena that’s gradually approaching a state of extinction at the state level. The fate of the former, which is synonymous with that of the latter, is even bearable or far better because each LGA in the said district, except Isiala Mbano, could currently boast of a representative at the Federal House of Reps which is a federal legislature as well as the Imo House of Assembly.

    The last time I painstakingly checked, Oru East LGA was earnestly crying for a messiah that would arrest the heart of the electoral umpire towards ensuring that a state assembly election is hastily conducted without further ado. I seriously felt for the LGA the moment I observed the unspeakable scenario not just that I’m part and parcel of the constituency, but simply because I understood the gravity of the implications of suchlike lapse.

     In case we have forgotten, or for the sake of those who may presume I’m speaking or writing in Latin, presently Oru East LGA cannot boast of or doesn’t have a representative at the Imo State House of Assembly. This experience was occasioned by the judgement issued by the Appeal Court of Nigeria few months back; the said verdict nullified the result of the election that produced Hon Nkenna Nzeruo as a Member representing Oru East State Constituency, instructing the INEC to reschedule a fresh election in respect to that.

     It’s imperative to acknowledge that it isn’t only Oru East that’s passing through such fate; other LGAs in the state such as Owerri West and Isiala Mbano are equally wearing similar shoes. One may wonder how these constituencies are coping right now as regards governance. While you wonder, I’m deeply thinking if they were created to experience such ordeal; but on the contrary, I’m not of the view that anyone or thing was created to suffer.

    The awaited rerun polls were earlier scheduled by the INEC to hold on Saturday 20^th February 2016 but were outrightly cancelled unannounced barely twenty-four hours to the polls, and therein postponed indefinitely. Till date, the affected Imolites are yet to hear not even a whisper from the electoral umpire on the new date for the polls. Pathetically, the INEC is not showcasing any indicator regarding the awaited election. Frankly, this attitude of the INEC isn’t just annoying but astonishing and mind-blogging.

    The members of Oguta State Constituency would testify how it pinches if any constituency is deprived of such right, because they were rightly in similar shoes during Gov Okorocha’s first tenure. During their time, the circumstance really told on them, just to say the least. Without being told, any rational being could sense how painful and troubling it is for one’s prerogative to be abused. In other words, sometimes some sermons aren’t consequential toward convincing people on how you feel as regards a certain unbearable situation that abruptly befell your person.

     Right now, Oru East is ostensibly like a forgotten monument situated along an ancient pathway that leads to an outdated junction. It’s undoubtedly a pity to realize that a locality reckoned to be part of the engine room of Imo State, the Eastern Heartland is presently relegated to the background in the state in question, just like an interestingly beautiful old woman. Of course, a pretty aged woman who was irresistible during her youthful stage may have lost the attention of all and sundry at this moment of her old age as she lies pitiably in her Deck chair.

     Someone who truly cares for Oru East ought to comprehend that she’s seriously crying foul, thus seeking for a compelling rescue. In fact, I’m perplexed; suffice it to say that I don’t know the apt words I would use to express what the entire people of the said constituency are experiencing at this point in regard to governance. Their space at the Imo Assembly is obviously vacant, thus no one speaks for them or on their behalf.

     At a point, I was tempted to sue INEC but when I realized how long the proposed court proceeding might last, I refrained from the candid motive. Considering what’s at stake, it’s needless to insinuate that someone or a group somewhere is inciting the electoral umpire against the harmless electorate; rather, anyone can categorically assert that the INEC is derailing. No doubt, there’s something fishy going on.

     The truth is that, we can’t continue like this. Surely, Oru East of all people cannot be relegated to the background like a quack soccer team. For the umpteenth time, Oru East is politically old and mature to be treated like a coward. Why the predicament is very cumbersome is because it isn’t telling only on the indigenes of Oru East LGA but the entire Imo State; even the governor of the state in the person of Owelle Rochas Okorocha can boldly attest this assertion. I don’t intend to exaggerate, but Oru East without a legislator at the Imo House of Assembly is apparently not unlike Imo State without a legislature. Maybe someone needs to think about it.

     But, come to think of it; what’s actually happening to us? Why does everyone appear docile in spite of the enormity of the dangers inherent in the ongoing crisis? This is really appalling and bilious, hence totally unacceptable. Someone shouldn’t wait to be reminded of his/her civic responsibility. When your right is being shortchanged or infringed, it’s your prerogative to stage a protest or better still keep crying until you are attended to. If you don’t shout, no one would feel how aggrieved you are. Thus, sometimes noise is highly consequential and extremely rational.

     But, is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) truly independent as its name implies? I’m beginning to have a rethink with regard to its modus operandi or the principle on which it was founded. Even if the commission is on relegation, its officials ought not to be notified that issues concerning emergency are expected to be handled as such.

     At this juncture, I call on the Imo State government, particularly the state’s legislature, to call INEC to order before it’s too late. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador 

  

Heartland FC in Distress

HEARTLAND FC IN DISTRESS

     The last time I checked, the famous Heartland Football Club (FC) of Owerri otherwise known as the ‘Naze Millionaires’ were really seeking for an urgent attention from the apt quarter considering their performance in their recent outings in the ongoing 2015/2016 season of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).

     If you have been following the aforementioned championship (NPFL), you would observe that the club has been inconsistent in all ramifications, thereby dampening the morale of its teeming fans. Aside its ‘win and loss’ syndrome, the players have been into ‘fumbling and wimbling’ bargain. These among other pressing issues require to be adequately considered with a view to making amends where necessary.

     Taking a walk down the memory lane: when the team was founded forty years ago, in 1976 precisely, as Spartans FC, the state was of the view that she had gotten a football team to reckon with not just in Nigeria but worldwide; and since then, the club has been making remarkable waves in the Nigeria’s football terrain and sports generally. It consecutively remained the Nigerian football Champion for four years, from 1987 to 1990 when it was called Iwuanyanwu Nationale. Moreover, Heartland FC remain one of the two Nigerian teams that have never been relegated since they came on board.

     In 2006, the Imo State government thought it wise to reclaim the ownership of the club having leased it to the private sector in 1985 because she realized the socio-economic implications of the state government not being able to boast of a functional senior soccer team. In this regard, the government isn’t meant to be reminded that a special attention must at all times be paid to such sector, let alone this period that diversification of every state’s IGR sources remains a public discourse.

    At the commencement of the ongoing NPFL, Heartland FC started woefully by recording a losses or goalless in all the matches played with their counterparts including Warri Wolves, Wikki Tourist, Abia Warriors, and Akwa Utd Football clubs, respectively; the most painful of these was the one they played at home with their neighbouring counterpart, Abia Warriors FC that ended 1-0, precisely at the Dan Anyiam ten thousand Capacity Stadium, Owerri. This, among other troubling matters was what prompted the quest to substitute the team’s then Technical Adviser and Chief Coach in the person of Bethel Orji. To this end, the present Coach, Alphonsus Dike was contracted to handle the team.

     In addition, new players such as Emeka Achilona from Dolphins FC (now Rivers Utd), Longi Obadiah from El-kanemi Warriors, Egor from Giwa FC, and Adeleye Anukaye from IfeanyiUbah FC, were pumped into the team to boost its morale and efficiency. The moment Mr Dike resumed duty as the team’s Chief Coach, everything automatically changed positively as if a messiah has come. Unfortunately, thereafter an inconsistency as regards the performance of the players set in unannounced; they would win a match, and subsequently they would willingly settle for a loss or draw and vice-versa.

      Obviously, the wins so far were recorded only in the six matches they played at home, indicating that their powers only lie at the Dan Anyiam Stadium. The one that baffled me most was their outing against the bottom placed Ikorodu United FC on Saturday 30th April 2016 at the Onikan Stadium, Agege, Lagos State, which ended 3-1 in favour of the latter, though Zoumana Doumbia bagged a Red Card but that wasn’t enough reason. I noticed, the moment Anthony Oussou scored the early goal, they all went to bed as if the match was over. Why I was deeply hurt by the outcome of the match was because I, being a staunch fan of Heartland FC, boasted so much that the club would carry the day, during my interaction with some of my old time friends who reside in Lagos State.

     We would recall that the Ikorodu Utd just joined the NPFL alongside the MFM, Niger Tornadoes, and Plateau Utd Football clubs, thus it’s unequivocally a baby to the Heartland FC. They later compensated me by defeating El-Kanemi Warriors FC on Sunday 8th May 2016 with 2-1 goal margin, making them occupy the 10th position on the League Table having played fifteen matches.    

     Before they battled with the Niger Tornadoes FC at Minna, Niger State penultimate week, on Wednesday 11th May 2016 to be precise, the General Manager as well as the General Coordinator of the club (Heartland FC) in the persons of Oscar Keke and Tonnex Chukwu respectively, assured their fans and Imolites at large that they were headed for Minna to amend the costly mistake they made in Agege, Lagos State; the club’s Head Coach – Alphonsus Dike coupled with the skipper, Chinedu Efugh also supported the assurance. Owing to this, everyone including myself was of the strong opinion that the intended hosts were in big trouble, only to see that they were indeed a violent storm with strong circular winds just as their name (Tornadoes) implies; the match ended 2-1 in their favour. As if that wasn’t enough; they further resorted to goalless draw in their outing against Kano Pillars FC.

     Now, the Heartland FC is placed on one of the bottom positions on the League Table, signifying that the club’s management is required to act fast before the monkey’s hand in the soup turns to a human hand. I’m much concerned because I’m a devoted fan of the club as well as a patriotic stakeholder in the state. When most Imo indigenes were busy fanning the various soccer clubs in Europe, I was very busy praying for Heartland FC’s success; this is the reason I’m earnestly crying foul.

     It’s not as if the club cannot presently boast of competent and reliable players. With Philip Acho, their goalpost is duly safeguarded. Similarly, the likes of Chinedu Efugh, Anthony Oussou, Nelson Ogbonnaya, Roland Koffi, Zoumane Doumbia, Emeka Ogbu and Bright Ejike, among many others, are invariably ready and prepared to play to finish. What’s needed right now is a proper team work; since the coach is relatively new in the club, he still needs more time to master the tactics of each of the players towards creating a formidable team. We don’t have a team; we only have players. Against this backdrop, the coach needs to engage the boys on more rigorous trainings prior to their subsequent matches.

      However, the Imo State government through the effort of the state’s Commissioner for Sports, Chief Chidi Ibe is expected to go closer to the club toward ascertaining the actual plight it’s currently faced with. Apart from building a team work as asserted above, other pressing logistic issues could cause the downfall of any organization. For instance, the FC in question needs to boast of a world class fan club. We can as well boost the boys’ morale by promising them match bonuses.

     We are aware that sports is all about win, draw or loss, but this very one is abnormal. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador 

      

2016 Telecom and Information Society Day

CELEBRATING 2016 WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY, TODAY TUESDAY MAY 17

        

     Today Tuesday May 17, the global community is celebrating the 2016 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). In November 2006, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) during its plenipotentiary conference held in Antalya, Turkey decided to celebrate both the World Telecommunication Day and World Information Society Day collectively on a day instead of celebrating them separately or individually; on that note, they called on the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare May 17 of every year as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.   

     May 17 was chosen owing to the fact that it marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is aimed at raising awareness on the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can yield powerful societies and economies, and also help to bridge the digital divide.

     Telecommunication can be defined as the science and activity of sending signals and messages over a long distance, by the use of electronic or electrical equipment such as radio, television, telegraph, telephone, computer, cable, and satellite. The term is often used in its plural form – telecommunications, because it involves many different technologies.

     Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between two entities includes the use of technology. Communication technology uses channels to transmit information as electrical signals, either over a physical medium such as signal cables, or in the form of electromagnetic waves. Ancient means of communicating over a distance included visual signals namely, beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags and optical heliographs.

     A revolution in wireless communication began in the first decade of the 20^th century with the pioneering developments in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909. Other highly notable pioneering inventors and developers in the field of electrical and electronic telecommunications include Charles Wheatstone, Samuel Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, Edwin Armstrong, Lee de Forest, John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth.

     Telecommunication, which is one of the major factors that constitute an information society, has obviously contributed immensely towards nation-building. Indeed, the impact of telecommunications on the social, economic and political development of any country in existence cannot be overemphasized. Telecommunication has helped tremendously in so many areas of human endeavour including information dissemination, easy access to news reportage, education, politics, creation of awareness, advertisement, entertainment, as well as job creation and entrepreneurship development.

     The availability of telecommunication has enabled people irrespective of age or status to easily access information even in their bedroom. The recent introduction of the social media, which can be access via smart phones, has succeeded in boasting several personal cum business activities which were formally done on a low pace with the use of the old telecommunication systems such as television, radio, newspaper, et cetera.

     The provision of the visual satellite dishes has also helped people from all walks of life to greatly appreciate the use of the television, either domestically or industrially, as a result of its ability to simultaneously access every facet of the globe at all times. To say the least, the transmission or dissemination of visual signals with the aid of the television alongside newspapers has assisted profoundly in marketing of goods and services.

     The impact of telecommunication on education has become so enormous that it cannot be expressed on a sheet of paper. Of course the functionality of the various distant learning programmes situated all over, which are increasing on a daily basis, wouldn’t have been possible without the telecommunication system such as the internet. More so, the series of educative programmes, soap operas, and what have you, being televised by the various television stations across the country can also be included as one of the avenues that have encouraged distant learning.

      As regards politics, the telecommunication has recently proven to the citizenry that they can as well observe any electoral activity such as voting and counting of election results from their respective homes without stepping out of their premises. The recent Presidential primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was observed by every Nigerian both home abroad, is a good example of the said practice. Such has helped to improve transparency during elections, thereby avoiding occurrence of various possible electoral malpractices and crises.

     It is no longer news that millions of Nigerians are currently employed by several telecommunication companies operating in the country. Statistics show that over fifteen percent (15%) of Nigerian citizens are engaged with various telecom firms. Suffice it to say that the telecommunication industry is one of the major employers of labour in Nigeria, likewise other countries across the globe.

     Though telecommunication technologies play a very vital role in the information society and socio-economic development of any nation, it’s noteworthy that there are several anomalies needed to be addressed in the sector in question. A situation whereby uncensored films, pictures or music are disseminated either via the television or the social media is totally unwholesome to the state of any nation, thus ought to be looked into severely by the apt authorities such as the Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

      As the world commemorate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, I call on governments at all levels in collaboration with other concerned bodies to put up a stiff measure that would address the various ongoing questionable acts taking place in sector including propaganda, fraud, and all forms of immorality. This no doubt would go a long way towards sustaining sanity in the system.     
      However, this is also a moment to remind all the broadcasting stations in the country that the June 20, 2017 new deadline issued by the ITU for switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting remains sacrosanct. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

 Twitter: @mediambassador