Long gone are the days when television in Nigeria was all about News, Soap Opera, News, and more News. A new wave of TV program has been born. Reality TV is becoming a trend in Nigeria, and young Nigerians are taking every advantage of this opportunity. The Real Estate undergraduate of University of Lagos who emerged the winner of the 4th Guider’s Ultimate Search, set in Jos, pocketed a sum of N5million and the key to an SUV. The contestant in second place was rewarded with N2million while the contestant in 3rd place received N1million for her effort and another N1million for being the first female in the top three. The show is basically a test of endurance. The contestants are put through rigorous and life-endangering tasks to test their endurance level and, as with many reality shows, a cut (an eviction) is made at the end of each phase. They, however, say the contestants are searching for treasures. The host for the just-concluded season is veteran actor Bob Manuel-Udokwu. Gulder Ultimate Search is, of course, sponsored by Gulder Lager. The first season was aired in 2004 and was set in Lagos as the Snake Island. The next year’s was set in Cross River’s Obudu Ranch Resort. Next, the show went to the Big Heart of the Nation, Edo State, setting in NIFOR.
One of the contestants of this season, Anthony Mudiaga, died while shooting. May his soul rest in peace, and may the Lord comfort his friends and family.
This would be my last post dedicated to the object behind the massacre in Va Tech.
In my earlier post on this issue, I had said that 31 students were killed. Actually, 32 students were reported to have been killed by the Cho, who then killed himself. Here is what one of the victims had to say.
GW Bush Speaks on the unfortunate incident.
Some very good people put this together in honor of the people who lost their lives in the senseless rampage.
Also, the Killer had mailed a package to NBC in between the two shooting episodes. I decided against posting the videos due to their graphic and troubling nature.
All over the US, people are troubled by the loss of 31 students of Virginia Tech U following a rampage by another student, Cho Seung-Hui, also deceased. 32 students died in the shooting. May these young souls rest in perfect peace. May the Lord grant their families the heart to bear these irreplaceable losses.
People should understand that violence is not a way to solve problems. Violence is only going to aggravate things. It is very irresponsible and cowardly to try to settle a dispute with an unarmed person with violence.
A lot of argument is ongoing on many websites about whether or not guns should be allowed in private hands. I have followed some of these arguments, and even engaged colleagues in some. Both sides are passionate about their convictions. The one I have followed most closely is on NVS. (Link 1, Link 2) Both parties, arguing for and against Gun Control, have some valid points, but we have to think of what is realistic in America. Gun Control should not be about stopping responsible citizens... people who have been declared stable by psychoanalysts, social workers, spiritual leaders, Crime experts… enough to carry firearms. Private ownership of firearms do have their advantages that often go unreported.
Below is a story that 1) shows how private ownership of firearms saved a situation 2) A gun violence involving a Nigerian.
Peter Odighizuwa is an accused murderer, sitting in a jail cell near Roanoke, Va. And to some watching his case, that's only the beginning of who he is and what he has become.
To them, he is also an example of the difficulties Nigerians face in assimilating to the United States. Or a reason why immigration to this country should be curtailed. Or a lesson in why it is safer for American citizens to have guns.
In trying to understand, explain, and perhaps exploit the three murders that Odighizuwa allegedly committed earlier this year at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va., lobby groups and cultural critics have made an example of the 43-year-old Nigerian former law student. His case has become a platform for the pro-gun forces and the anti-immigration front. It also has Nigerians in this country closely examining the pressure and frustration that come hand-in-hand with the immigrant experience.
In January, Odighizuwa, after failing out of the law school for the second time, allegedly returned with a semiautomatic weapon and shot and killed the school's dean, former Justice Department official L. Anthony Sutin, a professor, and a student while wounding two others. […] In his letter to the judge, Odighizuwa says he wants his case moved from Buchanan County because of concerns about "my race, ethnicity and national origin." Negative publicity makes a fair trial in Grundy impossible, he writes. […] Prosecutors have vowed to pursue the death penalty. […] When Odighizuwa allegedly went on his shooting rampage Jan. 16, the incident didn't look much different from similar horrifying events at schools across the nation.
But two things have worked to set this episode apart: Odighizuwa's nationality and the controversy over the manner in which he was apprehended.
Odighizuwa's Nigerian background has played into the hands of far-right critics of America's open immigration policy, such as Warrenton, Va.-based VDARE, which, on its Web site, says "the white West welcomes losers and misfits like Mr. Odighizuwa into its midst, pretends they've assimilated, boasts about the 'diversity' we're creating and ignores any and every indication that they don't belong here and that their presence endangers others." […] The students, Tracy Bridges and Mikael Gross, […] ran to their cars and grabbed weapons when the shooting started on the second floor of the law school.
They, along with two other students, approached Odighizuwa in front of the law school. Bridges and Gross both told reporters that they raised their guns at Odighizuwa and he dropped his weapon, after which the group tackled and handcuffed him. […] "This is a good example of what happens often," says Patricia Gregory, a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association. "What gets the national coverage is that this nut went into a law school and killed people. But this guy was not a law-abiding gun owner, and he was apprehended by lawful gun owners. It's the NRA story."
John Lott of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in the District, says that there were more than 280 stories on the Grundy shootings during the week after the incident, but only four carried details about the law students being armed.
Lott, who studies issues involving media reporting and firearms, says the successful defensive use of guns goes frequently unreported, but says he isn't sure why. "The bottom line isn't why it's done, but the impact it has on people," Lott says. "You rarely hear about the benefits people have with guns. It colors people's views of what can be done."
Aaron Zelman, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, is more certain. "It's not by accident that it's not getting reported," he says. "The powers that be don't want people thinking in terms of taking the law into their own hands." …
Allison Quet is currently in jail for International Child Kidnapping. She was accused of kidnapping her twins. She told Dr. Philip McGraw on his show (April 12, 2007)that she was in so much pain and feared that she would die, which made her consider putting her kids up for adoption. Her boyfriend, John, introduced her to the couple that now have custody of her twins. After signing the adoption papers, she demands to have her kids back.
Now, obviously, Allison is dealing with some issues and she does have my sympathy for that. But is that enough reason to deny the new parents of their happiness? She signed the adoption papers, dialed 911 from the lawyer's office claiming that she no longer wanted to go through with the process but he was refusing to hand her her papers, then went back there three days after to sign the papers. Maybe the lawyer should have had her undergo therapy before continuing with the procedure seeing that she was unstable, but isn't that just a moral expectation? I think her lawyers and loved ones should see to it that she undergoes therapy.
Should Allison have her babies back and deprive the new parents of their happiness? Should the lawyer be charged for some sort of malpractice here given that, obviously, Allison was not stable enough to make such an informed decision? I don’t know. Someone is going to get hurt one way or another.
I have read a lot of comments on different web forums about the Imus saga. I'm sure you know what I am talking about. I have also overheard people talking about the incident. While some people seem so shocked that he said these things, others seem to think he said them in jest. Others even seem to be thinking "so what if he did say them? How many racial epithets have the likes of Chris Rock used, even in movies, that people thought were funny?" I think all these people have valid points.
Watching the video clip, with the ease with which the words seemed to be flowing out of his mouth, I think Imus was very comfortable saying these words; I think that he must have known that some people would find those terms odious, though I doubt that he knew it would generate this mush anger, but I also think he said those words in jest. Before you ask for my head, hear me out. I think that he really did feel like the Rutgers girls' looked a bit rough and said so in jest, because he really does deem them as Nappy Headed You-Know-What, and he had hoped to generate some ratings with the careless comments, but I think the jest was in bad taste. I also think that, going by his "rough hos" statement, he thinks other women are hos, but the black ones are Nappy Headed ones.
What I find most appalling is that people are shocked that he said these things. Was it not just yesterday that it was normal to use more derogatory terms to qualify "colored folks"? Why do we think that, because there are laws against discrimination, people don't still think these things in their minds? I think people should understand that Imus said what nescient, ill-cultured folks like him say when they are in their comfort zones. A lot of Blacks that are angry that Imus said these things should ask themselves what part they have played in denigrating themselves and their race. It's like using the N word. They say it's okay to use it depending on the person using it and to whom. How can it be okay that my brother refers to me in such degrading manner but it's not okay for someone else to? Isn't that discriminatory on its own? They say it is okay for Kanye et al to say the B word and the N word because that’s what the popular culture is about, but yet they go bonkers when the person they consider the wrong person says these things. I don’t know if these make sense, but they really do not to me.
I think people who are concerned about these kinds of degradation should stand firm for what they believe in. It’s not okay for anyone to use these words period! This should not be a selective battle. It’s not okay for the half of a dollar rapper to degrade black women, any more than it is okay for Imus to so do. As a Black person, I don't consider myself the N. word and would not allow anyone to refer to me as such. As a woman, I don't consider myself the B word or a ho so why should it be okay if someone else, regardless of whom it is, refers to me as such?
I think that the Black community would be better off fighting this cause if we can start in our community by educating the 50-cents in our communities on self-worth. I think we can start by teaching our young adults about morals and self-respect. I think we can start by refusing to be a part of the so called popular culture that diminishes our worth. The hip-hop culture is supposed to be the Black culture, but yet it diminishes our women to hos and Bs being used by Ns. It represents us as greedy, unintelligent, violent, gun-carrying nonentities. How exactly do we intend to gain respect from outsiders? How exactly do we expect others to regard us?
Some have argued that Imus got off easy with this 2-week vacation. I agree. His two-week vacation does not even start until after the ratings. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Tim Hardaway got fired for expressing his views on homosexuality? I heard Procter and Gamble have decided to no longer sponsor his show. Nice move. We need more organizations to come out and show that they will not condone such hateful vents on their territory. His employers are yet to demonstrate this, but I am not holding my breath until they so do.
Imus has voiced the thoughts of his ilk. I think those who feel aggrieved should do what they can to stop the degradation of women. It’s not enough to wait for an Imus to vent so that people can hear your voice, if only you’ll turn around and do exactly what you just admonished. You alone have the power to define how you want to be regarded. Imus did not just start thinking that Black women were Nappy Headed Hos in 2007.
