Straight Talk with Chukwudi Obi

                                                             I The media is powerful, no doubt. Their power does not just stem from the constitution but from the work reporters do in the field to solve festering problems facing the society. From information to entertainment and education, journalists across the world wake up each day to solve problems confronting the society. The level of development inherent in a particular geographical location, to a large extent determines the basic roles of the media. During my undergraduate days as a communication student, I was taught that the media system inherent in developed or advanced countries play key roles as public watchdogs. This is why news...

            Today, heads of governments and citizens across the globe will mark Human Rights Day. It is a day set aside for the world to eliminate all forms of racial segregation. The offshoot of this event dates back to the Sharpville Massacre. Sharpville is a black township near Vereeniging, South Africa. The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a splinter group of the African National Congress (ANC) created in 1959, organized a countrywide protest for the abolition of South Africa’s pass laws. South Africa’s pass laws required black South Africans to carry passbooks with them any time they travelled out of their designated home areas. The African National Congress, the leading anti-apartheid organization of the era, planned for an anti-pass campaign to begin March 31, 1960. However, the Pan Africanist Congress, a more militant offshoot of the A.N.C., organized a campaign that would begin 10 days before the A.N.C.’s, Mar...

Tired after a hard week’s job, I decided to rest at home on Saturday. After two movies and breakfast I slept off. I had planned on the sleep to recoup from the lost sleep earlier in the week. I was near scowling when my mobile phone buzzed. I looked at the screen with a hazy eye and saw it was Johnson. I picked it and the only thing i heard made me even angrier. “I’m coming to your place. No excuses”. The next thing that popped into my mind was a whole day of political and contemporary discussions laced with unending arguments. I had stocked my fridge the night before. I cried silently inside, this dude was going to empty the contents; fruits and drinks, alcohol and non-alcohol. I closed my mind and before i could take a ten minute nap, he was at my gate blaring his horn. Clad in jeans pants and a polo t shirt, Johnson stood tall at six foot eight inches. Intelligent and witty, he has this signature smile that endears people to him. Unfortunately, there was no smile today. I was alre...

PATIENTS' SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE Basic Function and Responsibility • Perform complex clerical work Qualifications • Minimum of High School Diploma (OND) or its equivalent • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, Power point) is a must OPTICIAN (DISPENSING OPTICIAN ) Basic function and responsibility • Manage and maintain dispensary • Provide expert service to patients regarding their optical needs Qualifications • Minimum of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (or its equivalent) or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired if necessary MANAGER Basic function and responsibility • Manage operational, financial and personnel activities Qualifications • Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Management, Accounting, Human and International Relations, Sociology or other related fields. CLINIC BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS REPRESENTATIVE Ba...

From to the cold breeze to the dew falls, it is obvious that Christmas is lurking around the corner. One will also observe that big corporations and companies have already beautified the front of their offices with the traditional red and green drapes; another pointer to the fact that Christmas is coming soon. Inside some of these offices, it is not out of place to see long Christmas lighting wired across the building. Already the Santa Claus red cap and other Christmas paraphernalia are in hot demand now. These only give one impression; we are counting down to Christmas. Christmas is not just a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ but a time to relax, party, visit friends and go places. It is the twelfth month in the calendar and many people look forward to it. Apart from this fact, the month of December precedes the New Year. Thus people travel from the length and breadth of the earth to reunite with loved ones and family; only travelling back after the Christmas and ...

                     The thought came quickly as it went. I didn’t want to think about it at all, but it kept coming back. There is a twist in each tale concerning my dear country Nigeria.   The first is, take it or leave it, we are champions of Africa. The recently concluded African Cup of Nations proved that we have all it takes to compete and surpass achievements of countries like South Africa, Angola and step up to be like Australia, Finland, Switzerland, Iran etc. (I have intentionally omitted the USA not because I do not like the suave, smooth talking President Obama or his government but because when you hear one thing, another thing is happening. It is like the abracadabra kind of thing. The more you look, the less you see. I had to praise the team creative and graphic designers for that designed the Pepsi advertisement a day after we won the trophy. From a professiona...