iPostthisweek

Table of Contents The gods of our Time Cries from different Continents Your Freedom and God That was the cry of a teenager brooding and mourning the brutal massacres of women and children by armed men and women in their town. What does that mean? Well, it means that people are flaunting divine authority or moral law as if they are gods. It means that the objective rules or values have been thrown away, rejected, or ignored by many men and women. They can do whatever they want, and they often get away with it. There seems to be no ultimate accountability or judgment for their actions. They force their interpretation of freedom, purpose, and meaning of life on others. The gods of our Time Some might think that the teenager’s cry for help portends a scary or nihilistic view of the world. The teenager’s forlorn hope contends that there’s no God, hence, the chaos and anarchy in the world. In every corner of the earth, it appears that people have lost their sense of morality and compassi...

Table of Contents The Myth of Sisyphus Misconceptions of Ownership Path to Togetherness, Tolerance, Understanding, Respect for Each other One thing with any myth is that it is conceived without proof and transmitted from one generation to another as a matter of convention. At times, it goes on to help shape or form a people’s mindset and can lead to different extreme beliefs and disputes. Palestinian and Israeli territorial narratives are becoming mythical to both insiders and outsiders, ingroups and outgroups, and many inimical political actors and neighbours who take advantage of Palestinian-Israeli little foibles to fan the flame of hatred, violence, and war. To the Palestinians and Israelis, it is not a myth; it is real. It is about survival; it is about their heritage. It is about true peace, harmony, and togetherness. What will bring peace in the Middle East, or peace between the Palestinians and Israelis? Many have asked. If Palestine or Israel does not exist or have no plac...

Table of Contents Before the February 25, 2023, General Election During the Election – 2023 After the Election – 2023 The Verdicts – 2023 Moving Forward The insouciant and nonchalant comportment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the face of angst that has inbuilt despair among Nigerians is the reason for writing about Nigeria’s February 25, 2023, presidential election, and the outcome. Yes, it’s seven months after the election was conducted by INEC and the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) verdicts in Abuja on September 6, 2023. Some argued that the entire election was marred with violence, rigging, and corrupt practices and some others argued that it was the freest election ever held in Nigeria, by Nigerians (not ‘Nigeriens’) and for Nigerians. After the results were announced and Mr Ahmed Bola Tinubu was declared winner, his opponents filed petitions alleging that it was a rigged system. In this writing, an attempt will be made to describe...

Table of Contents What is a Tyranny? What is Commonsense? The gradation of tyrannies in Africa Tyranny of the Elites The Tyranny of Grifters The Tyranny of Ends Inoculation of Corruption or Inculcate Common Sense The political, economic, and social situations of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular have provoked my interest in writing about tyrannies and common sense. Africa has plentiful tyrannies but only scanty common sense. Their leaders have limited knowledge to process sense-perceptions, imaginations or even remember histories. The narrative is about a variety of tyrannical inclinations, reasonings, or duties as against what comes naturally like common sense. To start, I would like to give the dictionary definitions of tyranny and common sense so that you can figure out how common sense contrasts tyrannical inclinations or reasonings.    What is a Tyranny? Most dictionaries, such as Britannica, Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster consider tyranny as “any ...

Table of Contents What is Affirmative Action? The Equal Protection Clause University Scholarship Programs Negative Action Uncle Sam’s Merit Machine Not too long ago, the media were awash with news and commentaries about how the US Supreme Court ruled against the Bill of Affirmative Action on the basis that it was discriminatory because it was against the fundamental principles of equality under the law. This essay aims to review the concept of Affirmative Action and its correlations and attempt to imagine a society where Uncle Sam’s Merit Machine is hoisted as the only mechanism of selection to any university, employment, the appointment of judges to any court, or even the supreme court and any decision affecting the people. What is Affirmative Action? In the United States, it is a conscious effort by the state, government, and voluntary private programs to improve employment, educational, and federal government appointments to include members of groups who have historically been...

Table of Contents Introduction The Deity – Igwe The Deity – Amadioha The Conflict between Igwe and Amadioha Introduction The current heat wave reminds me of the conflict between two Igbo deities, namely: Igwe and Amadioha. Just as it was noted somewhere in this blog: Nigeria's Diversity and the South-East/South-South Peripheral Inclusions: Biafra's Raison d'etre , November 15, 2021, the Igbo people are the third-largest ethnic group who live in southeastern Nigeria. They have a very rich culture and tradition among which is their concept of God which varies from one community to another but essentially, they believe that the gods guide and control their life and affairs in many ways. The Igbo concept of God stems from the idea of a chief god who creates everything. This god is supreme. The Igbo variously call this god Olisa bu uwa (the god who carries the world), Olisa bini Igwe , (the god who lives in the sky), Chukwu (the great god), or Chineke (the god who creates...

Table of Contents The Breadfruit The Obi The Termites The Chicken The Kite The Gun The Blacksmith Death God, the Almighty The Igbo is one of the major tribes in Nigeria. Somewhere in ipostthisweek.com, the Igbo people have been described in different contexts as an entity in Nigeria. So, we are not going to spend time describing the people, society, and culture. The Igbo proverbs: ‘Mkpuru onye kuru n’okochi k’oga aghoro n’udu mmiri’ (literally, ‘the seed you sow in the dry season, you will reap in rainy season’ which means, ‘you reap what you sow’) and ‘ukwa rue oge ya, odaa’ (literally, ‘the breadfruit time arrives and it falls’ which means, ‘there is time for everything’) are causative expressions that everything is governed by simple laws of cause and effect. While another proverb: ‘ ihe onye metara o buru’ (literally, ‘whatever you do, you carry’ which means, ‘you are responsible for your actions’) is the karmic unraveling of its interpretation of crime and punishment or fatal...