GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

PDJT DELIVERS FIRST ADDRESS TO CONGRESS: GREAT SPEECH

A great speech by a great man with a vision and on a mission to Make America Great Again. 

PDJT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS: OUR VISION, OUR MISSION.


PDJT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS: OUR VISION, OUR MISSION.Our vision. Our mission. But we can only get there together. We are one people, with one destiny. We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same flag. And we are all made by the same God. The time for small thinking is over. 

The time for trivial fights is behind us. We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls. And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action. From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears; inspired by the future, not bound by the failures of the past and guided by our vision, not blinded by our doubts. Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed. Every problem can be solved. And every hurting family can find healing and hope. Our citizens deserve this and so much more –- so join forces to finally get it done.


Saturday, February 25, 2017

I REPRESENT AMERICAN PEOPLE NOT GLOBAL ANYTHING - PDJT

I REPRESENT AMERICAN PEOPLE NOT GLOBAL ANYTHING - PDJT
ICHEOKU says charity begins from home is a trite saying and President Donald John Trump is merely reiterating it.

DEMOCRATS ELECT NEW PARTY CHAIRMAN, TOM PEREZ.

Icheoku says unable to shake off their monkey of entrenched and establishment party politics and political lineal patronage; continuing their culture of rewarding only party insiders and royalists and keeping insurgents at bay; coupled to their penchant for recycling old and disused party operatives, the Democratic Party has elected one of their own real insider as their new party chairman. 

A man whose middle name might as well pass for the establishment culture that breeds corruption within the Democratic Party, a former Secretary of Labor under the now gone President Barack Hussein Obama government, Thomas E. Perez, backed by the entire Democratic Party hierarchy as well as the apparatchik, defeated Keith Ellison by 235 votes to 200 votes. ICHEOKU says Keith Ellison did well, the mountain of opposition and backers of the victorious Perez considered. it is akin to during the primaries when the whole establishment was on Hillary Clinton's side against Bernie Sanders leading to leaked questions and internal memos to work against Bernie Sanders. Thanks to WikiLeaks the world became aware of Donna Brasile's leaking of debate questions to Hillary Clinton ahead of scheduled debates to confer undue advantage to her. Whether this election was similarly rigged and several arms twisted to achieve a stated objective is a great possibility, their record of fixing election results considered. 

The troubling thing with the Democratic Party is that they are impervious to correction and seemed not to have learned anything from the shellacking of last November 8, 2016. They also seemed not have introspected on why they have been losing so many elections this past eight years and why so many of their younger voters flocked to Bernie Sanders. Instead, they are continuing the same party politics of patronage which their voters have rejected and which sent them into political doldrums and near a political abyss. A practice which alienated a lot of their voters and which saw the party losing more than 1000 seats nationwide, now have only 18 governors and controls non of the three top political offices in Washington DC - the presidency, the senate and House of Representatives. So why continue with the same mindset and pattern of administration which supervised such huge loss of grounds, one would ask? But it is the Democratic Party and inside the party, there is really no democracy strictly speaking as they are democrats in name only. 

Icheoku admonishes that a thinking and forward-looking party with interest and intent to reposition the party and make it competitive again, would have taken the message of these past elections very seriously and forged ahead with fresh set of eyes and brains to see if their fortune could improve. But to be stuck on the mire that sent them down the drain of the current political near irrelevance where they currently inhabit, suggests that they are a "deaf and dumb" party, which is not listening to its constituents or have move on without their electorates. But hey, Keith Ellison's loss is loss for the party as the insurgent Bernie Sanders supporters will not come home simply because Tom Perez was elected to lead the party or told them so. These disinterested democrats were looking for a reason to come back home to the party; they were looking for a new leader they can gravitate to; but Tom Perez is definitely not it, his Hispanic ancestry notwithstanding. Anyway, like Jesus said, let the dead bury themselves and on this note, Icheoku says congratulations to Party Chair Thomas E. Perez and may your term help Democrats recover at least some of their severely lost grounds. 

Friday, February 24, 2017

PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP AT CPAC, EXPLAINS WHAT DRIVES HIM.

"We will not answer to donors or lobbyists, or special interests, but we will serve the citizens of the United States of America, believe me. Global cooperation, dealing with other countries, getting along with other countries is good, it's very important. But there is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency or a global flag. This is the United States of America that I'm representing. 

I'm not representing the globe, I'm representing your country. There's one allegiance that unites us all, and that is to America. America, it's the allegiance to America. No matter our background or income, or geography, we're all citizens of this blessed land. And no matter our color or the blood -- the color of the blood we bleed, it's the same red blood of great, great patriots. Remember, great patriots. We all salute with pride, the same American flag, and we all are equal -- totally equal in the eyes of almighty God, we're equal." - PDJT.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

24 LEGACY, WHERE IS JACK BAUER?

ICHEOKU says the fact of the matter is that there can only be one Jack Bauer and Keith Sunderland is that Jack Bauer and no other person can ever be Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer can only be imitated but can never be duplicated or replicated. Icheoku says millions of fans know Jack Bauer and Jack Bauer is our heroic 24 icon. The current super hero guy Eric Carter, is no Jack Bauer, admitted he is trying mightily to fill such a very big giant shoes left by the real Jack Bauer. His personality and demeanor, especially coming so soon after the relationship many fans had developed with Jack Bauer, an alpha macho male numero uno, is to say the least not a convincing enough fit for the role he is currently playing. 

Jack Bauer is a bad guy who goes after bad guys as it takes one to know one and feet same out. Jack Bauer that goes to the end of the earth to protect us against enemies, both foreign and domestic; terrorists who want to do us harm and he is ruthless and likes to whack people - he shoots first and then ask questions later. Hie mien and looks has attached him to us and no 24, whether Legacy or not, can ever be complete without Jack Bauer playing his role and doing what he does best, tracking the bad guys and putting a hole right inside their head or puck-shot them through their hearts. The only consolation many fans all over have is their conviction that Jack Bauer will be reintroduced sometime down the road after a negotiated release from the Chinese or is it the Russians. It has been such a long time since the last episode aired. 

ICHEOKU says the new fill-in guy is okay, just that he does not have that masculinity appeal that Jack Bauer has; and he runs like a sissy, girlie man rather than a chivalry who is leading or charging with the cavalry. Eric Carter is tall, handsome and fires his guns right, but he does not have that killer instinct personality and demeanor. Icheoku has tried ceding to him a smooth operator, mean and ruthless killer; but Jack Bauer's larger than life image is on the way and try as Icheoku may, this guy is not cutting it, may be not just yet. He does not possess that picture of a fighter who is ready to do whatever it takes to keep us safe from those terrorists. Jack Bauer had such a presence that many people were beginning to attach to him a real life person actually fighting a real war against  terrorists. He assumed a real life hero status as many actually thought that what he is acting is actually a real life situational issues. 

Icheoku had a 24 Legacy discussion with another fan who suggested that even Eric Carter's drug dealing brother would have been a better fit for the Jack Bauer's role; and agreed with Icheoku that Eric who has a funny sissy way of running might even be gay. But hey, a fan of 24 Icheoku is and remains; and regardless of who is saving us from those wild-eyed terrorists, will always tune in every Monday 8.00 pm on Fox television to stay thrilled and be amazed. Icheoku likes the shooting scenes a lot and Eric Carter is one expert shot; and also the cat and mouse game of deception and magical elusiveness of those terrorists from the dragnets of security. Did that student die on the hospital bed? What happened to the senator's dad who betrayed those soldiers? Was that list recovered before they were activated? All the answers will ensure that Icheoku tunes in to find out; but overall and so far a good 24, provided Jack Bauer will come back or at least make even a cameo  appearance.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: SELF DEPORTATION A GOOD OPTION?

ICHEOKU says at least it will give one time and opportunity to properly order his or her affairs and put things in order rather than being picked up from either the workplace or shopping mall or on the streets or nightclub/bar and straight to the airport, adios. Any person who is not assured of his or her residence status should make haste to consult his lawyers to be properly briefed on their current immigration status and if in doubt or falls within the likely to be deported category, to plan on leaving on their own volition while the window is still open. 

Everyone knows that President Donald John Trump is a promise keeper and so far has not disappointed anyone who voted for him based on what he promised to do as he has been checking those promises one promise fulfilled one at a time. He promised enforcing the laws on immigration and so far, it has been rubber meets the road and there will be no letting off or cooling down until his safe country objective is achieved. As a result, instead of perpetually looking over one's shoulders or remain in permanent state of fear of the inevitable which will impact one's psychological wellbeing as well as routine, a better option would be to plan to self deport, to voluntarily remove oneself and return to one's own original country before the now unchained and extended arms of the immigration officials nabs one. As things stands presently, it is no longer a question of if but when as an increased enforcement officials will translate to reaching persons previously considered too remote or too deep to reach. 

Previously it would have been much easier to successfully play the cat and mouse game and hope that mother luck remained on one's side until the officials tire out or move to some other more promising deportables; but not anymore and not since PDJT took over office as president. People rat on people and a time like this, the mad ex-girlfriend or wife or ex-boyfriend or husband might see it as a good opportunity to draw blood and cut his or her pound of flesh. Reports abound of even close family members such as a brother's wife or sister's husband ratting out an unbearable in-law or a friend who has become a pain in the behind to the Immigration officials. Sometime co-workers have turned in fellow workers who either made them mad or whose position they covet. Neighbors and landlords too, especially for difficult tenants or in high rent neighborhoods who want to recover a tenement and rent same to a higher rent paying tenant. Business partners or employers might also turn someone in just to appropriate the entire business or not pay what is owed. In construction industry, such a sword of Damocles might be foist by an unscrupulous supervisor or owner to keep undocumented migrants obedient and use them without ceasing. 

So, instead of such high risk exposure of being eventually nabbed and deported someday, and under circumstances one has no control, logic would dictate that any rational minded possible deportee should commence the process of removing self from the country before the law catches up with him or her. This way, money in the bank could be repatriated back to the new country; properties owned could be monetized through a moving auction and if there are things one would need in the new country, purchase same and ship them and simply tidy up his or her affairs in order to have some resources with which to cushion the new realities of the new country. As always things done in ordered fashion is always to be preferred than being rushed out of the country without time to say goodbyes or even withdraw money in the bank. That way, one at least cuts down on his loses and go back to his country with some dignity and something to live on before reestablishing withered roots once again. As always, fresh petition for reentry could be started anew and if fortunate, may possibly be approved at a later date. The fact that one self removed self might also count as a bonus point in future petition for re-admittance. 

As it stands now, it will be appear that every illegal aliens in the United States of America has been put on notice of impending deportation. Like Iran, hey have been served and waiting being picked up and shipped off. It will be much more difficult now to remain in the United States illegally as there will no longer be exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security personnel also has now been given full authority to arrest or apprehend any alien whom an immigration officer has probable cause to believe is in violation of the immigration laws. Further, it also expands the priority list for deportation, including for crimes related to illegal immigration such as the use of forged documents, people charged but not convicted of a crime etc. Icheoku says any mistaken belief by anyone that one will always be lucky not to be caught is rather foolhardy and at best playing with one's stability that could arise from being suddenly caught and removed without the opportunity to first tidy up one's affairs as well as say their goodbyes. But hey, election has consequences and PDJT campaigned on making America safe again and therefore the current removal of ungrateful criminal aliens is in order and should be encouraged rather than chastised. 

Monday, February 20, 2017

NORMAN MCCORVEY: THE ROE IN ROE V. WADE, DEAD AT 69.

ICHEOKU says akin to putting the Range in Range Rover, she put the Roe in Roe V. Wade and now she has gone. Norma McCorvey, the then invisible plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, the life changing 1973 Supreme Court decision which literally legalized abortion in the United States of America is dead. McCorvey aka Ms Roe was 69 years old. (Defendant Wade was the then Dallas Country District Attorney Henry Wade). 

McCorvey was five months pregnant and wanted a quick abortion which Texas did not allow except in special circumstances including to save the life of a mother. She sued Dallas County wherein she lived and the case traveled up to the Supreme Court, which ruled 7-2 that that privacy rights under the due process and equal rights clauses of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion in a pregnancy’s first trimester “free of interference by the state. But before the case would be decided she gave birth to a baby girl who she summarily gave up for adoption. 

ICHEOKU says whether McCorvey was an agent of murder in the womb and considering that a lot of children have been deprived their right to live since then, at a rate of 300,000 abortions a year and 44 years later, that will be a total of 13,200,000 babies killed as a result of her action. Hopefully this many children will be able line up to testify against her as she faces her maker to account for her social upheaval in helping institute the culture of abortion in United States of America. Although later in her life she did a somewhat somersault, became a pro-lifer and undertook to dedicate herself for the rest of her life, fighting to undo the law that bore her name. She once petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the law but was dismissed as moot. She also once accused Obama of being a baby killer and you wonder if it was a case of the kettle calling the pot black, admitted she was the one whose action actually legalized abortions in the United States of America. 

ICHEOKU says as always, trying to put the genie back in the bottle is usually the difficult if not impossible part of any given situation. So many children have been killed as a result of her action and are continuing to be killed till today and possibly will continue to be killed till tomorrow and many more years to come because the Supreme Court in a subsequent petition to have it overruled, ruled that the matter is moot and it is a subsisting law of the land that women have fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy. Quoting Ms Roe, “I wasn’t the wrong person to become Jane Roe, I wasn’t the right person to become Jane Roe. I was just the person who became Jane Roe, of Roe v. Wade. And my life story, warts and all, was a little piece of history.” To which Icheoku says not just a little piece of history but a very big disruptive force of history which gave rise to baby killing in the United States of America. What a record for someone to have. May her soul figure it out. Adieu the face of abortion.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

ADAMA BARROW: GAMBIA PRESIDENT FINALLY INAUGURATED.

Icheoku says after the high wire drama that was the former president Yahya Jammeh attempted botching of his election as Gambia president, Adama Barrow was inaugurated at last as president of The Gambia. In his remarks after the ceremony, he said:- "For 22 years, the Gambian people yearned to live in a country where our diverse tribes will be bridged by tolerance and our determination to work together for the common good," he said. "One Gambia, one nation, one people."

Icheoku says hopefully his will not be another ugly chapter of the many unfulfilled dreams of Africans, who excitedly elect a president hoping that they chose right, only to be disappointed down the road as it turns out that they only armed another criminal vagabond in power. ICHEOKU hopes too that he will be mindful of the many hope reposed on him including the effort mounted by Nigeria and other West African countries including the United Nations to validate his mandate and govern not to disappoint these people in addition to his Gambian people who elected him. Icheoku reiterates, NO DRAMA ADAMA. Congratulations. 

Saturday, February 18, 2017

NORTH KOREAN SIBLING RIVALRY: WHEN A BROTHER KILLS HIS BROTHER?

ICHEOKU says it will not be the first time neither will it be the last time that sibling rivalry has forced the drawing of blood of a brother by another brother. In Genesis 4:8 Cain killed his brother Abel and went on to retort that he is not his brother's keeper. Genesis 27:35-41 told the story of Esau and Jacob and how their mother helped engineer another sibling rivalry between her two sons. In Nepal, a brother murdered his brother King and his family, covetous of the kingdom which led to the abolition of the monarchy in Nepal. 

So if the current suspicion that the leader of the reclusive North Korea Kim Jong Un ordered the hit on his brother, Kim Jong Nam, it goes without saying that sibling rivalry is still very much a fact of life and has not gone away.

Kim Jong Nam, 45, was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Malaysia by two female secret agents from North Korea's Spy agency Reconnaissance General Bureau, wielding poisoned handkerchief and poisoned needles. They struck following a security lapse between his bodyguards and Malaysian airport police at the airport. Kim Jo Nam was an out of wedlock child of the former leader of North Korea, their father, Kim Jong II and his South Korea mistress, Sung Hae-rim. 

The circumstance of his birth possibly explains why he was passed over by their late father in choosing his heir to the throne in Pyongyang; admitted some analysts would like the world to believe that it was his disgraceful conduct, caught traveling with a false passport in Japan in 2001 that did him in and cost him the throne. However, masking his anger at being passed over, he once said that he is not personally interested in being a leader of North Korea and urged his younger brother leader to do his best for the sake of North Koreans prosperous lives. 

But his luck ran out and not even his false identity, traveling under an assumed name Kin Choi when he was hit, could protect him. An advocate of political reform in the reclusive North Korean, was probably considered a threat which must be eliminated and he was in fact eliminated. Kim Jong Nam was previously targeted for a hit and run accident but the plot was preempted when the agent assigned to stage it was arrested in South Korea. But in Malaysia, a porous security did the trick; his luck exhausted and not being the cat with the proverbial nine lives, they got him. May his soul rest. 

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GENERAL FLYNN'S FORCED EXIT: IT'S CANDOR, STUPID !

Icheoku says trust, once lost, is hardly ever regained because once anyone's veracity for telling the truth is compromised, it Is often extremely difficult to ever trust that person again or take whatever he or she subsequently says without a grain of salt. This is exactly why the National Security Adviser of President Donald John Trump had to go,  relieved of his duties and asked to resign in order to save face. He misled the president by not truthfully telling everything about a telephone call he had with the Russian ambassador; which led Vice President Mike Pence to also misspeak on the issue, thus damaging the presidency's truthfulness to the American people. 

So having breached this foundational bedrock of every relationship, the ultimate test of loyalty, the president was left with only one option, to let Flynn go. Left with the president, whose loyalty to his friends is legendary, the general would have been left in his office, but the need for maintaining institutional truth telling forced the president's hand and he acted accordingly. It is not a rocket science and it does not require burning the midnight oil to understand why General Michael Flynn was fired or rather asked to turn in his security clearance and cease being the National Security Adviser to the president. He crossed that line and can no longer be trusted to tell the truth and in his special relationship with the presidency, his words should be his bonds and he flunked that test. 

What the truth or lie was about is irrelevant because if someone lied in a little matter, the propensity to lie in a major matter is highly probable. Therefore it is imperative to understand why Flynn was let go - it was not because he had a phone call with the Russian ambassador; nope, it was because he did not fully disclose the issues that came up during the telephone call including the Russian sanctions.  He was asked severally and he denied sanctions did not come up only to later claim his recollections were foggy before finally coming clean with an admission that it possibly did come up. By this time it was already too late as a politically charged atmosphere had called for his resignation and it got to fever pitch that the president had no other option but to relieve him of his duties. 

Icheoku says the attempt to misled is not something that should be tolerated because there is no way such a very important issue would not have stood out in his mind while responding to the inquiry. He knew but he choose to keep it secret and this intention supplied the animus of a deliberate effort to lie and conceal a fact of consequence. Therefore General Flynn was rightfully fired or rather forced to resign. ICHEOKU says will so do exactly the same if the president; and the same measure applies to a disloyal spouse, friends and/or family members. If they did it once, they could and will most likely do it again, the right circumstance permitting. Icheoku says it was a good decision by the president to let General Flynn go. It is also to send a message to other underlings that such behavior will not be tolerated by the president or in the presidency and will make everyone to sit up and do their job without any mischievous thoughts. Icheoku says General Michael Flynn is a good man and a great patriot who should be considered for other positions including an ambassadorial posting to possibly Russia and let him go to Russia with love.

Monday, February 13, 2017

JOY VILLA: THE TRUMP GIRL AT THE GRAMMYS, WOWED.

ICHEOKU says imagine what a believe in the peoples president could do for you that a previously not so famous singer has ballooned to the stratosphere for audaciously wearing a MAGA outfit to the Grammys. Joy Villa stepped into the den of anti-Trump anarchists which Hollywood has become and bedazzled them with a bold Make America Great Again dress which was adorned with TRUMP on the bottom flared section. ICHEOKU says audacity could not be better defined than this and like McDonald's, is lovin it. 

Good enough, American deplorables responded warmly to her and showed her so much love by spending their money on her music. Such was their generosity of heart that her record sales on Amazon went from ranking Number 543,202 to ranking Number 3 within just a few hours after boldly identifying with President Donald John Trump. A record 18.106.633% increase which saw more of her records sold than Beyonce, Adele, JayZ, Kanye West and Justin Bieber combined. 

ICHEOKU says nothing else would appreciate her love more than the love which was given back to her in return. What a tribute she paid to our dear President Donald John Trump, whom the singer advised hater to rather learn to see the person occupying the office than the politics that put him there. ICHEOKU definitely agrees that those crazy wide-eyed losers should pick up their pieces and move on from their sorrows and tears, fully aware that their whining won't a thing change regarding who American president is and would remain this coming four years, if not eight years.

In her remarks at the Grammys, Singer Joy Villa said "My whole artistic platform is about LOVE. I couldn’t be where I am today without the love and tenderness of those beautiful supporters and friends around me and remember to forget your problems and focus on the future! You are infinite and beautiful and no one can stop you but you. So go out and celebrate yourself as a winner no matter what, together with those you adore. Life is about living free and loving it. Be your beautiful selves. Go big, or go home. You can either stand for what you believe or fall for what you don't. Above all make a choice for tolerance and love. Agree to disagree. See the person over the politics, carry yourself with dignity, always. Life is made to be lived, so go boldly and give no effs.” 

Icheoku says agrees to all that she said. Wonderful words of wisdom from a wonderful soul songstress and Americans, particularly the irredeemable deplorables, rewarded her mightily. Simply put Joy Villa is wonderful and ICHEOKU says to you to pick your own copy of her 'I MAKE THE STATIC' album today. 

Sunday, February 12, 2017

MAKERS CONFERENCE 2017: THE FUTURE IS FEMALE - HILLARY CLINTON.

ICHEOKU says exactly why she lost the last election of November 8, 2016 as American people perceived her to be an extremist who is on the fringe of feminism and leading the attack on family values as well as pushing an unrepentant agenda to turn respective gender roles of the society upside down on its head. Icheoku says was thinking that she learnt at least a lesson or two from her last rejection, but no. In her rather fanatical and maniacal believe that the females of  America far outnumber their males counterpart and that all females vote vagina and not their basic human needs including food on the table and clothes on their back, this wide-eyed feminist has again wandered off the reservation of acceptable speak. 

Once again it is all systems go in her possessed propagation of the feminist female equality nonsocial or rather superiority over men. Delivering a message of solidarity to a feminist group's annual conference in California, Hillary Clinton said, "Despite all the challenges we (feminists) face, I remain convinced that, yes, the future is female." Icheoku queries which future is she talking about and which females does she mean exactly; because if she is delusional about the American society, then she has another thing coming. The American society is still predominantly a macho society, the noisy activism of the unsecured female feminists, who are not comfortable in their skin or who they are, notwithstanding. The other good news too is that women hate one another and even Madam Madeline Albright was this much forthcoming when she urged American females to please rally around one of their own; which of course they rejected by voting nearly equally between Hillary Clinton and President Donald John Trump. 

Icheoku says funny enough and interesting as it may sound, human beings do not or hardly learn from their experiences; otherwise Hillary Clinton would not not have been as boldly imprudent as she was while addressing the MAKER'S 2017 conference. As one commentator put it, the occasion was a golden opportunity for Hillary Clinton to show grace, introspection and some self restraint, but instead she choose otherwise and barreled through the self-censoring barriers into the land of rascality by disparaging and alienating more than one half of American population and by extension, the entire world's human race. The democrat who lost a presidential bid, which was hers for grabs, to a new comer political novitiate President Donald John Trump said that the future is female and belongs to the female species. What has become of this woman, the other woman in Bill Clinton's life or women and debauchery and why is she this possessed by her hatred for males especially those males of America. 

Icheoku says what Hillary Clinton has against males, especially those who call America home is beyond anyone's easy comprehension. What did men do to Hillary Clinton that she is this horn-mad vengeful and looking for an opportunity for a payback. It is a generally widely agreed on proposition that Hillary Clinton is a feminist numero uno whose eyes are crazily wild, red-hot open and looking for a fight with men; which to some people has risen to intentionally seeking an opportunity at vengeance. Should American males be concerned and so perturbed as to engage the services of her husband Bill Clinton to try and get into the mind of this woman and see if there is any way possible to pacify her and make her crave for power more rational and more reasonable. If female is the future, does it mean that men are now so yesterday and have become disposable antiquity of no value and not worth preserving. If these buck-eyed feminists have figured a way to propagate without males or would do with just a male for one every one thousand of them, what exactly do they want the rest of the males to do - commit mass suicide? 

ICHEOKU says this crass female activism of all or nothing must stop and those feminists who see the males as a threatening force which must be completely routed out of relevance, made to shut up permanently never to be seen or heard again from or simply made obsolete and extinct should have a rethink. ICHEOKU says to these feminist anarchists, men are not their problem; their heads which continuously whisper sermons of inferiority complexity to them are the culprit. The earlier they get a grip of this fact the better it will be for their general psychological well-being. As one commentator put it, the ongoing demolition derby of life playing out between the two sexes, the battle of the sexes, might never come to an end if this pervasive mindset continues to fester. A  peaceful partnership and co-existence of both parties is required for far-reaching progress of the collective society at large. ICHEOKU admonishes that the future is both sexes, males and females alike and that Hillary Clinton and her ilk should get over their delusion that the world will ever become a mono-sex female society.  They should learn to become part of the God created and ordained unisex world and collectively aspire to make things better for everyone and where apparent inequity exist, jointly find a remedial relief. What an irredeemable feminist.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

LADY GAGA IS NOT FAT, SHE IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS.

Icheoku says haters will always hate and now they are piling on and trolling Lady Gaga. So it goes that after pressuring Lady Gaga to go politically ballistic against President Donald John Trump during her Super Bowl halftime performance and failed, these liberal wild eyed feminists nuts and their sissy male accomplices have taken to twitter and other social media outlets to hammer Lady Gaga for not being a willing tool in their hands of hate. A spectacular performance which every sane person hailed as stellar and which these lunatic fringed anarchists could not find anyway to fault or impugn has now become a belly fat issue? 

It is her body that they are now going after, claiming that she is fat for a loose hanging belly flop that was hardly noticeable. In their warped mind, just find some fault to fault Lady Gaga for not doing their bidding and haranguing President Donald John Trump, their newest punchbag of fun. In their body-shaming of Lady Gaga, they forgot the time honored decorum never to talk about a woman's body weight and to encourage rather than shame her into discouragement. It appears these cry-babies only duly certified females are entitled to such society's protections otherwise why call her out on "pot belly, belly flop and over the belts' pot belly?" 

Icheoku says Lady Gaga is not fat and whatever loose belly was rather sexy than repulsive. She was simply ladylike, being mindful that the Super Bowl was a celebration of American great sport and that in the mix were fans from diverse broad political spectrum including those who are apolitical. In the crowd too were people who paid hefty sums to enjoy a beautiful game of football, played in its grand finale and would rather not be bothered with political remarks or dragged into partisan politics or in short have their day ruined by political comment from a respected entertainer. In the midst too were a lot of Trump's deplorables as well as Clinton's coolaid drinkers and some non partisan independents; while millions of others watched throughout the nation and also globally. So why would a thinking Lady Gaga and she thinks a lot and very fast too, ruin her performance by dabbling into the current political craziness that have seen some extremists on the very far left losing their minds in a rather unsettling hysteric fashion.

Moreso Lady Gaga is from Texas and was performing in Houston Texas, a very deep red State and understands very well the politics of the host state and would have been out of sync obliging these President Trump's detractors. Icheoku is glad that the no nonsense Lady Gaga had fired back and has now rightfully put these mad hounds in their rightful place - the dustbin of irrelevance. In her own words of wisdom she told them to take care of themselves and leave Lady Gaga alone and let Lady Gaga worry about Lady Gaga's issues, if any, including an alleged hanging loose belly skin. According to her, “I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions. Thank you so much everyone for supporting me. I love you guys. Xoxo, Gaga.”

Icheoku says hopefully these anarchists will not take their action a step further by calling for the boycott of Lady Gaga and her music as well as concerts. The far left liberals are tethering on a lunatic fringe and are capable of taking their actions to whatever level that make them feel fulfilled. The same crocks are now boycotting Ivanka Trump's labels and you wonder what did Ivanka also do to them or was it her fault that her father won the presidency; and none of the things the president allegedly said or did was attributable to Ivanka, yet they want to take her down too. Anyway, Icheoku taking the Lady Gaga admonition a step further, says these jobless lowlife trolls should go get jobs and get a life of their own and stop hating others who worked hard and succeeded. The earlier they start accepting the fact that President Donald John Trump won the election and is the president of all, the better for their psychological well being. What a group of human debris that always insist that they know best and that it must either be their way or the highway to hell. Lunatics.

Monday, February 6, 2017

THE TWO FACES OF 2FACE - REUBEN ABATI

Tuface’s decision to lead a protest to register the dissatisfaction of Nigerians with the performance of the incumbent administration and to reiterate the value of government’s responsibility to the people was his finest moment as a citizen and artiste. But it is also now, with his Jammeh-like volte-face, his worst moment. His transformation into a champion of democratic values and voice of the masses brought him added stardom and value. His retreat has turned him into a revolutionary manqué. He deserves our understanding and sympathy. 
When on 24th January Tuface (Innocent Dibia) announced that he was going to lead, under the umbrella of the Tuface Foundation, a mass protest against the economic policies of the Buhari government, he immediately attracted public interest. A multiple award-winning musician, a naturally talented stage performer and author of at least two evergreen songs: “My African Queen” and “If Love is a Crime”, TuBaba, as he is also known, sounded like he was moving from art to politics, and seemed ready to answer to the true calling of the artist as the conscience of the people. 
Artists and creative persons have always led protests and lent their voices to progressive causes. That much is the case in the United States at the moment, where artistes have raised their voices and joined protests to remind the “insurgent in the White House” that America is a land of freedom, democracy and justice and not bigotry and tyranny. Here at home, Fela, and his cousin, the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and others as well, have shown the power of creativity and stardom as a veritable vehicle for social change and justice. Artists and their art, and their movement from the stage, or the printed page, to the public arena of action have always saved humanity, by humanizing man. This has been the case from Sophocles, all through time and history to Olanrewaju Adepoju, Beyonce and Kanye West. 

But activism comes with a price. Tuface obviously didn’t bargain for that. He received enormous support. His announcement of the February 5, later February 6 protest energized the angry, frustrated Nigerian base, and drew our unrelenting “children of anger” back into an overdrive on social media. The international community also became interested, waiting to see the effect of a protest driven by star-power in Nigeria. It was coincidentally a season of protests across the world: in the Gambia, there had been protests against Yahya Jammeh with a positive outcome, in the US, the UK and elsewhere, Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and his misogyny led to protests on both counts, and in the case of the former, a Federal judge has given a ruling that has resulted in the suspension of the ban. In Cameroon, concerned citizens are protesting over discrimination against English-speaking Cameroonians. In Romania, a sea of protesting citizens has just had its way. There is all around the world, right now, a resurgence and affirmation of people power, be it Brexit or left-wing activism in Europe. Individuals and groups lead such moments in history- what makes them different is the fire in their bellies and their readiness to command the revolution, at great personal risk.
It looked initially as if Tuface had that burning fire in his belly, but he couldn’t make that leap between self-preservation and the risks of rebellion. He had appeared on television. He spoke confidently about the need for real change in Nigeria. He encouraged Nigerians to come out en masse to support the movement. He even announced the color and dress code of the protest. His wife stood by him and she, too, talked about her husband’s convictions about national progress and good governance. Each time Tuface appeared in the media, during those five minutes in the sun, he looked bright and determined. But everything changed late Saturday evening. The recorded video of Tuface’s volte-face, announcing the cancellation of the Feb. 6 protest showed him looking dispirited, broken, ashen as if he had been shaken up and chastised. He looked unsettled with his scraggy, uncombed beard. It is not difficult to know when a man’s balls have been squeezed. 
Tuface actually deserves our sympathy. He must have gone through a lot of pressures that broke his spirit. His capitulation makes us appreciate even better the heroism of those who always stood up to dictatorships. His example is indeed a great lesson…And I mean that positively for the fact that…Despite the massive support that he received, he also received a lot of discouragement. An old ally of his, some guy appropriately called Blackface was one of the first persons to blacken the idea of the protest. Some Nollywood, belle-forever-face-front-chop-money-money-finish-carry-go characters also opposed Tuface. Some musicians too, although in the long run, Tuface was able to mobilize the support of every section of the Nigerian community at home and in diaspora. By Saturday when he poured cold ice on the whole thing, the protest had even grown beyond him, much larger, with others seizing the initiative and turning what he had thought would be a small show into a nationwide and diaspora event.  At that point, Tuface was no longer the singer of sultry songs, but the symbol of a rebellion. The enormity of that potential must have frightened him. He didn’t have the courage to see it through. Leadership is about courage. A coward can never lead a rebellion. 
But we should struggle to understand his situation. He was accused of having seven children from three women, which is an absolutely stupid point. An artist does not have to be a saint. We relate to their art and their engagements with society on the basis of the positive value that they bring forth.  It is also possible that Tuface received pressures from his multiple in-laws, and even the Baby Mamas defending their stakes in his life.  The official wife must have been accused of trying to encourage him to get into trouble so he could get killed and she alone can sit on his estate.  The Baby Mamas and all the in-laws must have called to remind him that his children are still very young and he needs to be alive to be their father and so he should think twice before going to use his chest to stop Nigeria Police bullets. Family members, to whom he is obviously a breadwinner, must have advised him to stay with his singing and dancing and not get involved in politics. They would remind him how Fela’s mom got killed and how Fela’s house was razed down, and how every artist who dared the Nigerian government ended up in exile or in prison or with a strange motor accident.
The Nigerian government was, of course, unhappy with the planned protest, and the idea of it created enormous confusion in Abuja and Aso Rock. While the office of the Acting President spoke about the right to protest and the government not having anything against the expression of fundamental human rights, the Office of the President on vacation made it very clear that the would-be protesters are enemies of the government of the day and sore losers. Those two seemingly contradictory impressions from Aso Rock can only point to one thing: high-level intrigue within. That is probably why the Nigeria Police kept shuffling: we don’t approve of the protest, we do, we don’t, we beg.  The timing says it all also. With the President out of the country, and the plan of the protesters to welcome him with a Trump-like protest from Abuja, to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Akure, and in parts of the Western world, the damage would have been incalculable. And Tuface would have been held responsible for leading the sabotage.  No Nigerian government since 1999 has benefitted from any mass protest. The anti-third term protest hobbled the Obasanjo government. The Jonathan government never recovered from the pro-fuel subsidy protests of January 2012. Tuface and his planned protest had set the stage for a similar prospect for the Buhari government. 
What Tuface imagined was a clean-hearted civil action would have resulted in absolute panic, with some informal voices in and around government doing dangerous analysis on ethnic and religious grounds.  Reckless hypotheses such as the following: (a) “so, as Baba hand over this thing to Osinbajo so, the only thing his Christian brothers think they should do is to organize a protest in Baba’s absence?” (b) “You don hear say Osinbajo’s office say people have right to protest? So, Baba cannot even travel on vacation again. Walahi, these Yoruba people cannot be trusted.”  (c) What are these security people doing? If they are loyal to Baba, by now they should have invited that Tuface, and ask him about the two SUVs that Akpabio gave him and his wife when they got married. They should show him strong evidence that the SUVs were bought with Akwa Ibom state government money and he should pay back the money or get ready to be sued for being an accomplice in a case of diversion of public funds.  (d) Or you could have some people affirming the narrative that was put out by the APC and friends of the government of the day viz:  “this is the PDP at work. Tuface must be an agent of PDP. Why are our own APC people sleeping? Baba no dey around, they want to pull down the country. So, Tuface is now working with Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, to embarrass Baba? This Osinbajo, can we trust him?” 
By pulling the trigger at this time, Tuface simply put a lot of people under pressure and placed their jobs and loyalty at risk -no doubt about it, they must have come after him with a sledgehammer to stop and discourage him. Clear evidence: a counter-revolutionary #IstandwithBuhari protest has already been announced to last for two days. The Tuface revolution that has been abandoned by its main motivator teaches us more lessons about the dynamics of power in Nigeria and the temperament of the resident power elite. Will the protest now take place on February 6, without Tuface? Or will everyone hold fire and down their tools of anger? What is certain, however, is that Tuface is likely to sit at home tomorrow with Anne, his temptingly pretty wife by his side, watching the latest episode of Big Brother Naija on TV, with chicken and salad before him, and a bottle of wine, and one of his hands, innocently setting the stage for the amorous prelude for child number eight. With his wife telling him: “Don't worry yourself, dear, Nigeria is not worth dying for. Who wan die make e go die. You have tried your best, my darling husband!”.
That is how many would-be heroes become anti-heroes, and their dreams die a-borning. If the protests go ahead on February 6 as many are threatening, nonetheless, Tuface would lose a lot. If it doesn’t go ahead, he would still lose. The torch of protest that he has lit may not burn on the streets of Nigeria; it is burning already in the minds of the people. He may have chickened out, but he has already achieved the goal of his initial plan. He has by lending his star power to an anti-Buhari protest, expanded the population of angry Nigerians. He has given voice to their anger and fears. His withdrawal from action will not excuse him. Whatever anyone tells him, in the long run, he would still be punished for his bravery and cowardice on both counts. He should not be surprised if, for the next few months, he doesn’t get invited to any concert, or performance contract, or if he gets to perform anywhere, he could be booed off the stage. He should not be surprised if his phones stop ringing, or if it rings at all, he could be told: “call me on what’s app I beg, I don’t know if they are monitoring your calls.” 
Let no one blame Tuface His stage name Tuface is the name of Janus: the two-face Greek god, who looks in two directions. When it mattered most in his career, Tuface Idibia answered the call of his name

Sunday, February 5, 2017

SUPER BOWL LI: TOM BRADY LEADS THE PATRIOTS TO A MAGICAL 34 - 28 WIN

Icheoku says were this Russia or Italy, it would, most definitely have been a fix, what went down in Super Bowl LI Houston 2017. It is simply incredible that the New England Patriot could come back from their near dead position to pull off what would be considered the most surprising victory in Super Bowl history, coming from a 28:3 deficit in third quarter to clinch the championship trophy 34 to 28 following an instant death overtime play. 

Tom Brady was spectacular as he marshaled his boys to the franchise's fifth Super Bowl victory; the first by any quarterback in NFL history. Icheoku says inexperience and cockiness probably doomed the Atlanta Falcons whose first three unreplied touch downs apparently got into their heads and they forgot that a game is not over until it is indeed over. They became too relaxed and in their celebration before the final whistle, the indefatigable New England Patriots cashed in, charged as wounded lions and overwhelmed the Falcons. 

Icheoku, although rooted for the underdog Atlanta Falcons, but was satisfied by the outcome; moreso as it was a big face-saving victory for the president, President Donald John Trump, who has predicted that the Patriots would win and they won. Imagine what the left wing and their media whores would have done to the president, mocking him for a failed prediction and possibly blaming the president for the hard-luck of the Patriots had they lost. It is another lesson that fighting till the end is the way and manner of champions and indeed the New England Patriots have proved that they earned their storied preeminent position in National Football League. 

ICHEOKU says congratulations to Tom Brady and his boys, their wonderful coach Bill Belichick and of course the owner of the franchise Bob Kraft. What a game it was.  Overall, it was a well staged and well played Super Bowl championship and the weather cooperated as well.