Welcome to Ikenna Ugwu's Blog

The day Nigeria marked her 56th Independence Anniversary; Pastor Poju Oyemade of Covenant Christian Centre gave us a real treat on The Platform. It was a good moment to reflect on the ordeals and trajectories of our nation. Pastor Oyemade assembled a coterie of highly cerebral speakers who seasoned the event. Ever since that day, an eccentric kind of feeling has filled the air, and the social media is awash with certain impetuous hash tags. 

It promises a beautiful night of literature as Thought Pyramid Arts Centre hosts the brilliant duo of Elnathan John, author of Born on a Tuesday and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim author of Season of Crimson Blossoms. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. See you there.

The man must be dead who refuses to dream; who has stopped believing. There is no life in him. But life (and strength) comes from, and is in him who knows and believes that “the world makes way for the man who knows where he is going…” In every “casting down”, I know there is a “lifting up”. I am a firm believer. Yes. I am. It has been ages (and I miss you guys) since I said or shared anything here. I have been on a hibernate mode, grossly distracted by life issues.  My friend calls it “life grinds”. They try to knock me off the ground. The latest of all that happened was devastating, a deep shock. It still shocks.  But pain demands to be felt. I know. I have a child-like believe in what I do. I believe in it, the way people believe in fairytales. And that’s why I can’t stop. My blogger friend, Chiegboka once wrote about her ItchyFingers , “…my fingers …have been silent for so long, the joints ache to come back to life. They had big dreams when they were firmer...

The man, truly, must be dead in him who keeps silence in the face of violence. But what happens when you are continually suppressed, strangled and crushed, to the point there is no voice left in you; and the press, whose major obligation includes adequate surveillance on the society, time and again thinks your stories trivial, and scrambles for ‘juicy’ political stories? And then you are, pathetically abandoned, in your vulnerability, to the mercy of a government that sees a man with money or power before you. What happens when the police, an institution that ridicule itself as your friend turns its back to hunt you? You must be a pawn of fate. All over the world today, the protest is mounting against perceived and glaring government injustice against her people. And the people must unite to defend herself against the government she voted to protect her. “If we do not have the right to speak freely, we will turn into a society that suffers from intellectual malnutrition, a nat...

Intelligence is a unique feature in every human, the variation, however, is in the conscious, accurate or otherwise application of it. One is not just intelligent because of his physical attributes, not even the size of his brain; it is, in the most realistic sense, because of the quality which that intelligence displays. I consider Uzoamaka Doris Aniunoh intelligent for the incisiveness in her Balcony story. You may not have heard about Doris, probably you may not even think she is capable of anything. But I tell you of truth, Doris is likely another Nigerian literary topnotch on the rise. Through art man is able to imitate, supplement, and in some cases even counteract the course and works of nature. And that underscores his incontestable brilliance and wittiness. One of the benefits and beauties of literature is that through it we are able see ourselves, our world, as in a mirror, and review our lives. And “Balcony” a succinctly brilliant story by Doris - a sure literary ...

The cat enjoys both cooked and uncooked fish. But there is wisdom in the man who makes his cat endure hunger for a while in other to make a whole and nutritious meal for the cat. Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District last Thursday reportedly distributed twelve camels, eight cows and other food stuffs worth over N15 million. The senator who also is the president Civil Right Congress of Nigeria claimed his office was involved throughout the month of Ramadan in programme of feeding the poor in seven local governments in his zone. However, Senator Shehu ought to be ashamed of his misplaced, illogical philanthropic gestures to the people whose governor is working hard to redefine their lives through functional government policies and institutions. But he cannot be more ashamed than I am, finding that this charade actually came from a man of his repute; that this is what he thinks is expedient for his people at a time of dwindling economic fortunes of the ...

By appointing the Service Chiefs, President Mohammadu Buhari exercised his constitutional prerogative. But failure of the National Assembly to screen and consequently approve or disapprove such appointments, as the case may be, is a monumental legislative blunder. President Mohammadu Buhari earlier this week relieved the Service Chiefs of their duties and almost immediately appointed new ones. This shake-up in the nation’s security department has been anticipated since Mr. President’s assumption of office. The absence of which many claim is responsible for the dawdling in the nation’s military assault on the belligerent, infamous sect called Boko Haram. Following Mr. President’s recent actions, it was expected that the National Assembly would return from their recess to screen the candidates nominated by the president. But the senate leadership did not consider it expedient. What we got rather was a shocking claim by the senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki. Mr. Buh...