and they would continue to slap us

        As I try to scribble this piece, i struggle not with words, but with laughter. I am choking because of the numerous responses and reactions which have been generated by a slap welding pastor. The event took place at a church convention where a female member of the church alleged to be a witch, was dished out slaps hopefully (or supposedly) in a bid to exorcise demons from her. The shepherd amidst cheers from his sheep, sorry members, strutted to the stage boasting about his feat.

      This is not a platform to exonerate or condemn the pastor. Afterall "all have sinned and come short of his glory". Rather let us examine the system that enables characters such as this to flourish, even to the point of attaining reverence of some sort. Events such as this are a recurring decimal in the Nigerian society. It is a society where money is a guaranty for immunity.

      This is not the first time that supposedly men of God have engaged in such violent acts. Few years back, a reverend known for his trademark 'goatee' beard was imprisoned on murder charges after he tried to burn a female member of his church alive. Our politicians loot our treasuries and use the same monies to hire a convoy of lawyers to defend them. We celebrate ex-convicts and criminals but the police is quick to swoop on petty thieves. Pineapples and pawpaws are now being imported from Benin and Togo. By 2015, the Ghanaian government would be supplying us electricity. A senator who happens to be a terrorist is now released on bail, yet thousands have lost lives in attacks he bankrolled. This is the only country where the government is scammed by faceless companies. The list of gross misconduct and sheer insensitivity is as endless as an abyss. The government keeps passing draconian policies because they know we are too scared to fight. Nigerians call the name of God for everything including flying cockroaches. We prefer to fast and pray rather than taking

 timely decisions.

        Ours is a society of hypocrisy and ass-kissers.  Why else would they want to remove subsidy yet not cut their bogus allowances. In the 2012 budget, N400 million was allocated to buying newspapers, and N750 million for lunch for the civil service. The amount given to refurbish the 4 existing refineries can build 6 new ones.

     So why wouldn't they continue to slap us? Everyday and in everyway we receive such slaps in a figurative manner. They use the biting poverty to coin prosperity messages and convince us to continually sow to partake in the 'divine blessings'. They take advantage the illiteracy to introduce obnoxious policies and hire orators like Sanusi to use technical mumbo-jumbo to brainwash us. The security operatives oppress us because they see the fear in our eyes and are too scared to know our rights. They use our religious, ethnic and linguistic differences to further divide us and create animosity so that they can create distractions and perpetuate their selfish agendas. The elite thrive on emotional blackmail but we are too preoccupied in making heaven whilst our feet remaineth on earth. Until we decide to deal with this deceit and fear. Until we decide to decipher what is and what should not be.

      Until we learn to lose our lives in order to gain it. Until we realise that

 our elders ate the fruits of their fathers but have refused to plant seeds for the future generations, then we should continue to expect slaps

Growing rate of piracy in west africa

  Perhaps inspired by the success of their Somalian counterparts, the West African coastline seems to be the honey pot of pirate activities. This year alone, the gulf of guinea-a stretch of West Africa's coastline spanning more than a dozen countries, including Angola-has witnessed more than 30 pirate attacks. The worst hit are the coasts of Ghana, Ivory coast Benin and Nigeria, as pirates adopting more organized tactics aim for vessels supplying oil, cocoa and metals to hungry world markets. Unlike their East African counterparts, the pirates operating along the West African coastline are more daring in their operations. They attack ships that are at anchor or close to shore, a contrast in the methodology applied by Somali pirates who attack ships hundreds of miles from the shore. Also, whilst the ship is hijacked and its cabin crew are kept hostage for ransom demands in Somalian piracy, the West African version is more of a hit-and-run tactic. Their
  interest is in the cargo and not the vessel. The surge in pirate activities in the West African region is beginning to draw a lot of media attention. Just recently, the International Maritime Bureau-IMB- highlighted the risk of shipping to tema, Ghana and the Lagos and bonny areas of Nigeria. This has prompted international insurers to rank the coastline in the same risk category as Somalia. This is pernicious to a region already battling with drug smuggling, human trafficking and militant attacks. The obvious consequence is its damaging impact on security, trade and economic activities within the region and principal partners in Americas, Asia and Europe. Perhaps more worrisome is allegations that security agents in the region collaborate with the pirates to carry out their nefarious activities. Political instability in Nigeria and ivory coast, and a weak navy in Benin have provided an ample environment for pirates to carry out their activities uninhibited.
With massive reserves of natural resources, the gulf of guinea plays a pivotal role in international trade. There is an urgent need for countries in the region to take steps at securing their maritime borders and territories. One of such measures is the establishment of a regional navy. Though the french and the U.S navy are offering assistance, this is more of an action to protect their interests. African governments should be wary that these incidences of piracy would be used as a reference point in arguments supporting the establishment of a foreign military base in Africa.