KC PRESH AS STAR QUEST JUDGES

I appreciate what Nigerian Breweries is doing in encouraging and supporting budding young Nigerian musical talents with their program: STAR QUEST. Undoubtedly, Star Quest has given many youths a platform and recognition that they normally might not have gotten if not for the program. As a matter of fact, my friend Tunde, is a part of the Pulse, the winners of the 2009 edition of star quest. The young lads, and lass have gone on to become household names with their hit singles ‘so tey,’ and they even featured Busta Rhymes in the remix of that song.
Having said all that, I must register my displeasure at the way some of the judges of star quest have been conducting themselves.
I was watching the audition/screening of the new season of star quest on TV few days ago, and I was miffed at the way KC of KC Presh addressed some of the contestants.
Granted, some of the contestants had no business been in that competition because they obviously lacked the talents to be musicians, but there are better ways to disqualify people from a competition without injuring their pride and ego.
KC was rude to some of the contestants, and that wasn’t nice. If recollection serves me correctly, KC PRESH were the pioneer winners of the competition. The won the prize by singing a popular Christian song, which they made slight modifications to. For years, that was the only song they performed at shows, and people soon got tired of them. A lot of Nigerians complained that they couldn’t see the talents that KC Presh possessed which warranted them winning the competition.
Several years down the line, KC Presh cannot boast of any major hit, so I thought KC would at least be understanding of the plight of those ‘poor’ upcoming musicians, but not so.
As a matter of fact, lots of people have gone on to become successful musicians after they had been turned down and rejected. A popular example is D’banj, who wasn’t allowed to sing in his church choir.
If we take a look at the top musicians in the country right now, most of them wouldn’t stand a chance in competitions like Star Quest or Project Fame. This means that musical skills aren’t the only prerequisites for stardom. Things like charisma, and personality of the artist play very important roles as well. Timi Dakolo, a gifted musician by all standards, won the Celtel Idols competition, but yet, his impact is yet to be felt in the Nigerian music scene.
Some of the people KC insulted could easily turn out to be tomorrow’s hit makers, and then what would KC do? Run to them for collaborations?
If you ask me, I’d say that the only reason why KC Presh is on the panel of judges is because they were the pioneer winners of the competition. KC doesn’t possess any obvious musical skills, so he is not even qualified to pass judgment on those contestants whose only ‘sin’ was to pick up the nomination forms.
Simon Cowell, of the American Idols fame, who KC might actually be trying to imitate, is abrasive alright, and it works for him, but he has also got on the wrong sides of people lots of times. If anybody should be abrasive, it shouldn’t be KC, been that he is a musician with roots in Ajegunle, so he knows what upcoming musicians face in this country.
Like I said earlier, there are lots of ways to pass your points across candidly without been rude or hurting the person involved. An unpleasant word in the presence of a crowd and on T. V for that matter is capable of damaging a person’s morale for life.
KC, please don’t get carried away. You are a role model, and your duty is to inspire people and not discourage them.
I rest my case!

PS: Kudos to Nigerian Breweries. Keep up the good work.

JOS: CITY OF DEATH?

I remember in 2004, when a crisis erupted in Jos. The statistics of death was alarming, and the pictures from the carnage seemed like something taken from a Steven Spielberg horror movie.
Hundreds of people were killed, and the situation eventually led to a state of emergency been declared in that state. The governor of Jos then, Joshua Dariye, was suspended for six months, and a military administrator took over.
What dominated the news for a period of time after that mindless carnage, was the politics surrounding governor Dariye’s suspension from office.
Yes, people talked about how it was unfortunate for the victims to die needlessly, but our leaders focused more on whether a state of emergency should have been declared or not. God!
Fast-forward to 2008, and yet another crisis erupted in that once serene city. A friend of mine lost his dad, and my school, Olabbisi Onabanjo University (OOU), also lost some of her alumni that were in Jos for their national service. In all, over five hundred Nigerian lives were lost in that tragedy!
Then, the situation got me thinking of the casualties more as individuals than just numbers.
Death is inevitable, but it is a very bad thing when it is evitable. Someone once likened human beings to strings of a guitar: if you tweak one string, the reverberation would be felt by all the other strings. That means that when one person dies, it has a ripple effect.
The average human being has a father, mother, siblings, nephews, nieces, cousins, friends, neighbours, school mates, church members, mosque members………………….the list is endless. When one person dies, the effect is felt by everybody that had come in contact with that person.
Nigeria is a blessed country, and our citizens’ lives are priceless, but what does it say about us, when we shed each other’s lives like skin off a snake’s back?
Once, a United States war ship was hijacked off the coast of Somalia. There were about ten people on that ship. The US government refused to pay any ransom, but rather, raised an elite force to rescue their citizens. At the end of that scenario, all but one of the Somalian pirates was killed. The lone survivor was taken to New York for trial, but no American life was lost.
There have been lots of cases where journalists were kidnapped in hostile situations all over the world, more recently in places like Iraq, Afghanistan e.t.c.
When such a situation occurs, the country that is affected, will not rest on its oars, until its citizen is returned hale and hearty.
Those are people who place premium on human lives. Can Nigeria do the same? One of the reasons why the Jos crisis keeps recurring is because there is very little regard for human lives. That is why hundreds of people can be wiped out inside their country in peace time.
We can never progress as a country, if we do not respect the sanctity of human lives.
Jos has turned into a city of death. Stories of Jos’ scenic beauty and hospitality have now become history. Jos is on a path to self destruction.
Something drastic needs to be done, and it needs to be done fast. There is no need for probes, inquiries, committees, or all such frivolities.
The root causes of these carnages are known, but what needs to be done is for the government to summon the political will to deal with this gory malady decisively.
A lot of committees have sat, but their reports have never seen the light of day. The time is long overdue for the government of Nigeria to put a permanent end to this wanton destruction of Nigerian lives.
A government ceases to be a government if it cannot perform its basic responsibilities, and one of the basic responsibilities of a government is to protect the lives of its citizens.
Good people from a great nation don’t kill each other over cattle, or such nonsense.
Jos must be rescued from the merchants of death who are hell bent on turning that beautiful city into a ghost town.
All of us must rise up to collectively condemn this, and to demand actions from our leaders. Our countrymen are not goats and chickens, so they shouldn’t die like that. Remember that whatever happens to your fellow man today, could easily happen to you. This is an issue of national importance. Jos must be sanitized!

NB: R. I. P to the people who lost their lives in the Jos crisis. May God ease the pain of their families.

IS WRITING A LOST ART? (1)
I believe that it is quite obvious, that nowadays, people tend to scoff at intellectualism. It seems that no matter their level of education, lots of people are averse to logic.
Decorum has been thrown to the wind, and in some places, merely by speaking proper English, you are already labeled as a ‘geek/nerd.
Imagine one young fellow waking up one morning and telling his folks and friends that he wants to become a writer. They’d all probably laugh it off at first, until they found out it wasn’t a joke. Then they’d take turns at advising him.
His friend would say, ‘What’s wrong with you, guy? Seriously, dude, are you on drugs?’
Another would say, ‘Forget it man, if you want to do anything creative, go and sing abeg. That’s where the money is at. Can’t you see D’banj? Small boy controlling more money than his grandfather’s mates. Forget it o!’
His father would probably say, ‘Son I love your drive and spirit, but then let me borrow you from my wealth of experience. Writing is very good, but it is not appreciated in this part of the world. I’d advise you to forget about writing for now and look for a business that is more lucrative. May God bless you my child!’
By asking where are the writers? I could end up ridiculing myself. Perhaps, a better question should be, where are the readers?
Nowadays it is hard to find people who are interested in reading anything, except, compulsorily, their textbooks. Once, a university student told me that he considers, ‘guys who read novels, as gay people.’
Is that so? I don’t think so. The truth is that any reader of good materials is a potential leader. There are only two ways a person can advance in life: the books he/her reads, and the people he/she meets. But the fact is that your hopes lie in reading good books because rarely can you find a leader who is not a passionate reader.
I am a writer, so on behalf of my primary constituents, I ask this pertinent question: Are we going extinct?
The reality is that a lot of people sneer at literature this days. So how then, can they respect it as an art?

WHERE IS MY MIND?

It's not a rhetorical question. I really am looking for my mind. Just a few minutes ago, I wanted to think, but my mind wasn't where it used to be. I really need to think urgently, so who's giong to think for me?
This is not a joke! I mean it, who's going to think for me?
I've got God on my mind, I've got school on my mind, I've got business on my mind, I've got girls on my mind.................I've got a lot of things on my mind.
How do I manage? It is not that I really appreciate the work that professional jugglers do..............I mean keeping so many balls in the air at once!
Anyway, I just found my mind. Poor thing, it went into hiding when it realised I was over working it. Would you blame it?