We Tell It Africa

Everyone prays to experience the sunny sides of life, everyone hopes for the good of life and while we all hope, sometimes against all hope, and we pray to see a rainbow in our skies to give us a glimpse of hope that our prayers and desires will someday see the light of day. Unfortunately, the endless wait sometimes ripples into frustration and depression, then, sadly drives some to the edge, the edge of suicide.  Every suicide is a mystery; not just for the one who committed the act but to the ones left behind to, not only understand the mystery behind it, but to live with the pain and stigma that trails it. Suicide doesn’t end the pain; it just transfers it to another. While Africans and Nigerians especially sarcastically claim that it is un-Nigerian to commit suicide, yet it has become rampant, though under reported. There has been various cases of suicide lately especially amongst young people. Nigerians and Lagosians particularly will not forget in a hurry the case

Olikoye Ransome-Kuti was born in Ijebu Ode on 30 December 1927, in present-day Ogun State, Nigeria. He came from a radical and distinguished family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a prominent political campaigner and Women's Rights Activist, and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was a Clergy, School Principal, and also the first president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers. He was said to have flogged a White Colonial Inspector who flouted his directive, at a time when Nigerians treated their British overlords like demigods. His brother Fela grew up to be a legendary Musician and a founder of Afrobeat, while another brother, Beko, became an internationally known Doctor and Political Activist. From 1948 to 1954, Olikoye attended Abeokuta Grammar School, and the University of Ibadan. Between 1948 and 1954, he studied Medicine at Trinity College Dublin. He worked as Senior House Officer at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and as a Locum in Hammer

Kenneth Onwuka Dike was born December 17, 1917, in Awka, former Eastern region, Nigeria. He attended Dennis Memorial Grammar school, Onitsha and went on later to Achimota College in Ghana and then to Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone. He received his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Durham, England and a Master in Arts degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Later on, he earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of London. With a PhD from London, Dike became the first African to complete Western historical professional training. At the University College of Ibadan, he became the first African Professor of History and Head of History Department. He founded the Nigerian National Archives, and helped in the founding of the Historical Society of Nigeria. As both a Historian and leader of the University of Ibadan's Post-Graduate School in Nigeria, Dike, according to Michael Crowther was said to have "Nigerianized Nigerian history". Through hi

 Earlier this year, I met this handsome teenager in Abuja with Cerebral Palsy, David Mgbeahurike, and he completely changed my perception of the health condition. Asides his very amiable personality, he also had an enviable ambition of becoming a Medical Doctor just so he could "help people" like he put it, thus he was preparing for his O'Levels and subsequently UTME exam. His ambition was obviously not just an illusion as my interaction with him showed a high level of intelligence especially for someone with his health condition. I must add that he also had an admirable comportment,  and this could partly be attributed to the acceptance and love from his parents and siblings.  The joy of parenthood is better experienced than explained thus every parent prays for healthy children. However, that, to a large extent, can only be determined by fate. So when there is a diagnosis or an observation that doesn't seem normal, panic sets in. Its worse when its a lifelo