Stories Cultured For Curious Minds

Educating a Shell Worker

Post author:Grimot Nane Zine
Post published:November 19, 2010
Post category:Corruption Ecocide Governance Institutions Niger Delta Crisis The Environment
Post comments:4 Comments
Reading time:13 mins read

Ever since ex-President Obosanjo threw the gauntlet to Nigerians in general in to prove the acts of corruption of General Babangida (rtd) (Nwaobi 2004), it has become fashionable for specially interested Nigerians to ask for proof of obvious crimes and malfeasance carried out against the nation and its people by either privileged individuals or organisations with a sole purpose i.e. the presumed impossibility of individuals to provide the proof asked for. That is a very delusional precedent for Nigerians to uncritically follow since in reality there is abundant proof of Babangida’s acts of corruption. (more…)

Eradicating Ecocide: A Review

Post author:Grimot Nane Zine
Post published:November 16, 2010
Post category:Ecocide Institutions Niger Delta Crisis
Post comments:4 Comments
Reading time:5 mins read

Eradicating Ecocide: A Review

Ecocide eradication, as both a concept and an institution of (enforceable) international (and local) application, is creating a popular stir of concern for its critics and enthusiasm for its supporters; respectively. It is going to get more serious as the ascendance of both its acceptance and the resistance to it unfolds. Acceptance often takes time, and resistance wears out with time, so that time will decide the fate of ecocide law as a legitimate institution. (more…)

Good for the People, Good for Everybody

Post author:Grimot Nane Zine
Post published:November 11, 2010
Post category:Musings Social Relations
Post comments:3 Comments
Reading time:3 mins read

Good for the People, Good for Everybody

Lawrence Cook in The Spy Who Sat On The Doorstep (Courtesy IMDB)

I remember from the mid to late 70s, Sacro Ogban, a cool, sociable, and trendy guy I admired for his personality and style. About 12 years older than me, he was of light-skin and had a close resemblance to Larry Cook. Yes, the star of the movie, The Spook Who Sat At The Doorstep and also a similar persona. Sacro would always make a toast at some stage during drinking sessions with his friends, a regular event.

The wording of the toast was constant, said with a hint of a Harlem, New York accent. “That which is good for the people is good for everybody” or sometimes “What is good for the people is good for everybody.” His use of the latter version more often. The meaning or context of the toast was obscure to me but always met with effortless acceptance from his friends. Yes, the toast made little sense to my preteen mind, but it was catchy. In 1978, he left Orerokpe, where both our parents lived and went overseas for studies. (more…)