By Okechukwu Okugo How things have changed in this world. When I look at how children these days are growing and compare it the way we grew the contrast is beyond comparison. I remember the fun that accompany childhood with nostalgia and when I look at how today's kids are growing sometimes I cannot help it but think that there is absolutely something they are missing.  In the villages those days particularly in the Eastern part of Nigeria where I grew up I remember many games we they natives were known for.  For example the guessing games we play with seeds, covering them secretly in our hands and asking fellow children to tell us how many seeds we are having, those who fail the guess give us the same number of seeds we are covering. The aim of which is to get as many seeds as possible from others and when someone guesses correctly he or she gets the seed and then plays his or her turn. I remember the hiding and seek games and numerous other outdoor games. There we...

By Mrs Rose Ebere NIGERIA – Relationship is one of the most powerful and common things in the world. That is why all living things perform a kind of pairing. From birds of the sky, mandrills in the forest, to the fishes in the seas including microorganisms. No man is an island, without interactions the world will lose its piquancy. Marriage is one of the most important institutions in the world. Everybody feels the need for warmth and companionship, triggered by the dynamic quality of love. Loneliness is destructive. Nonetheless marriage is far more than mutual interaction or relationship. It is a relationship with the utmost intimacy which is why it exerts the most long-lasting impact on someone. The very more reason why one needs to prepare ahead in time for it.   When can one start preparing for it or what is the ideal age for marriage? There are many suggestions from different experts about the age bracket usually thought to be the most appropriate time for marriage b...

Emperor Fasiladas' Magnificent Castle built by the late 1640s By Okechukwu Okugo Not only that Ethiopia is a very ancient civilization in Africa but a beautiful country. It is in the horn of Africa. Most of the country is taken up by a central plateau but because much of central Ethiopia is mountainous, Ethiopia's land cannot be described as a plateau. Below is some of the reasons why this beauteous peaceful land is an interesting spot to vacate: 1. Ethiopia is Africa's one of best bird watching locations with over 800 bird species, including over 20 that are endemic to the region.   Ethiopian birds 2. There is an unequaled World Heritage Site in Ethiopia located at Gonder, a conglomeration of majestic castles built by Emperor Fasiladas in the 1640s. The inside compound of this grand palace is very vast and with the employ of a knowledgeable well trained guide that costs not more than Birr100, you would absolutely enjoy your tour of this ancient fac...

This picture is from 1st January, 1914 the day Lord Lugard manufactured Nigeria by merging Northern, Southern Nigeria and Lagos.    Colonial Nigeria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria British colony ← ← 1914–1960 → Flag of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria Anthem God Save the King / God Save the Queen Nigeria (red) British possessions in Africa (pink) 1914 Capital Lagos Languages English Government British Crown colony High Commissioner / Governor  -  1914–1919 Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard  -  1948–1954 Sir John Stuart Macpherson History  -  Established 1 January 1914  -...

By Okechukwu Okugo It seems that humans have always been the problem of this planet for a very long time now. According to Discovery News, "Humans caused 322 animal extinctions in past 500 years." But one thing about extinction is that animals are not only the victims, humans also have suffered some form of it themselves if not for in any other way, but at least in the languages they spoke.  Thus many spoken languages of the world had become endangered and most wiping away totally and not spoken at all by any one today. Defining endangered language in one of his published journals, Ani Kelechi Johnmary of the Department of History and Strategic studies of Federal University of Technology, Abakaliki, Nigeria, wrote, "Endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language." And personally I define an illiterate as a person who does not know how to read or write in his na...