The great John Lennon, ex-member of the 'Beatles'
John Lennon once said he was more famous than Jesus Christ. Many faithful Christians around the world weren’t happy over that defamatory statement he made. However, I’m not writing this article to condemn Mr. Lennon but to congratulate him on his concern over the political crisis in Africa during his period.
Africa has been a neglected continent for a very long time, even though most of the wealth in Europe was taken from that continent. In the sixties, the members of the Beatles were presented with MBE awards, Nigerian-Biafran Gowon haunts did, and John Lennon returned his award to the Queen in protest against UK foreign policy.
He wrote, “Your Majesty, I’m returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts” with love, John Lennon.
The Nigerian-Biafran war in the sixties between Yakubu Gowon and Ojukwu claimed thousands of lives. It was a catastrophe, a human disaster, and a nightmare that still haunts Nigerians.
It’s astonishing that while the world does not care about the turmoil in Africa, just as the racist Margaret Thatcher does not care about the Apartheid, segregation, and the discrimination going on in South Africa ca that time, a common musician like John Lennon cares much about the carnage going on in Africa.
To me, John Lennon wasn’t only a great musician. But a special statesman, an envoy interested in bringing peace to Africa. At the same time, he was bringing the problems of Africa to the awareness of the selfish leaders who do not care about the continent’s political crisis, but the Beatles were only interested in the looting of the continent's rich mineral resources.
Fans of the Beatles want the rejected award that has been in storage at Saint James’ Palace, since 1969, to be placed at the museum, but a spokesman for the Chancery Department of the Royal said that it’s only John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, could decide if it has to go on display or to the museum.
Afriqiyah Airways, poor service, poor facilities
While modern aviation has taken new dimensions to improve aviation safety and ensure the safety of passengers and luggage in all flights, other airlines such as Afriqiyah has broken every rule in civil aviation.
This is a true bitter experience of a passenger that joined the airline Afriqiyah, a couple of months ago.
"I find it very necessary to write my story for other intending passengers that want to travel with this airline to think twice before making any fatal decision," said a woman residing in Britain. In July 2008, I traveled with my son, an eleven-year-old boy, from the United Kingdom to Accra- Ghana, for a six-week-long holiday.
Even though my luggage was controlled and tagged, right under my watchful eyes, when we arrived in Accra- Ghana, our luggage was nowhere to be found. How could our luggage mysteriously disappear? Afriqiyah officials had no clues to the disappearance of our luggage.
When I called their office in Accra to find out where our luggage was, none of the airline officials gave me a positive answer. On many occasions, they don’t want to pick up the phone when I called. At a certain stage, they felt being disturbed by my constant inquiries. How could such a thing happen to a passenger?
It’s only Africa, one could hear such stories. We are a subject of mockery in the eyes of the developing world due to the way some of us do our things. It takes so many years to build up a good reputation but it takes just a second for a stupid fool to destroy all the good works that had been done.
One shocking thing I also observed was that the toilet on the flight wasn't in good order. A hostess stood by, with a bucket of water and rinses the toilet after each use before someone else enters. It is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.
I spent the whole six week holiday with my son in the same clothes we wore on board the flight from the UK to Ghana. Eventually, we returned to the United Kingdom without a trace of our luggage by Afriqiyah officials.
Three months after my arrival; I received a confirmation call from them that our luggage had been found. I wrote a letter to the airline demanding compensation. Till now they refused to reply to my letter or even to send a word of apology.
Is that an airline I would encourage someone to travel with? She asked. Sometimes passengers make mistakes to join cheap airlines but in the end, they lose more than traveling with the best airlines. A word to the wise is enough.
Once alcohol takes control over you, it's hard to break free
Alcohol is now known to be equally dangerous to cocaine and other dangerous drugs that affect the health of the abusers but the fight against it is much relaxed or slow.
A group of doctors in America believes that before the government loses or wins the campaign against cigarettes, cocaine, and other dangerous drugs, without considering alcohol much, it would have claimed millions of lives.
During my youth, I witnessed the effect of alcohol on some of my teachers during lessons in the classroom. When it’s eating time, we had nothing to talk about but the stinking or stench of alcohol we smelled on a particular teacher.
I could also remember my mother on many occasions counseling an alcoholic living in our neighborhood. When my mother didn’t see him any longer passing in front of our house to buy the strong, locally prepared drink, she thought he had gotten the message.
Unknowingly, the man changed his route to avoid my mother seeing him. Eventually, the man succumbed to illness and died. The postmortem revealed that he died from excessive drinking.
In America, medical statistics have it that nearly 14 million over 18 are alcoholics. Another 1.3 million suffer from alcohol dependencies. Overall, almost 8% of adults have problems with alcohol, costing the economy an estimated $100 billion a year in health care costs and loss of productivity. Fatal road accidents worldwide are also related to alcohol.
Indy Mehigan, 17, a transformed alcoholic, once terrorized the streets of Lowestoft, Suffolk, in Britain. According to her, “I was just 12 when I first swigged vodka with my giggling mates in the school toilets. A few years later, I had turned into a violent, drunken youth who thought of nothing but smashing someone’s face."
"Then a friend told me about Positive Futures, a youth project in Lowestoft that helps teenagers with addiction and other problems. With their help, I left the gang and started a college course, and I’m now retaking my GCSEs.
I’m also doing a course where I can mentor other kids. These days, when I see gangs of youths, I’m the one who crosses the street. But I also feel sorry because they are wrecking their lives.” She said. (Culled from Daily Mirror, Saturday, February 23, 2008, edition)
This is the confession of a young girl who has been in the abyss of alcohol drinking, but now is out of it and piously and consciously stepping out to help others. As a nation, people have to understand the crisis in alcohol abuse for several reasons.
Drinkers may find it legal, pleasurable, and even beneficial, but at the end of it all, when hooked, let’s us view its disastrous effect on humans and on the roads. Besides the deaths alcohol has caused, it has also contributed to many broken homes, painful divorces, separations, and juvenile crime. .,
Alcohol is not just a closet problem but a full-blown health crisis that is crippling our nation as well as families. Kick it early or don’t go for it at all.
