Drums of war herald ‘Valentine’ elections

There is fear that the history of rigging and violence will repeat itself in the elections starting on February 14, 2015, CHUX OHAIwrites

A few weeks ago, a popular standup comedian based in Lagos needed financial support for a project he wanted to start. But when he approached a relative for help, he got an unexpected response: the latter advised him to wait till the end of the general elections before going ahead with his plan.

...cont'd at The Punch...

To all Sickle-Cellers...

A cruel fate
They all shared...

The look on his face
Spoke volumes of encyclopaedic words.
His wife is battling with death
On a vileless bed
In a death-ridden hospital...

Her eyes once living
Stare coldly at the dirty dangling ceiling
Blank they were
Emotions they showed not
Her destination they yet revealed...

He ran helter-skelter
The deed has been done before
The right-handed killer has struck
The flailing candle in the turbulent wind
Has finally been flushed...

Sorry, he heard
Tears ceased to flow
They had killed his love
Negligence was their instrument
Cruelty was their weapon...

Now all isn't well
The forest refused to heed their call
It was filled with a thousand demons
Who fought tooth and nail
For the soul of the poor sickle-celler...

Abiku, she was tagged as
But she lived the said twenty-one years
Yet her frail and pale body
Fell to the poison living within her.
Sickle-cell kills in multitude...

Song of a gourmand

Song of a gourmand

I had just eaten a plate
When the dream fell in and off I went
To the plane of the astral realms
Followed the consumption...

Such is the power of
Of a meal so powerful
Yet intoxicating
That more and more you wish to consume...

Gulping and gourmandizing
The palatial plates placed before me
I dream of a better nation
Where food grew aplenty for all and sundry...

The meal of meals
Placed on tables of tables
Dressed in what-gods-know-not
But still as edible and colourful as it looks...

I eat and dream
Dream and wish
Wish that all my dreams come to pass
Pass and never end. In this foodly arena...

Once food is around
All dreams are realised
Food solves all problems
That dreams and wishes never solves...

Betting shops, threat to viewing centres, pool houses

The advent of sports betting shops in the country have become a source of worry to operators of match-viewing centres and agents of pools houses, writes Idris Adesina

“This Arsenal team are capable of making someone hypertensive. They are a very unreliable club,” an Arsenal fan shouted in a football betting shop in Ojuelegba, Lagos.

This was after Arsenal lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the English Premier League. It should have been just like any other EPL result but the Gunners’ fan was irritated because he had staked a bet on his favourite team, hoping that they would play a draw against the visiting Manchester United.

Even though he lost the stake, he still had a consolation, as his bet of a first half draw earned him some money.

Cont'd at The Punch