Awake Digest

Eddie Nawgu in his Anioma Healing Centre back in the days. Image credit: Wikipedia This November makes it 24 years since a once-popular spiritualist Eddie Okeke - also known as Eddie Nawgu - was arrested (and some say, abducted) and allegedly summarily executed by the Bakassi Boys in Anambra State. At the time of Eddy Nawgu’s death in November 2000, Bakassi Boys had been legally recognised as a vigilante outfit for Anambra State via a special law in August of that year according to a Sahara Reporters article in 2022. The case appears to have been mostly forgotten since then. So, this is to revisit it after almost a quarter century with the hope of establishing the truth of the matter while ensuring justice where need be. To achieve this, this article will quickly try to present and/or seek viewpoints from a wide spectrum of voices: Authoritative human rights watchdogs, the Eddie Okeke family, members of the public with the relevant awareness, and possibly more. _______ SEE ALSO: In Th...

Dated November 6, 2024 Dear Nigerian journalists, I have been saying this in private discussions over the years. Now, I'm forced to bring it to the public after reading a recent heart-rending report of the beheading of 10 farmers in Niger State, alongside a Chinese national. The assailants were said to have left with the 10 heads or thereabouts! Just like similar news reports by other Nigerian media houses, the above referenced report by Sahara Reporters, uses the word ' bandit ' where ' terrorist ' should have been more fitting. Indeed, there should be a worse word for someone who committed such an egregiously heinous act, expressing a total absence of conscience and humanity. For one thing, at this time of such a high level of food insecurity in the country, killing just one of our farmers could be likened to killing 1 million of us. Now, these beasts in human shape killed, not 1, not 2, 3, or 5, but as many as 10 of our farmers in one operation. And, of course, ...

Every year, around November and December, onions become extremely costly in Nigeria, especially down South. This is an opportunity waiting to be exploited for huge gains while helping millions of families. However, if you are interested in this, we recommend that you take time to get quality knowledge about it before you set out. So start here👇👇👇 In Nigeria, onions are typically propagated during the dry season, which usually occurs from November to March. Here's how onion propagation can be adapted to the Nigerian environment: Propagation Methods 1. Seed Propagation Onion seeds can be sown in nursery beds during the dry season (November to January). The seedlings are then transplanted to the field when they are about 6-8 weeks old.  This method is most convenient if you are a beginner onion farmer because the seeds are easiest to transport from purchase point to farm. However, note that onion seeds are reported to be highly poisonous - which is why you don't see it alongsid...

It was on October 28, 2024, and I was preparing for an Igbo Language lecture in honor of the late writer Chinua Achebe. At one point during the preparation, I needed to write the word ‘ brand ’ or ‘ business ’ in Igbo. So, I approached Meta AI (Llama 3.2) to assist me in doing that. I asked: “ What is the Igbo word for ‘business’? ” I probably thought it was too ambitious of me to start with” brand ”. Surprisingly enough, when I submitted the query, I saw the AI chatbot answering it. Then, all of a sudden, it withdrew the answer and gave me the following excuse: “I don’t understand Igbo yet, but I’m working on it. I will send you a message when we can talk in Igbo” But, I wouldn’t take that… I was very furious at that lame excuse and regretted why I didn’t take a screenshot of the answer I saw scrolling in some seconds before. So, I insisted that the chatbot must restore the answer. Look at the dialogue… Meta AI (Llmam 3.2) translates the word 'business' to Igbo ...

 If you were a regular reader of this magazine by early July, you may remember our publication entitled 'A Catholic Priest Artist In Our Midst '. It was focused on Rev. Fr. Vitus Nnadi, a Catholic priest who doubles as a sculptor. We're sorry to say there's something very important that we missed in that report: Father Nnadi's art studio does not only create crucifixes and statues of the madonna. Instead, the team, from time to time, equally creates stunningly realistic images of everyday people - like your Mom and/or Dad or wife or husband or just anyone you cherish .  It is one of the biggest honor you can do to anyone living or dead. Based on some interviews we conducted, some of Fr. Nnadi's team's most popular work includes a realistic image of a former commissioner in Anambra State, as well as the image of a famous philanthropist. However, while we couldn't access the sites of those reported works at publication time, below is a photo journal of a c...