Extracting our fat at gunpoint
Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Nov.29, 2009
 Penultimate week in Peru, the Police arrested four people for allegedly killing dozens of people in order to sell their fat and tissue. The commodity is said to be essential for cosmetic uses in Europe. The finished product, which comes in liquid form, costs [...]

The fear of visiting home

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Nov. 22, 2009
It was my boss, Azu, who amplified the congratulatory messages I got for returning safely to Lagos from the East. “Thank God you escaped the kidnappers,” he enthused.
The journey had elicited sympathies and prayers at the same time. “Please don’t go home. You are a prime target [...]

Wobbling and fumbling to football glory

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Nov. 15, 2009 
I had planned to resume after a four-week break with my experiences in Anambra and some other states I visited during my vacation. But football is in the air. Golden Eaglets will play their U-17 World Cup finals with Switzerland today in Abuja. Yesterday, the Super Eagles [...]

Immunity for distinguished, honourable lawmakers

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Oct. 11, 2009 
In November 2008, our distinguished Senators had their second retreat in Kano. In his address at that retreat, President Umaru Yar’Adua appealed to the lawmakers to urgently review relevant laws to reform our electoral system. The President further urged the Senators to find constitutional solutions to the [...]

Yar’Adua’s independence gift and Onovo’s movies

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Oct. 4, 2009 
President Umaru Yar’Adua is a man of few words. He is also a man whose outward appearance denotes humility. As a private person, these are virtues some people will likely admire and cherish. But as a public figure, these same qualities may present some problems for him.
 Last [...]

Still chasing rats at 49

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in Sunday Punch, Sept. 27, 2009 
A friend, Dr. Chidi Okpaluba, forwarded a story circulating among Nigerians on the Internet to me yesterday. It is about a purported new kidnapping method in town. The incident reportedly happened at a popular shopping mall in Victoria Island, Lagos.
    The story is that a woman, after [...]

PDP’s N5m question

Casmir Igbokwe
First published in SUNDAY PUNCH, Sept. 20, 2009 
Anambra State will never cease to draw attention. It is a state where contradictions and ironies romance high ambitions. The state has produced many intellectuals and astute businessmen. But it also boasts of young men who borrowed the art of kidnapping elsewhere but have now turned it [...]

Aondoakaa must go to confession

Casmir Igbokwe
First published Sept. 13, 2009 
Rev. Father Frazer is said to be Chief Michael Aondoakaa’s school principal at Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School in Makurdi, Benue State. In a recent report, TheNews Magazine quoted the priest as saying that Aondoakaa was a destined child of God. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, [...]

Customs and the sale of second-hand cars

Casmir Igbokwe
First published Sept. 6, 2009
There is a book, published by the London-based Catholic Truth Society, which contains prayers that couples are expected to say before sex. Part of the prayers urges God to place within couples, love that truly gives, self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive, loving physical union that welcomes…
Though [...]

In the name of money

Casmir Igbokwe
First published August 30, 2009 
The following cars are for sale: Mercedes ML350 2006 model, N2.1m; Toyota Prado 2004 model, N1.5m; and Toyota Highlander 2005 model, N1.4m. Lexus GX470 2005 model is N1.6m while a Honda Accord I-VTec 2004 model goes for N1.3m. Some 2000 and 2002 models go for between N500, 000 and N800, [...]