Category: POLITICS

When Courage Takes Flight

Cadets toss their hats in the air as the Thunderbirds fly over Falcon Stadium at the United States Air Force Academy Commencement ceremony, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. May 28, 2014.

 

By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post

Originally Published on Saturday September 20, 2014 at 00:45 AM CT

 TIMES Magazine reported two days ago  that henceforth the United States Air Force (USAF) have promulgated a new policy saying that airmen trying to join USAF will no longer be required to say “So help me God” during their oath-taking ceremony.

This was in reaction to the threat of a lawsuit last week against the USAF by an airman that was trying to re-enlist into the service but was prohibited from doing so until he uttered the phrase “So help me God” during his oath-taking ceremony. Which he chose not to do.

For analysis sake, the prospective airman has previously served in the Air Force. He was trying to re-enlist. So he know the initiation rituals and code of conduct at the USAF. I beg to assume therefore that he enjoyed his service years in the Air Force and that was why he wanted back. You never try to go back to a job you never liked or enjoyed.

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WHEN THE STATE BECOMES A TOOL OF VENGEFULNESS

Eric Garner, a 44 year old African-American man being strangled to death by officers of the New York Police Department. July 17, 2014.

 

By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post
Originally Published on Tuesday August 12, 2014 at 6:30 AM CT

 Ideally in criminal justice, when a crime is committed, a suspect is never arrested for the crime until a compelling evidence amounts that he apparently committed the said crime. Then will a warrant for his arrest be issued. Except in cases where the suspect(s) is caught in the act by law enforcement agencies. This is because in our present-day society, every arrest for whatsoever crime seemingly (I used seemingly because people has been framed for a crime they didn’t commit and evidence planted to pin the crime on them) committed goes into public record and counts against the name of the person with the criminal record. For example, if it is on record that a man was once arrested for pedophilia, just that very fact will make it almost impossible for him to get a decent job in this society because of the stigmatization associated with such crime. Regardless of whether he was later absolved from the crime or not. In the same light, if a man is jailed for rape or murder, after he has served his time, he may not be able to vote again. A criminal record can abort one’s career; condemn him to menial jobs where his supposed criminal record will not pose a threat to his employer, and some of the times, a criminal record can deny a person his civil liberties such as voting in elections.  The act of rushing into the arrest of a suspect in a crime without proper investigation can destroy the suspect’s life forever especially when the suspect is innocent of the charges. And in this 24-hour news cycle of ours where the media is always on the roll chasing after latest headlines, a rushed arrest and imprisonment can cause irreparable damage to a man’s integrity especially if the mass media that broadcasted his guilt to the world, typically, does not show up (they seldom do) to retract their statements after the suspect who is now a victim of overzealousness has been proved innocent of the crime. Hence the need for decorum and thorough investigation before any arrest.

This essay will not be focusing on the O.J. Simpson’s or the Oscar Pistorius’ kind of cases that enjoyed/enjoys international media coverage because the suspects in these cases are celebrities. This essay’s main focus is the regular guy on the street who got arrested and jailed by cops because he looked a certain way. It is about the guy who went into a consensual sex with an adult female who however had sinister thoughts towards the guy and shouted rape once both of them are naked. And it is also about the man who is a constant victim of domestic violence and abuse by his wife or girlfriend, but could do nothing to defend himself because 99% is the chance that upon his reaction the woman will call cops on him, cops who will unwisely arrest and jail the man only on the woman’s word without any form of investigation.

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IN DEFENSE OF PRESIDENTIAL DECISIONS

Barack Obama making his 2nd Inauguration Speech As The 44th President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. January 20, 2013.
By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post
Originally Published on Monday June 23, 2014 at 4:54 PM CT

In 2008 we elected Barack Obama to four years in office as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. By so doing, we deferred to him the mandate to make decisions on our behalf as a nation, both in domestic and in foreign policies. Good or bad, we live the consequences of his decisions. The buck stops with him.

Because we were satisfied with the choices and decisions he made on our behalf in his first term, such as killing Osama bin Laden and passing the Affordable Care Act – which has now become law, when in 2012 he sought re-election, we voted him back to the Oval Office to continue to make decisions on our behalf as a nation.

Presidents are mere men who are susceptible to making error of judgments just as we all do. Barack told us while he was running for the Office of the President that there will be false starts and that he will make mistakes.  He never promised to get it right at all times. Presidents make mistakes, but what is never questionable is the motive behind every decision a president make, whether good or bad. Which are always in service to country and in service to humanity. Meanwhile, in their hallowed position, presidents some of the times make decisions which may be unpopular with the masses as at the time the decisions were made, but which in the long  turns out to be wonderful decisions because they had privileged information and intelligence that informed their decision. Information which are classified and therefore not available to the average joe, the paid  political analyst on television who knows nothing more than the average joe, the radio talk show host, and of course, the political strategists from the opposition party.

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The Leader the World Needs

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By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post
Originally Published on Tuesday June 17, 2014 at 10:10 AM CT

The jury have decided and there is now a general agreement that President Obama have diminished America’s power and global influence through his policies.  Consequent of his lax foreign policies, oppressors like President Assad of Syria got away with killing thousands of Syrians with chemical weapons even when President Obama told the world Assad will face serious consequences if he did so. Assad called him bluff and did exactly that and Obama didn’t come up with any punishment. That is unpresidential.

On Iran’s nuclear weapon’s program, the President is kowtowing to the dictates of the ayotallahs, trotting along with them around the world on a globally acknowledged sham and fruitless negotiations, and seriously resisting every attempt by Congress, even calls from lawmakers in his own party, for a more biting economic sanctions that can force Iran’s hand and make them reconsider their nuclear weapon’s ambition. That also is a flat out error in judgment as if someone didn’t learn anything from Chamberlain. Appeasement makes the aggressor more aggressive. You do not kowtow to Iran. You force their hand.

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…….On Gay Marriage

gayness

 
By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post
Originally Published on Friday June 13, 2014 at 3:37 PM CT

 GOD had a good thought towards man who was lonely after he was created. A very good thought for a wonderful family life. “And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” And He went ahead to create Eve out of Adam’s rib and charged them to be fruitful and multiply……. That was the first marriage. And that was the origin of marriage. A union between a man addressed as the husband and a woman addressed as the wife.

Hang in there with me. Am going somewhere.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defined the noun wife as ‘a married woman,’ ‘the woman someone is married to,’ ‘a female partner in a marriage.’ On husband, the dictionary defined it as ‘a married man,’ ‘the man someone is married to,’ ‘a male partner in a marriage.’

So marriage has its origin in the Scriptures as America have its founding principles rooted in freedom. And just as an Iranian religious extremist or a Saudi with their tradition of misogyny cannot come to America and rather than choose to fit into the system, resorts to changing the American way of life just to suit his foreign ways; so should no one subscribe to the institution of marriage and want to redefine its founding principles, which is an established union between a man and a woman.

Meanwhile when God created man and woman, he gave us all the freedom of choice. The freedom to choose who to love, where to live, and what career path to pursue. And so much more. Those are inalienable rights. No man has the right to make a choice for the next man. And no one also has the right to impose his or her choices on another person.

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ATTRACTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT TO NIGERIA

 

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Construction work at the early stages of the development project of the Calabar International Convention Centre (CICC), Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria. CICC Image/May 2014.
By Chinedu Ezeocha for Ezeocha Post
Originally Published on Wednesday May 21, 2014 at 3:07 AM CT

According to World Bank data, China enjoyed a rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) from US$30bln in 2000 to $150bln in 2008. Cheap labor and existing infrastructure were responsible for this boom in FDI. As Chinese workers are getting educated and demands for better working conditions are on the rise, corporations are relocating their manufacturing base to neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh. Many are trooping into Africa. Ghana in recent times has been a host to legion of foreign corporations seeking access to cheap labor, existing infrastructure, and security for business.

FDI lowers the rate of unemployment, boosts the economy, and produces a strong middle class – the lifeline of any functioning economy. As one of the least developed countries of the world, Nigeria can position itself to take advantage of these billions of dollars in FDI that is looking for a conducive environment to be invested. Hence President Jonathan should be proactive in tackling the power issue, the infrastructural deficits, and more importantly, the Boko Haram security concerns. He has a moral obligation to do so.

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The Emasculation of the Man

man

 

There used to be a time when the image of a man was the rough-shaven, macho, tough-looking, albeit, handsome guy donning his wrangler denims and cowboy boots, and carrying his ropes across his chest as he rides on his horse back. Remember the cowboy that graced the Marlboro advert on the back cover page of every mainstream magazine? The Marlboro Man.

 

Back in those days, when men get into a brawl, throw punches at each other, wrestle one another to the floor, and even bloody the face of one another; they make up afterwards over a bottle of beer and shake hands. There will be no police involvement. And there will not be any charges of assault. Rather a reflection of what caused the fight establishes a better understanding between them, life goes on, and friendship continues. That was the norm when men, God’s original creation, were men.

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