GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL, OWERRI: ALMA MATER PER EXCELLENCE!

Dear Friends,

My Valentine blog, THE HEART OF THE MATTER: MATTER OF THE HEART, is a two part series; and I will yet fulfill the promise of the concluding edition. I suppose you found the first part not only informative, but educative and entertaining. You will recall that it was by a guest – Professor Chikodi N. Anigbogu of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and delivered initially as a talk during the last Lagos Branch Old Boys’ meeting of my great alma mater, Government Secondary School, Owerri, Nigeria. What I may not have said explicitly, though implied, is that Prof. Anigbogu is a product of Government Secondary School, Owerri, as with other great Nigerians making their mark across the world.

Today, I would like to dwell a little on the institution that is Government Secondary School, Owerri, and the impact it has made on those of us, who are privileged to not only pass through it, but allowed it to pass through them. The time is ripe, because March 1-3, 2013 is our annual reunion taking place within the school grounds with old boys from the earliest sets to date, and from every part of the world in attendance. I hope you will indulge me!

Attending Government Secondary School, Owerri, is like belonging to a cult, but without the dark and sinister connotations. That is to say you belong to a fraternity of the best in character, academic excellence and sportsmanship. From the first day you enroll in the school, especially if you are in the boarding house, you are trained and honed to be a complete individual, able to bring out your best whilst contributing to the team goal. As a form 1 student, you are taught obedience to those in senior classes, and if you are in the boarding, you will have a ‘master’ and mentor that you report to and who also look after your welfare. You have role models both within the current students and those who have passed through the school that you cannot afford to miss your steps in life. As important as village meetings are, the camaraderie and fellowship engendered by the school’s tradition of excellence, has made most of the old boys to abandon such meetings in preference to the association. The school maintains its academic excellence as evidenced in its constant record of best results in WAEC examination, whilst in sports it is not found wanting having won the Shell Cup back to back; socially it keeps a cordial relationship with neighboring schools. I know that tertiary education is important, but really the character of the individual is mostly formed at the secondary school level, and what a privilege to attend this best of the best schools in Nigeria. As Dr. Ndi Onuekwusi noted in the forward to Government Secondary School, Owerri, 75 Years After, published in 2010 (the school was founded in 1935), “The OGSSIAN experience and the OGSSIAN spirit have been of immense support throughout life. The time we spent in Owerri is no doubt the best experience of communal living there can be in human society…..”

Apart from Dr. Onuekwusi, one time consultant gynecologist to Nigerian Railways Hospital, Government Secondary School, Owerri has produced notable Nigerians, such as HRM, Eze Dr. E.E. Njemanze, Paramount Ruler of Owerri, HRM, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, former MD, Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Nebolisa Arah, former MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Elder Nath Okoro, First indigenous MD of Nigerian Railways, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, MD, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals …. And yes, Pastor Basil Chukwuezi, to mention but a few!

The annual National Reunion such as taking place from Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd March, 2013 comes with an elaborate programme mapped out by the National Executive. It is a homecoming with exciting and interesting features with each set trying to outdo the other. We regard the school as the Owerri Project and ourselves as stakeholders who must at all time do the best for the alma mater. The reminiscences of Old Owerri are always treasured at such times, the least of which is our anthem: “Remember where you come from. Wherever you may chance to go, uphold your supremacy. To do or to die for the right. Our alma mater and our country, we shall always hold them dear. For the Lord will surely bless thee. Good old OGSS”. I didn’t think twice to come up with the words, many decades after leaving Owerri. It is ingrained in our DNA. Then the school adage says: “When wealth is lost nothing is lost, When health is lost, something is lost, When character is lost, all is lost”. There is also this injunction: “Work hard, Play hard, Keep Straight”. These principles have become part of us, and they demonstrate how good Government Secondary School, Owerri is, and will always be!

Friends, ‘If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ Psm. 11:3. The foundations provided by your parents, school and environment may be important. But there is none as important as a foundation in God. To find out more about God and the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any bible believing church near you, or: CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos

THE HEART OF THE MATTER: MATTER OF THE HEART PART 1

Dear Friends,

Today’s blog is rather special in a number of ways. For one, it’s the Valentine edition. And whether you believe, practise or just ignore the Valentine’s day celebration, it has become a tradition of modern day life, and of course the forces of commerce have pushed up the ante. I was amazed by the CNN story which showed the shipment of tons of roses from Kenya, to Frankfurt via Lufthansa Airlines, and then trucked around Europe every year during this period! Another reason, quite related to the first, is the subject of the blog – the heart, in all its ramifications; the physiological, emotional, and spiritual. This blog is also special because it is written by a guest – Professor Chikodi N. Anigbogu of Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Finally,I am dedicating this blog to the memory of Goldie, Nigeria’s rising music icon, who passed away suddenly on Valentine’s day!

You will find this blog factual, professorial, scientific, light hearted and hilarious. It was delivered as a talk during the last Old Boys’ meeting of my great alma mater, Government Secondary School, Owerri, Nigeria. Some of the terms may sound unfamiliar and written within our school context, but I have refused the temptation to edit it. One last thing though, is that I am forced to split it into two blogs. While this first part serves as introduction, I suggest you don’t miss part two which offers 10 tips for a better heart and lists some heart conditions. Enjoy!

“Everyone has a heart, sweetheart, soft heart, hard heart, stone heart, light heart, heavy heart, broken heart, mended heart, faint heart, kind heart, contrite heart, loving heart, failing heart, failed heart etc. Not all the above belong to the realm of physiology- which is the science of the normal function of the body. Some of these terms are pathologic, esoteric, mundane, spiritual, contextual, and colloquial. That shows how important the heart and the context of the heart are.Thus there can be no existence without a heart.

Your heart is older than you, so treat it with respect. This is so because the embryonic heart or myocyte starts to beat somewhere between 3 to 6 weeks after conception, i.e. about 8 months before your birthday. It has to continue this beat normally between 60 to 100 times a minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months of the year and all the years of life, until the permanent change of address and the highest or last title, RIP.

The heart is located in the chest cavity, usually towards the left breast, with the base up and the apex down – much like our beloved “UDARA” fruit.

Because the work of the heart is to pump blood (the life fluid) round the whole body, it is connected to blood vessels (pipes) that bring in blood and take out blood. It is also supplied by blood vessels for its own needs (coronary vessels). It is made up of mainly muscle (cardiac muscle).It contains valves or gates that ensure that blood flows in one direction and not back and forth, this contributes to efficiency and conserves energy.

The rate and force of beating of the heart changes from time to time and is regulated to meet the body’s needs. Average HR =72 beats/min. Average Pressure =120/80mmHg. Things can go wrong with the heart-nkpuru obi, the blood vessels – akwara, or with the blood vessels that supply the heart.Some people have a “good heart”, some have hereditary/genetically “weaker” hearts, some have congenital abnormal (birth defect heart) hearts.

However our hearts and blood vessels should be well maintained to get the best services. Diet, exercise, and lifestyle combinations are easily the most useful tools to a healthy heart.The pumping action of the heart and the elastic properties of the blood vessels help to maintain blood pressure.....”

Chikodi N. Anigbogu PhD, FIUPS.

Last Line: Friends, Prof. Anigbogu said the heart beats “...24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months of the year and all the years of life, until the permanent change of address and the highest or last title, RIP”. There is a permanent change of address and a last earthly title: the last is sure, the former is a choice. And with a committed relationship with God, you are bound to make a good choice!

To find out more about God and the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any bible believing church near you, or: CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos

LIFE LESSONS FROM A LIVING LEGEND!

Friends, recently I was privileged to spend three hours with a living legend and pillar of faith, Uncle Nat Okoro. I had gone to his Lekki, Lagos home on an appointment regarding a particular proposed business transaction. By the time I was leaving, we had ruled out the transaction, but the lessons learnt at his feet during those three hours would last a life time. Perhaps you didn’t know, Nat C.U. Okoro was the pioneer indigenous managing director of Nigeria Railways Cooperation (1985-1987). Before then, they had general managers. All his working life, 37 years in all, were spent at the Railways; rising from the lowest of ranks to the pinnacle.

At retirement in 1987, his salary was in three digits, and the gratuity, in four digits, was further diminished when his personal loan was deducted. However, this “ meagre” earnings were enough to build two houses, one in his country home, and the other in Lagos; but more especially he also raised godly children who are affecting their generation today in various fields of endeavour. This may sound so far fetched today when public servants loot pension and other funds to build whole estates, and you wonder what they would do with all that money; not forgetting of course, the effect on the real owners!

Uncle Nat is 83 years, retired but not tired. He is still active in the service of God and man, consulting for clients in and outside the country (having spent 37 years in one institution, you would assume, rightly, that he eats and breathes transport). Flowing with ease from his lap top to his I Pad, you see the ready drafts of at least four books, including his autobiography, a memo to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and notes on topical issues such as terrorism.

In this age where it is difficult to find role models who owe no man (1Samuel 12:3), Uncle Nat is a shining example for us all, the stuff that deserve national honours, but above all and more importantly, belongs to the hall of fame of heroes of faith (Hebrews 11). Friends, permit me to sum up in five words what I learnt from Uncle Nat Okoro:

1. Perseverance
2. Trustworthiness
3. Diligence
4. Faith
5. Contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-10)


And thank God he is still with us today and going strong! Friends let us emulate that which is noble. As we deepen our footsteps into the new year, 2013, let us in our individual sphere of influence, determine to make a change and be a shining example.
However, I recommend strongly that you do not attempt this task alone. Look up the hills (Psalms 121) and bring on the Lord, Jesus Christ.

To find out more about God and the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any bible believing church near you, or: CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos

THE POWER TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS

“Great feats, attempted, become great feats, achieved”.


Dear Friends,

I am excited and expectant that we have arrived the month of February. The reason for these emotions may not be unconnected to the fact that February is my birth month. But more than that, it is also a month that my firm is on target to deliver a project for one of Nigeria’s top bank brands.

Work on the project began in first week of December, 2012. Since then, by dint of hard work, focus and divine enablement, we have crossed one milestone after another; and being a turnkey project, we are looking with eagerness and bathed breath on that date this month, that we will indeed ‘turn over the key’ to our principal….

What has this preamble got to do with the subject of my blog? Quite a lot. For one, I never thought I could be involved in such a project, much more being the arrow head. Though I had spent much of my paid employment life as a banker, my background as a graduate of Theatre Arts, does not recommend me so much for a project where the required core competencies are those of the architects, surveyors, engineers, etc. Of course finance is important, and I have a bit of expertise on that, but actual execution of the project lies in other fields.

As I reflect over the preparation and commencement of the project, with suspense over its completion, one lesson I have learnt is the certainty that a seed of greatness dwells in each and every one of us. And that seed can only manifest in achieving greatness if we plant and nurture it to fruition. To put it differently, great feats, attempted, become great feats, achieved!

It does not matter what ‘level of greatness’. I say this because, what you consider greatness, may not be so to the next fellow. It all depends on our position and background – but greatness is a common currency which marks the significance of that achievement in the individual or organization’s life. Again, the time frame of achieving greatness may vary with individuals, but either earlier or later, it does not detract from the worth.

Friends, I don’t know what greatness you are ordained to achieve, or the assignment God has predetermined for your destiny. The important thing is that you need to work it out. It does not matter where you are – start all the same. Be assured you will not do it alone; there are destiny helpers along the way ( Matt. 27:32). Another positive outcome of pursuing greatness is that a whole new level of relationships will be opened unto you. But you have to set out first. With resolute quest and divine assistance, you will get there….. the point at which you scream eureka!

It is imperative to note, however, that the source of any good achievement is God (Deut. 8:18). To find out more about God and how you can have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any Bible believing church near you, or: CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos.

2013 MARATHON!

Dear Friends,

Life is a ‘stretched’ marathon. May the Almighty grant you the grace, favour and speed to run the lap for February, 2013!