North Korea: World War III in the making?
On the 15th of July, 2006, the UN came up with the 'Resolution 1695' in which it condemns North korea's nuclear weapons program; It called for a diplomatic resolution to the issue which if left unchecked could lead to world instability.
Now Oct, 2006, the issues seem to have reached a decisive point...
...I dont enjoy world politics and all because of all the diplomacy involved, however, i really hope all diplomatic measure will work for the peace of the commom man especially the people of North Korea - 'when two Elephants fight, the reeds pay the price!' The average man wants to live a normal life, while the eccentric 'rich' man creates the havoc...
...let's pray for world peace.

Ethnocentrism II
...and back on the home front, watch parents dictate suitors to their children! I personally feel any father or mother who tries to manipulate or dissuade his or her grown-up child from marrying anybody they choose on the basis of tribe, is utterly a ‘terrified- child-in-grown-up –body’! and should bury his/her head in shame. It is indeed a shameful thing! They have disregarded the honour accorded them by their children and betrayed their trust as well..
...STRIVE to carry them (your parents) along as best as you can and if they continue to use emotional blackmail against you, shake the dust off your feet and move on! Love conquers all!
My school of thot tells me peace ‘at all cost’,is no peace at all; it’s merely a ticking time bomb! One’s personal happiness is of uttermost importance if he must make fool proof of his sojourn here on earth.
When we all stand in front of our maker to give account of our sojourn here, it will be as stand alones- individuals and not as affiliations or paired appendages to other people.
I know of many igbo parents who will complain that the reason for this ethnocentrism is the Nigerian civil war, how the Yoruba man betrayed the igbos, and the hausa man ‘daggering’ them up north, hmm.
Is it the yoruba man as sophisticated as he is when it comes to ‘owambe’ parties and all, or the hausa man who is so religiously astute? Let’s not go near the over 200 other tribes who use the minority propaganda as their own excuse. Every single tribe is guilty of this problem; if not why the clamour for more local government areas?
Ethnocentrism may not be a big issue with you and that's because you've learnt how to deal with it...
...Let this be a wake up call to the timid, whose identity is still in crisis!

'Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, ' I said, "You are gods"? John 10:34

Ethnocentrism
I have heard the word tribalism over and over again that it has become another academic expression – the Nigerian political history is never complete without the hate and bigotry of ethnic considerations. I even had a roommate back then as a university undergraduate who used to run around a lot to complete one assignment or the other in a particular course called ‘ethnicity’.
Among the list of things I’m forever grateful to my parents for is the sense of self-discovery (not in the New Age religion sense) they cultivated in us the kids- to believe in yourself enough such that it becomes the basis of your identity. I mean such that when people see and relate with you, they come in contact with a persona - your individuality.

Nothing inspires me more than interacting with liberated minds, mentally separated individuals whose mentality isn’t defined by cultural sentiments or ethnic affiliations but rather by humanistic principles of what is ideal and progressive for the common good of all. The crux of the matter in any given relationship whether by divine providence or otherwise is that no other human is created by a lesser God, hence, the institution of a social or ethnic caste system is simply a case of wasted minds desperate for content.
As a young adult, my baptism into the world of ethnocentrism started with the eye-opening experience of Nollywood home videos.
We all know the typical nollywood story line of parents’ seeking subliminal influence over their children, they have even coined it “The African Mentality”, ie the belief that children should exist as extensions of their parents.
In most instances you find this in the plot of intertribal marriages. The pertinent question is why do you define a person by where he is from? Shouldn’t it be the other way round? –where is he going?
The word ‘minority’ is a statistical monster that has connived with the word ‘tribe’ that it has become such a powerful propaganda tool in the hands of a select few who rule their society by the ‘drama triangle syndrome’, i.e the victim-persecutor-rescuer syndrome. On a global scale, most political strategies are designed by these ethnocentric tactics. Take for instance the Rwanda Genocide, I watched with horror the foundation of the crises where power, authority and superiority were determined by the facial structure of different tribes – ‘Tutsies and Hutus’ (source: History Channel). The Holocaust staged the slaughter of over 6million jews, what about the Bosnian war - all in the name of ethnic cleansing!
Who gave one tribe the mandate to declare superiority over the other? Why would a human being be so seared in his conscience that he would commit such atrocities to his fellow man even to children (we all need to read that book by Prof Elie Wiesel who was a prisoner at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp). It was once put that the Nazis stretched the boundaries of atrocities beyond it’s limit so much so that you couldn’t find an expression to adequately describe the horrendous evil committed against humanity in those camps…