SHORT STORY OF MAMMY MARKET: MAMMY OCHEFU

SHORT STORY OF MAMMY MARKET: MAMMY OCHEFU

It was in 1959. Mammy Ode, a young girl from Jericho-Ugboju in the present Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, was married to Anthony Aboki Ochefu, a young Non-Commissioned military officer who had just been posted to Enugu from Abeokuta. 

They were quartered at the Army Barracks, Abakpa, Enugu. To beat idleness and perhaps earn some money to support her young family, Mrs. Mammy Ochefu established a soft drinks business. She prepared gruel, which is called umu or enyi in Idoma, or kunu in Hausa, for sale to soldiers. She soon became popular with her delicacy as soldiers trooped to her house to buy enyi. Some of her best customers were officers, who always sent their batmen to buy some of the gruel for them, Monday through Friday.

 

Somehow, one of the Non-Commissioned Officers, the RSM, did not flow with the enthusiasm which Mammy’s gruel generated among other military men in the barracks. He complained that Mrs. Ochefu's popular foodstuff attracted flies into the barracks, and ordered Mrs. Mammy Ochefu to stop its production and sale. Though surprised and disappointed at the order of the RSM, she stopped the production and sale of enyi. 

Her husband, not being an officer at the time, could not challenge the order of the RSM. For weeks, Mrs. Mammy Ochefu agonized over the fate of her business, just as officers and men of the Nigerian Army who enjoyed her enyi because of its freshness and nutritional value lamented the situation. From several quarters, pressure mounted on the RSM for a reversal of the order. After a while, he succumbed to the pressures and directed that a section of the barracks be reserved for Mrs. Mammy Ochefu to produce and sell her enyi. Her joy knew no bounds.

 

Few days after, a section of the barracks was given to her. She built a small shop and soon, her business began to boom. Most of her customers booked for their shares in advance.

Source: Nigerian Military Cruise

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A Dreamer-Doer-Thinker:Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua

NIGERIAN PROF ROSE-MARGARET EKENG-ITUA EMERGES WORLD’S FIRST BLACK WOMAN PH.D HOLDER IN CYBERNETICS

Nigerian female scholar, Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, has become the first black woman to earn a doctorate degree (Ph.D) in Cybernetics in the world.

Cybernetics is the scientific study of how information is communicated in machines and pieces of electronic equipment in comparison with how information is communicated in the brain and nervous system.

Ekeng-Itua is a pioneer educator, administrator and engineer championing leading roles in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) challenges in Africa, and paving the way for the African youth, especially girls. 

She earned the premiering degree from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom under the supervision of her first Ph.D supervisor Prof. Kevin Warwick and the first human Cyborg in the world.

Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua is a multi-award-winning professor of engineering with over 20 years of experience in Engineering and STEM Education cutting across the USA, Europe and Africa, leading the creation of innovative programmes in STEM, whose fascination with technology took root in her childhood in Nigeria. 

Surrounded by a culture that often-discouraged girls from pursuing scientific fields, she found her passion in understanding how things worked and the potential for innovation. 

Her thirst for knowledge led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, followed by a master’s degree in Mobile and Satellite Communications Engineering in the United Kingdom. 

Driven by ambition and a relentless desire to break boundaries, she went on to make history by earning her doctorate in Cybernetics.

Despite facing extra-layered challenges as a woman of color in a male-dominated field, gender biases and a lack of readily available role models, she refused to let these obstacles define her. 

Speaking about challenges encountered in achieving success in a recent interview, Ekeng-Itua said, “Every challenge became fuel for my determination. I realised that my success would not only open doors for myself but would serve as an example for other women and girls who might otherwise doubt their capabilities.”

“I am a Dreamer-Doer-Thinker, so I always had dreams, but my dreams were not necessarily focused on being ‘great’, but more on how I could be a positive change agent, and how to create initiatives, programs and technologies that will impact the world positively. I am human-centric in my approach to making positive change hence, the field of Cybernetics gave me that opportunity as Cybernetics is centered on purposeful design of technologies for society and humans. 

“This has always been my passion, and pursuing my passion and the dream to disrupt some societal misnomers propelled me to being the first black woman to earn a doctorate degree in Cybernetics. Being the first in anything is always retrospective, for me, the initial focus is always creating positively transformative impact.”

The female scholar further said her passion for Mathematics and Physics at an early age informed her choice of career.  

“I wanted to pursue a career that would give me the opportunity for creativity, innovation, collaboration, and positive impact in communities”, she added.

“It was also born from my wish at the age of nine to create platforms that connected the world to foster global unity for progress and appreciative understanding of global cultures. At that young age, I noticed a huge disconnect in what the Global North thought they knew about Africa which I call the Global South.”

©Vanguard News

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Honey-like Facts About Honey

 Proverbs 24:13 "Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste."(NIV)

1. Did you know that one of the world's first coins had a bee symbol?

2. Did you know that honey contains live enzymes?

3. Did you know that in contact with a metal spoon, these enzymes die? The best way to eat honey is with a wooden spoon; if you can't find one, use a plastic spoon.

4. Did you know that honey contains a substance that helps the brain work better?

5. Did you know that honey is one of the few foods on earth that alone can sustain human life?

6. Did you know that bees saved people from starvation in Africa?

7. That a spoonful of honey is enough to keep a man alive for 24 hours?

8. Did you know that propolis produced by bees is one of the most powerful natural antibiotics?

9. Did you know that honey has no expiry date?

10. Did you know that the bodies of the world's greatest emperors were buried in gold coffins, then covered in honey to prevent putrefaction?

11. Did you know that the term "Honeymoon" (honeymoon) comes from the fact that the bride and groom consumed honey for fertility after their marriage?

12. Did you know that a bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey, but for her it is the work of a lifetime.

Thank you precious bees!

Thanks to God for this wonderful creature!

Credit: Heart Productions

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My Name Is Hase: I Don't Know Anything About Anything.

 

My Name Is Hase: I Don't Know Anything About Anything. 

In German, you can say "Mein Name ist Hase, ich weiß von nichts" (My name is "Hase" (hare), I don't know anything about anything) if you don't know anything or if you want to pretend you haven't got a clue.

This idiomatic phrase goes back to Victor Hase who used this as a defense in court. But let's start at the beginning.

Karl Victor Hase was studying law in Heidelberg in 1854. He had a friend who shot somebody during a duel (which was illegal) and had to leave the country. His plan was to go to France and join the Foreign Legion. But in order to cross the border, he needed ID. Victor coincidentally "lost" his student ID which his friend "found" and used to get into France where he then again "lost" Victor's ID card.

However, the card was found and send to the University in Heidelberg. The administration took notice of Hase and questioned him about the incident. He replied, "Mein Name ist Hase, ich verneine die Generalfragen, ich weiß von nichts." - My name is Hase, I negate/deny all general question, I know about nothing. Over time, the middle part was omitted, and the phrase consists only of the "Mein Name ist Hase, ich weiß von nichts." You can even only say the first part, and people will know what you are referring to.

Victor Hase wasn't charged with anything and became a lawyer. He also joined the military, practiced law but got sick with a typhoid, lung infection, and eventually died on April 30, 1860.

My name is Samuel. I don't know anything about anything 😂😹

The German idiomatic phrase sounds pitchy 💯

Credit:More Than Beer and Schnitzel

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From Filthy to Venerable: Short Piece About Khalil Gibran.

From Filthy to Venerable: Short Piece About Khalil Gibran

 He was called "filthy" because his skin was dark, unintelligent because he could barely speak English. When he arrived in this country, he was placed in a special class for immigrants. But, a few of his teachers saw something in the way he expressed himself, through his drawings, through his view of the world. He would soon master his new language.

His mother had made a difficult decision to take him, his two younger sisters and a half-brother to America, seeking a better life for their family. They settled in Boston's South End, at the time the second-largest Syrian-Lebanese-American community. The family would struggle and the young boy would lose one sister and his half-brother to tuberculosis. His mother would die of cancer.

He would write, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

He was born in poverty on January 6, 1883 in what is now modern day Lebanon.

He believed in love, he believed in peace, and he believed in understanding.

His name was Kahlil Gibran, and he is primarily known for his book, "The Prophet." The book, published in 1923, would sell tens of millions of copies, making him the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi.

Published in 108 languages around the world, passages from "The Prophet" are quoted at weddings, in political speeches and at funerals, inspiring influential figures such as John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and David Bowie.

He was very outspoken, attacking hypocrisy and corruption. His books were burned in Beirut, and in America, he would receive death threats.

Gibran was the only member of his family to pursue scholastic education. His sisters were not allowed to enter school, primarily because of Middle Eastern traditions as well as financial difficulties. Gibran, however, was inspired by the strength of the women in his family, especially his mother. After one sister, his mother, and his half-brother died, his other sister, Mariana would support Gibran and herself by working at a dressmaker's shop.

Of his mother, he would write:

"The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word 'Mother,' and the most beautiful call is the call of 'My mother.' It is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart. The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness."

Gibran would later champion the cause of women’s emancipation and education.

He believed that “Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.”

In a poem to new immigrants, he would write, "I believe you can say to the founders of this great nation. 'Here I am. A youth. A young tree. Whose roots were plucked from the hills of Lebanon. Yet I am deeply rooted here. And I would be fruitful.'"

He would write in "The Prophet":

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

You can get Khalil Gibran books here 👉

https://amzn.to/3xOZxKI

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