Lionheart: Lessons for an Impressed Fan

Genevieve Nnaji and Nkem Owoh

(By Nkechi Bianze) - I watched #LionHeart on Netflix yesterday.

The movie is a breath of fresh air. Away from the usual stale boring storyline.

1. The uncle came to actually contribute his bit to saving the company. He didn't come to kill the brother and take over the company and money.

2. Pete Edochie didn't die suddenly by a heart attack or something. He fell ill and got back on his feet.

3. Pete Edochie and his wife recognized the strengths of their children. The son wasn't victimized for choosing not to manage the family business. He was allowed to follow his own dream of a music career. He wasn't taunted like a lost soul or prodigal son as a result of his choice.
Genevieve, even as a woman was given the freedom to manage the family business and source of wealth. There was no sexism in this case like most other Nollywood movies would have shoved down our throats.

4. There was no family feud. Sister inlaw and brother inlaw weren't fighting their brother's wife. Son wasn't trying to claim he is the man and in charge of the family wealth, either by crook or real.

5. The storyline is simple yet engaging. It was all about saving a drowning family business. The struggles were realistic, and the journey to finally being able to save Lionheart was quite realistic too.
A Billion Naira didn't suddenly appear from nowhere for them to clear their debt. They fought, tried and tried, and they triumphed.

The Average Nigerian Christian

(By Nkechi Bianze) - The average Nigerian Christian does NOT worship God, they worship their pastors, Daddy/Mummy GO/Prophet, Bishop or Evangelist.

The average Nigerian Christian does NOT interpret the Bible on their own. They wait for their pastors and GOs to interpret it for them. For instance, if a verse of the Bible says "Eat and merry to the Glory of God" and their daddy GO tells them that it means "Bring all your money to me", then that verse means that they should bring all their wealth to daddy GO. Any other interpretation of that verse is ignorant and not inspired by the Holy Spirit. That's why different churches can have different interpretations for same verse of the Bible. It is what the pastor or GO says that the church members go with.

Even the Bible says that "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Nigerian Christians are languishing for lack of knowledge and all to the glory of their pastors and Daddy/Mummy GOs. The average Nigerian (former Christian) atheist knows more Bible than the average Nigerian Christian.

Somewhere in Nigeria, a VERY POOR Nigerian Christian is preparing to give his/her January (VERY MEAGRE) salary to his/her billionaire pastor or daddy GO. Then they will start bugging our lives and those of their relatives for money to survive and pay their kids' tuition fees.

How Not to Underestimate a Girl

The Mighty Miss Malone; Credit: barnesandnoble.com

(By Nkechi Bianze) - 

Part 1:
Between 1996-1997, I was in Primary 4.
I did my first term primary 4 in a school at Isolo, Lagos.

I remember getting there to notice that all the three top positions in class had been colonized by three boys, who held on to them like those positions were their birthrights.

There was also another new student in class.

There were some common factors between me and this other new student.
1. We were both girls.
2. We were both from outside Lagos. While I came from Delta State, she came from Anambra State.

I don’t know whether Lagos residents still live in this sort of delusion. But in those days, many Lagos residents actually had the complex that Lagos was the London of Nigeria. Many of them believed that everyone who lives outside Lagos lives in a village, and is not as civilized as them Lagos residents. And even those who lived in Lagos ghettos, swamps and gutter houses also lived in same delusion. 😏

The World's Not a Level Playing Field

(By Nkechi Bianze) – THE WORLD IS NOT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD 

She lost her parents before the age of 12, so she went to live with an aunty who although turned her into an unpaid house-girl, but was at least nice enough to send her to a nearby public secondary school. She finished secondary school with a good WAEC result.

At 18, she ran away from home, after her auntie’s husband tried to rape her.

Cici slept in church buildings for some days till a member of the church took pity on her, and decided to employ her as an office cleaner and office messenger. She also gave her free accommodation.

At 19, and just about a year into her new job, the sister of the entrepreneur who she worked for as a cleaner/messenger wanted a nanny from Nigeria. She couldn’t afford to pay the professional nannies in the UK, so she opted for an “imported” one from Nigeria.

The lady was going back to school for an intensive two-year program, so she needed someone to look after her three children while she combined full-time education and full-time work.

When I Travel in Nigerian Commercial Buses

(By Nkechi Bianze) – Whenever I'm in Nigeria and I'm traveling a long distance on public transport, one of my ultimate priorities is MY COMFORT. I sometimes go as far as paying for two seats, one for myself and the other seat for MY HANDBAG.

I once paid for THREE seats on "God is Good motors", traveling from Benin to Lagos. One seat for me, one for my box and the other for my handbag.

I was traveling one day from Asaba to Abuja, I paid for two seats. I had a small box (handbag size) and my handbag. I kept my small box and handbag on one, and sat on the other. Then less than 30minutes into the journey, this woman with three children, all over the age of three, asked me if I could carry my box and handbag so that one of her children would seat there, because they wanted to sleep through the journey.