TAKE A TOUR TO DELTA STATE

                                    TAKE A TOUR TO DELTA STATE

Delta State is one of the oil-producing states in the South-South. It used to be part of the old Bendel State which was split into Edo and Delta States on August 27, 1991 by the General Ibrahim Babangida military government.

Delta State has a total land area of 16,842 square kilometres (6,503 sq mi) and is composed of 25 local government areas: Ethiope West, Ethiope East, Okpe, Sapele, Udu, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Uvwie, Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South, Ukwuani, Bomadi, Burutu, Isoko North, Isoko South, Patani, Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South West. Asaba is the capital of Delta State.

The state is bordered in the north and west by Edo State, in the east by Anambra, Imo, and Rivers States, in the south-east by Bayelsa State, and in the south by the Bight of Benin. Meanwhile, seven major languages are spoken in the 4.2 million people state.

Delta State is not a land of hills and mountains as nearly 30% of the state is covered by water. Nevertheless, there are a lot of fascinating sites in the state. Some of them are discussed below.

1. The Araya Bible Site

The Araya Bible Site houses a copy of the Holy Bible which was believed to have descended unto this spot directly from heaven around August, 1914. It is said to have come directly onto a rain-soaked yam but never got wet. The site now attracts thousands of Christian pilgrims yearly, especially during the Easter period. The Araya Bible Site is in Isoko South LGA, and can be accessed from Warri through Ughelli and Oleh, and also from Asaba through Kwale and then Oleh.

2. Abraka Turf and Country Club

The Abraka Turf and Country Club is located in Abraka, and features a horse club where an international polo tournament takes place every year during Easter. It is surrounded by a rich tropical rainforest and bordered by the River Ethiope. You can lodge in the several villas and enjoy tropical sunrise every morning. You can ride ponies all day or just walk forest trails along the river if you don’t want to ride horses, swim or go fishing.

3. River Ethiope Water Source

River Ethiope is one of the most important rivers in Delta State, but legend says its source emanated from the root of a giant silk-tree in Umuaja, Ukwuani LGA.  Sources say River Ethiope is the deepest inland waterway in Africa, and it flows through seven local government areas in the state before becoming deep for sea-faring vessels in Sapele. You can reach the source of the river from Warri via Abraka and from Asaba through Agbor, Umutu to Umuaja. Water sports like canoeing, speed boating, swimming and other water activities can be carried out at River Ethiope and it is a place to visit anytime.

4. Otuogu Beach, Asaba

The Asaba beach at Otuogu is a place to visit anytime you visit the capital of Delta State. Several rivers, creeks, and streams keep the beach in place, and it extends to the main capital city of the state. It also extends into several creeks before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. The white sands of the beach are ideal for relaxation and for social events.

5. Living History Museum, Koko

The Living History Museum in Koko, Warri North, is also known as Chief Nana’s Palace or Koko Place. It used to be the main residence of Chief Nana Olomu Ebrohim, a 19th century indigenous entrepreneur who had a lot of contacts with the colonialists of the British Empire under Queen Victoria. The personal effects within the magnificent edifice portray the grand taste of the original occupier and his dealings with colonial officers. A visit to this museum will tell you more about the activities of the colonial masters that you do not know about.

6. Kwale Game Reserve

The Kwale Game Reserve is located in the coastal part of Kwale in Delta State. It is a rainforest vegetation and swamps full of reptiles and water animals – red river hog, sitatunga, and freshwater cum pond water fish. Give your eyes a feast by visiting Kwale game reserve and enjoy nature big time.

7. Lander Brothers Anchorage, Asaba

When Mungo Park – a Scottish explorer to Africa (1771-1906) finished his expedition at a point of the Niger River, Brothers Richard and John Lander took over and anchored their ship at Aboh. Being credited with the discovery of the mouth of the River Niger, an anchorage was erected in their memory at Asaba. This is equipped with an information centre and a restaurant among other social facilities.

Take a tour to Delta State and visit these amazing places that will blow your mind.

                                                     

MUST-HAVE ACCESSORIES FOR MEN

                                                        

If clothes make a man, accessories completes his look. Do you think of accessories as items you throw on just before you dash out the front door? If yes, you are going to accessory hell. But, it’s not too late to save yourself from the wrath of no accessories or worse, bad accessories. If you are a man of style, you need to know the essential accessories you must own.

WATCHES:A watch is not just an accessory; it is an extension of your signature. In fact, style purists insist that a watch is the most important accessory you will own. If there is one accessory worth investing in, it’s a watch. You would rather have one worthy watch as opposed to 10 passable watches.

TIES:

Like your watch, your tie warrants for close consideration. Your choice of tie depends on how formal or informal the occasion is. Either way, it is an item of clothing that you can push boundaries with. Your tie can add edginess to your overall look, be a conversation piece, a work art or just a mere extension of your look. Your tie can become whatever you make of it. Choose wisely.

WALLET: Your wallet is another accessory you must invest in. The reason is that most men take their wallet for granted. How, you wonder? Well, it is time to give your wallet a closer, more scrutinizing look. Is it wearing off? If it passable? Is it something that gets you around? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, it is time to go wallet shopping. Your wallet has to look classy, feel elegant and of course, since it houses your money, cards, etc.., you have got to give it its due importance in the accessory ladder.

BELTS:

You can wear: A belt is more than an accessory that holds your trousers in place; it is an extension of your ensemble. You have got to remember that your belt should always complement your shoes. So when choosing a belt for your outfit, ensure that you have a pair of shoes that matches your belt.

BRIEFCASE: There are few things that personify elegance, class and attention to detail, and your brief case is one of them. Your brief case pretty much determines whether you mean business or not, and of course it ups your style quotient. A man with a brief case means serious business and it’s imperative that you get one. However, since men’s fashion has seen a revolution and you are spoilt for choice when it comes to bags, some fashion watchers now consider the brief case much paternal. But, this is one accessory that is timeless and will always be in style.

NIGERIA TO SUCCEED OR TO FAIL IS OUR CUP OF TEA

During the electioneering campaign of General Muhammadu Buhari, I carefully monitored his style of campaign utterances and politicking. When he took over, I was keen in observing how he was to start piloting the affairs of a battered country. Nigeria was a country on the verge of total collapse. Crooks, rogues and rabble rousers had put the country in the reverse gear and shamelessly celebrated bogus ‘achievements’. Transformation Agenda was a mockery of good governance. The agenda only transformed criminals in the corridors of power to super-rich vandals now threatening national progress with filthy lucre.

I took time to brush up on my readings and understanding of Development – not so much on developmental stories of particular countries, but mostly on the broad issues of development: why some countries succeed and others, although blessed, fail. I read, re-read, and looked up reviews and commentaries and concluded that in most of the literature I read, authored by renowned scholars and respected columnists of various newspapers, etc, each offered in profound thoughts on the question that is most important to Nigeria of today – the question whether Nigerians are prepared to make the required sacrifices for a successful Nigeria or a failed Nigeria. Altogether, the summary of my studies and thoughts of the authors is that Nigerians can make their country succeed brilliantly and it has all it takes to make the country fail disastrously as resisted in the chased away Jonathan administration adjudged as inept, sadistic and clueless.

Therefore, the choice is entirely in our hands to make or mar. PDP chose disaster for Nigeria for 16 years while APC chose a change from the old order as publicly declared by Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, during one of his visits to commiserate with internally displaced persons (IDPs) at their camps spread across the country.

Needless to say, various factors beyond human power are important – factors such as geographical advantages or hardships, ethnicity, ethnic culture and history, availability or non-availability of natural resources, a country’s ethnic/cultural homogeneity or diversity, religious homogeneity or diversity, etc.  But, in the final analysis, the ultimate determinant of whether a country shall succeed or not is the choice of its people, the institutions they set up, and the integrity or otherwise of the operation of those institutions.

For instance, being located in a desert, swampy or riverine area makes some development initiatives difficult most times but not impossible. The state of Israel is located in the desert but from good leadership and followership, it developed to one of the most agriculturally and technologically productive countries in the world. Having two or more different nationalities (each with its own homeland) in a country makes stability and development difficult but not impossible. Switzerland has less than four nationalities, but it is one of the most stable and richest in the world. Being richly endowed with human and natural resources is good development but it does not guarantee physical development unless with good leadership. Nigeria is one of the richest countries in human and natural resources in the world but it has been relentlessly retarding, with the masses of its people becoming poorer and poorer each second without a clear direction. They key - the secret - in each case is the choices made by the people and their loyalty to those choices, and the institutions they give their country. Some past state governors in Nigeria are alleged to be richer than their states. Some present state governors are wolves in sheep skin. Some criminally believe their victories at the elections is a shortest route to quick riches vide stealing of public funds and other clever ways of over-invoicing, contract variations and award of lucrative contracts to friends, fronts and relations with the connivance of sycophantic and hypocritical civil servants.

In short, Nigeria started declining since the unforgiveable days of the Jonathan era and becoming less and less stable, with over 80 percent of its people living in abject poverty, starvation and misery because of wrong choices, wrong institutions and denying integrity to the institutions. Of course, the biggest of the wrong institutions is the federal government. Essentially, because Nigeria has hundreds of ethnic nationalities and the best choice is federal structure. Since some of the nationalities are large and some small, the best arrangement is to make each of the large nationalities a state and, with caution and respect, the small contiguous nationalities also joined to form reasonable sustainable states. While doing that, Nigeria ought to have borne in mind the danger of having too many states and too many state governments – and thereby putting too heavy a load on administrative costs. (India, with a population of over one billion people, carefully carved itself into 28 states, and transferred most of the burden of development to the state governments).

Unfortunately, it suited the selfish interests of our most influential policy makers to carve Nigeria into smaller and smaller states so as to transfer more powers, resources and assets to federal centre. That wrong policy paved the way for Nigeria’s horrific inefficiency, ineptitude and corruption at the centre, turned the states into impotent entities as governors now turned the local governments impotent forever, both at the mercy of the federal centre, destroyed most development energy at the state and local government levels, and plunged the country into deeper and deeper poverty.

The old regional responsibilities and assets (like universities, export crops management, some crucial highways, control over schools and schools curriculum, etc) that were transferred to the federal centre mostly floundered, declined and perished. For instance, assets of the former regional government of Northern Nigeria such as Bank of the North, Northern Nigeria Marketing Board, Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN), New Nigerian Newspapers, etc., could not be managed by successive northern state governments on creation. The investments have perished to eternity.

Those in control of the federal centre arrogated to themselves the prerogative of deciding who rules the states and the states decide who rules the local governments; and election rigging by federal and state agencies (INEC, SIEC, Police, DSS, Military and Civil Defence) became part of the political culture, ostensibly to hoist unpopular politicians for hidden agenda. Federal agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria, as well as the state and local governments, all lost integrity. Leadership whims, caprices, and impunity ruled over the country. Nigerians ceased having a country worth the name. Most observers began to say that Nigeria was a failed state that somehow kept standing and breathing - a failed state that could have since crumbled if not for the timely election of Muhammadu Buhari, few state governors and other agents of change in 2015 to rescue.

In their electioneering campaign for election, Buhari and Osinbajo promised Nigerians CHANGE, and Nigerians trusted them with most of their votes. In spite of all the difficulties confronting the beginning of their presidency, most Nigerians still trust them and are hopeful to see real change. Understandably, they started by focusing attention on the war against corruption. That was a good step because most Nigerians strongly desire to see corruption wiped out from the land with lightning speed.

Speaker Dogara has said, “Part of the change Nigerians will witness is total war against bribery and corruption. APC is determined to restore the lost glory of Nigeria no matter whose ox may be gored. We abandoned PDP for the safety of Nigeria and, with support, we shall succeed and smile”.

Buhari’s former stint at ruling Nigeria in 1983 – 1985, and his general reputation and body language, fuels the anti-corruption expectations. But, hopefully, Buhari understands that to crush corruption fully and abidingly in Nigeria that was institutionalised for decades, Nigerians must reorder and revamp the institutional roots and fabrics of their country. The wrongly chosen, distorted and corrupted institutions are the root of the country’s palaver and some are still in the system. If we redraw, restructure, and straighten up our institutions, not only will corruption perish, the whole country will also begin to rise again.

It needs to be emphasized that even if Nigerians decisively crush corruption, Nigeria can still continue to decline – and can decline until it crumbles if the leadership is poor. Whether Nigeria revives and survives, or whether it continues to decline until it perishes depend on the choices made in the next couple of years under Buhari’s leadership. That means Buhari can lead in ways that continue the decline or the success. For instance, he is at liberty to choose to revive and reinforce the ambition of a selected few, reinforce the accumulation of power, assets and resource-control in the hands of his federal government, and even make the states more in number and weaker in stature – for instance, adopt the insane proposal that the number of states be jumped to 54!

PMB could, out of ‘loyalty’ to those senseless agitators, tutored in the culture of election manipulation and savagery, support the senselessness if he so wishes. He is at liberty for now to do all or any of those and more – and pave the path to Nigeria’s ultimate collapse and disappearance from the world map. But he could guide and lead Nigerians in totally different ways, and give Nigeria a new lease of life. He could champion a movement for rational federation, and for the devolution of powers to the federating units. He could thereby revive the productive and developmental energies of various sections of Nigeria – and make the country a land of development, progress and hope again. To build or kill Nigeria, it is the choice of Nigerians.

A few months ago, the President wondered aloud why it is his lot to come and lead Nigeria at this tough and rough time – when the treasury was virtually empty; when the main source of national revenue (crude oil) is fearfully weakening in the world; when Nigeria’s economy looks as if it is heading for total collapse, etc. I believe Nigeria is fortunate to have a disciplined leader like Buhari at the helm at this critical time – a man who has the courage to turn the country onto the path that most other leaders seriously opposed but which Nigeria desperately needs to heal. Will Buhari then do the things that Nigeria really needs to survive and head to prosper? Yes, he can but with total support and unalloyed loyalty of Nigerians. He urgently needs the promised support of Senator Bukola Saraki (the Senate president) and Speaker Dogara. His Lordship, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Her Lordship, the President of the Federal Court of Appeal, other ministers in the temple of justice, ICPC Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal chairman and Ibrahim Magu of the EFCC need not to be told to join the wagon of support against gangsters, tricksters, fraudsters and treasury thieves and their clearing agents for Buhari to succeed. EFCC and ICPC should re-strategize to fish out other criminals still making noise and roaming the streets with shoulders high. They are clumsy, stink of corruption and are saboteurs to national development. They deserve to join their ancestors wherever they may be for Nigeria to bounce back to glory.    

  

        

LOVE QUOTES

                                          

Timeless thoughts written down and spread throughout the decades, centuries and yes, even millenias. Thoughts not only about happy, romantic love but of love in other forms and stages too.  Here are the most inspiring, touching and helpful quotes on love.

1. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world”. - Lucille Ball

2. “It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know the people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like  claims in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it”. - Rumi

4. “Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.”- Lao Tzu.

5. “The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, it must be felt with the heart”. – Helen Keller

6. “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead”. - Oscar Wilde

7. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” -Oprah Winfrey.

8. “Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” - Vincent Van Gogh

9. “Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering and of tarnishing.”- Anais Nin

10. “You know its love when all you want is to see that person happy, even if you are not part of their happiness”. - Tumblr

11. “You know you are in love when you don’t want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams”. - Dr. Seuss

12. “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous”. - Ingrid Bergman

13. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”. - Lao Tzu

14. “True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.”- Erich Segal

15. There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment. – Sarah Dessen

16. Love is an untamed force. When you try to control it, it destroys you, when you try to imprison it, it enslaves you, when you try to understand it, it leaves you feeling lost and confuse. Paulo Coelho

17. “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope”. - Maya Angelou

18. “Some love stories are not epic novels, some are short stories, but that doesn’t make them any less filled with love”. - Carrie Bradshaw

19. “The real lover is the lover who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space”. – Marilyn Monroe

20. “The best thing to hold unto in life is each other”­­­­- Audrey Hepburn

Henna Ball and Tozali Magazine Award Night.

What is Henna and why Henna Ball?

Henna, a common name for a small shrub (See Loose stripe) used for dye that is obtained from its leaves. The shrub, which is also called alkanna and mignonette tree, grows in most places in northern Africa and southern Asia. It bears small, fragrant, white or rose flowers in clusters. The orange red dye produced from its leaves is used extensively as a rinse to impact to reddish colour and sometimes deep brown or black to hands, legs or hair.

Many traditions across the world associate designs made by the henna dye in palms and feet with marriage ceremony. Tozali has chosen the word HENNA as a title of the event in celebration of African rich heritage, hence the event’s theme, ''Celebrating Women, Creativity and Philanthropy". 

The event: 

Tozali Magazine is a monthly publication with a wide range of distributorship network covering most parts of the country. Essentially a society magazine, Tozali touches every aspect of life, ranging from news, life style, health, beauty/fashion and tourism.

In its bid to play the role of a responsible corporate citizen, Tozali birthed the Henna Ball and Tozali People’s Awards initiative as a platform through which to effectively impact on the lives of the less privileged. 

This year’s edition focuses on celebrating women who have contributed selflessly and immensely in various fields of human endeavour. The award segment would recognise, celebrate and honour Nigerians who have contributed to the uplifting of the lives of their fellow men and women, especially the less privileged. 

The one-day event, as usual, shall commence with a red carpet welcoming reception and a cocktail networking party. It shall also encompass the following:

1.      Exhibition: This will feature stunning henna designs by designers from different parts of the country and local beauty products outside the events hall.

2. Runway Fashion Show: This promises to feature emerging talents in the fashion industry. The best among the dinners would go home with an air ticket to attend an African international show in Amsterdam.  The designers will scintillate guests with their exquisite couture.

3. Music mode: This will be set and maintained by some of the country's outstanding musicians.

4. Comedy: To further spice up the glittering night, there will be comedy by rib-cracking and sensational performers. 

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

The event will be heralded with an Awards Ceremony to recognise distinguished Nigerians in areas where they have been outstanding.

The following categories of award shall be presented at the event:

1. TOZALI BIG HEART AWARD

2. TOZALI WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARD

3. TOZALI GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

4. TOZALI MOST OUTSTANDING LEDGISTLATORS AWARD

5. TOZALI PHILANTROPHY AWARD FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

6. TOZALI MOST PERFORMING PET PROJECT AWARD

7. TOZALI FASHION ICON AWARD

8. TOZALI BRIDE OF THE YEAR AWARD

9. TOZALI KANYWOOD BEST ACTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

10. TOZALI KANYWOOD BEST ACTRESS OF THE YEAR AWARD

11. TOZALI ENTREPRENEUR AWARD

12. TOZALI BEST DESGNER AWARD

PARTICIPATION AND BENEFITS

The Henna Ball promises to be a powerful lifestyle marketing platform, a unique one-day event business opportunity to increase brand awareness, generate relevant media opportunity and access a distinctive audience.

The Ball is being packaged to be a relaxing, pleasurable and entertainment-packed forum, featuring a stunning runway fashion show of wearable couture in various categories, beauty exhibition and world class A-List entertainment, creating one of a kind opportunity for participating exhibitors, collectors, designers and sponsors. It will feature extensive print and electronic coverage through mainstream media and is also endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism through the Nigerian Tourism Development Commission, the Federal Ministry of Information and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

Should you choose to partner with us in the Henna Ball, your company will have a unique branding opportunity to promote your products and services to top Nigerian elites as well as society’s most influential tastemakers and trendsetters.

Sponsorship benefits include extensive television, radio and press coverage in all adverts, prominent name and product placement throughout the event, programme booklet advertisement, sample product distribution, inclusion in press releases, company profile in the latest edition of our magazine, opportunity for massive marketing campaigns, as well as resounding message that your company and its products are playing an active role in committing to the best of Africa’s cultural development and empowerment. 

For more information on participation and ticket purchase, please contact our information desk on this mobile number:  +234-81-66320145

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DESIGN INSPIRATION

PERSONAL PACKAGING

Life is about working to achieve something. It is either a goal, a dream or even a bet. The business of achieving success has a process one will have to go through to rise to the top of the success ladder. In every country there is the public and the private sector;  one way or the other your dream will be achieved in a sector you've found yourself in or made a choice to be in. (You are not going to sit around doing nothing,  you have to make something of yourself by yourself ).

To get into any sector, including social sector and as many other life sectors that you can think of, you will be required to participate in an initial meeting. It could be an interview, familiarity visit or a regular get-together. Whichever one it is, you will have to present your best of impeccable behaviour and, if I may add, to the nines dress code (dig out your bottom box or visit your neighbourhood WMT... a.k.a. Wuse Market Tailor).  Sloppy, dishevelled, and or unorganised anything never gets anybody anywhere or anything. 

For a corporate interview, I don't have to tell you not to dress like you are off to a gala or clubbing. Formal wear of suits is a must. As Naija peeps you can spice it up with Ankara, the secret of Naija fabulousness (Hmm only a little bit o! Don't go and sew full ankara suit, raffia skirt/trousers with ashooke tie and add street light earrings plus tye dye belt o! I no send you!).

Go Trado Corporate. Simplicity exudes intelligence. Your dress code will be an integral part of the marks needed for you to pass the test.

For a low key business meeting you can go in a Naija Pop attire. In the private sector there is a more relaxed feel, unless stated otherwise like in large scale wholesale/retail conglomerate where you may most likely be required to interact with clients and a variety of individuals.

Talking to someone intelligently and persuasively isn't enough; looking the part and approachable by wearing a casual look will help close the deal, be it an appointment or a sale. (So if you dress up like robo cop or Saka just back from a day’s work at the motor park, na your wahala be that, you will scare the opportunities away. No deal no commission!  Shikenan!)

Fashionable readers of Tozali, here are trending dress codes for your sartorial rendezvous.

I will give you a few ideas on 1. Trado Corporate dressing 2. Naija Pop attire and, of course, 3. Friday Glam for casual Fridays. There are also couture evening blouses for you to put your spin on them and create skirts to compliment. Don't forget to share your talents and designs on Tozali Blogspot. These will boost your business appeal. 

Have a great sartorial adventure and share share share!!!‎

Tozali Fashion Pictures...

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