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The Church Could Make A Difference Taking Squarely on Racism

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4 years ago

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“Growing up as an Ibo person, the concept of another human being superior to me did not exist because I did not have the exposure that could even suggest such a thought process”

― Ichie Onwuchekwa

Pardon me for writing to you in this manner. After receiving the recent copy of Diolog, the various articles on racism have fascinated me in a manner that has never been the case in the past. As a brief introduction, I am an Igbo man who years ago became a Naturalized American Citizen. Nigeria, the biggest Country in Africa has three major tribes, the Hausas (Moslems) the Igbos (Christians) and the Yorubas (Mixture of Moslems and Christians) Each of these three groups have more population than most Countries. The Igbos are estimated to be between 45 to 55 million people.

In the late 1970s the Government of Nigeria gave me an academic scholarship to study Engineering here in America. I stayed after my education and raised my family here. From my Nigerian Ibo upbringing, the concept of racism, in my mind seems not to be as defined as it could be for a person who was born and raised here in America without the benefit of the other ethnic and/or demographic influences that I was exposed to, growing up. I will perhaps not be able to fully explain this point of view but I will make an attempt, based on personal perspectives.

Since these discussions are being done under Christian settings, every time I contemplate on the term “racism” I often ask myself, “how would Jesus Christ have talked of racism?” In my understanding of the Bible or Church history, I am not quite clear if there was any definitive allusion to the concept of racism by Christ. Perhaps, he may have but I am just not quite sure.

First, in my mind, there appears to be lots of contradictions in terms each time the subject is discussed. For example, when I hear the term “people of color” everything that I learned in kindergarten compel me to think that there may be people that are “colorless”. Honestly, I have problems believing that some people may be colorless ….there may be shades of colors but definitely everyone has color. Citing the same logic, I have never actually seen a “white person” because in kindergarten, I learned to associate the word “white” with paper or a white shirt. In my experience in Africa, certain people can actually be described as “black”. In fact, the closer one gets to the Sahara desert, the darker the people appear to become. Therefore, in our part of Southern Nigeria, we can easily differentiate people from say Sudan by their much darker complexions.

On reflections, I do think that there are terms and conclusions we always try to avoid when we use the term racism” and/or people of color. I could be wrong but when I really think deeply about these terms, what comes to my mind is the unspoken term “superiority” that may be implied when most of the people think in these terms. From a personal experience, I remember in my freshman year at the Texas A&M University here in Texas. My class completed a test in Calculus and when the Professor returned our papers the next class day, a Caucasian classmate that was sitting next to me saw my score on the test and his face displayed a great degree of surprise. Then he asked me “you are not really black, are you?” it took me a while to realize that in his mind, a black person could not possibly score more than him or score well in a Calculus test.

On balance, I did not consider his reaction racism but ignorance. He did not realize or know the level of my academic preparation prior to coming to Texas. Growing up as an Ibo person, the concept of another human being superior to me did not exist because I did not have the exposure that could even suggest such a thought process.

Christianity came to my part of the World from England in 1857 but prior to that, my ancestors had varied history of their existence and ways of life, some of which persist even today. I will argue that the scourge of slavery contributed a lot in shaping the psyche of many in the Western World. Thus, some people based on their collective experiences accept in their minds the idea of being inferior, while some conclude that they must be superior by the virtue of their skin colors.

In the West, anytime the word poverty is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is “black or color people” as if there are no poor Caucasians.

Thus, in the Western World, anytime the word poverty is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is “black people” or people of “color” as if there are no poor Caucasians. The discussion never pauses to ask …. “poor as compared to what?”…

Growing up as an Igbo boy, I never knew that we were poor because we always had food and the necessities of life that were applicable to where we were born. I never had scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast until I came here to attend college but I never missed breakfast while at home in Nigeria. We were always happy because we were always able to provide for ourselves and for me there lies the beauty of God our creator. If God wanted “plain vanilla” in this World, he would not have had any problems making all of us one color.

If God in His infinite wisdom created diversity, will it not be proper to boldly recognize the essence and need for that diversity? As I write, I am looking at your picture published on the Editor’s page. I see a picture of a good-natured lady with a smile but the fact remains that we are different and I am not referring to gender. So, as we examine how racism exists in our daily lives, we must thank the Almighty that we are different as His grand design wanted this World to be. You cannot for example differentiate me from an atom therefore I do not think it could be realistic for you or me to easily meet each other and fail to realize and acknowledge the fact that we are different. As God’s children, I do not think that we could ignore or deny our differences but when we dare to assume that certain skin color could make some people superior to others we are seriously missing the point…God’s point!

From my study of the early Church history, it took St. Paul time to convince the early Church in Jerusalem of the need to include the gentiles amongst the people worthy of receiving the Ministry of Christ. Remember that then, St. Paul was not exactly talking about “black people” because such was not exactly his major experience. He was talking of non-Jews such as Greeks and others who perhaps the early Church believed were not good enough to receive the teachings of Christ, regardless of their faith and beliefs.

I have always wondered whether skin color will matter when we all stand before Christ in judgement. Will He judge us on the basis of our skin color? I really do not believe so. I have always taught my kids to always be proud of who they are and never defer to anyone because of physical appearances. I also urge them to realize that people are different. That when people interact with them on the basis of ignorance, they must recognize ignorance for what it is. I take them to Nigeria (Ibo land) for a different perspective on things at every opportunity we get and they grew up proud of themselves. My daughter is a Board-certified Cardiologist in Houston and my son is an Engineer.

In conclusion, I honestly think that the Church could really make a difference in taking the lead on this subject matter. Hopefully our leaders in the Church will focus more on this subject matter. I will hope to learn more as this subject gets discussed in more details. Thanks for reading my lengthy write-up.

♦ Ichie Onwuchekwa is a columnist with WAP

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Lifestyle

Kaduna Governor Commissions Nigeria’s First 100-Building Prefabricated Housing Estate

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6 days ago

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November 14, 2025

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Kaduna, Nigeria – November 6, 2025 — In a major milestone for Nigeria’s housing sector, the Governor of Kaduna State has commissioned a 100-unit mass housing estate developed by Family Homes and executed by Karmod Nigeria, marking the first-ever large-scale prefabricated housing project in the country.

Completed in under six months, the innovative project demonstrates the power of modern prefabricated construction to deliver high-quality, affordable homes at record speed — a sharp contrast to traditional building methods that often take years.

Each of the 100 units in the estate is designed for a lifespan exceeding 50 years with routine maintenance. The development features tarred access roads, efficient drainage systems, clean water supply, and steady electricity, ensuring a modern and comfortable living environment for residents.

According to Family Homes, the project represents a new era in Nigeria’s mass housing delivery, proving that cutting-edge technology can accelerate the provision of sustainable and cost-effective homes for Nigerians.

“With prefabricated technology, we can drastically reduce construction time while maintaining top-quality standards,” said a spokesperson for Family Homes. “This project is a clear demonstration of what’s possible when innovation meets commitment to solving Nigeria’s housing deficit.”

Reinforcing this commitment, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State emphasized the alignment between the initiative and the state’s broader vision for affordable housing.

“The Family Homes Funds Social Housing Project aligns with our administration’s commitment to the provision of affordable houses for Kaduna State citizens. Access to safe, affordable and secure housing is the foundation of human dignity. We have been partnering with local and international investors to frontally address our housing deficit,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Ademola Adebise, Chairman of Family Homes Funds Limited, noted that the project embodies inclusivity and social progress.

“The Social Housing Project also reflects our shared vision of inclusive growth, where affordable housing becomes a foundation for economic participation and improved quality of life.”

Karmod Nigeria, the technical partner behind the project, utilized its extensive expertise in prefabricated technology to localize the process, employing local artisans and materials to enhance community participation and job creation.

Industry experts have described the Kaduna project as a blueprint for future housing initiatives nationwide, capable of addressing the country’s housing shortfall more efficiently and sustainably.

With this pioneering development, Kaduna State takes a leading role in introducing modern housing technologies that promise to reshape Nigeria’s urban landscape.

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Books

The Pioneer’s Burden: Building the First Private Network in a Vacuum of Power

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2 weeks ago

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November 4, 2025

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  • Book Title: The Making of Bourdex Telecom
  • Author: David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex
  • Publishers: Bourdex
  • Reviewer: Emeaba Emeaba
  • Pages: 127

In the history of Nigerian entrepreneurship, stories of audacity often begin with frustration. A man waits hours in a dimly lit government office to place a single overseas call, his ambitions held hostage by bureaucracy. From that moment of exasperation, an empire begins. Such is the animating pulse of The Making of Bourdex Telecom, David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex’s sweeping autobiographical account of one man’s effort to connect the disconnected and to rewrite the telecommunications map of Eastern Nigeria.

At once memoir, corporate history, and national parable, the book reconstructs the emergence of Bourdex Telecommunications Limited—the first indigenous private telecom provider in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions—against a backdrop of inefficiency, corruption, and infrastructural neglect. Its author, a businessman turned visionary, narrates not merely how a company was built but how a new horizon of possibility was forced open in a society long accustomed to closed doors.

Bourdex begins with a stark diagnosis of pre-deregulation Nigeria: a nation of over 120 million people served by fewer than a million telephone lines. Through a mix of statistical precision and personal recollection, he paints a portrait of communication as privilege, not right—of entire regions condemned to silence by state monopoly. His storytelling thrives in such contrasts: the entrepreneur sleeping upright in Lagos’s NET building to place an international call; the Italian businessman in Milan conducting deals with two sleek mobile phones. That juxtaposition—between deprivation and effortless connectivity—serves as the book’s moral axis.

From these moments of contrast, Bourdex constructs the founding myth of his enterprise. What began as an irritation became a revelation, then a crusade. “I saw a people left behind,” he writes, “a region cut off while others dialed into the future.” His insistence on framing technology as a means of liberation rather than profit underscores the moral ambition that threads through the book. The Making of Bourdex Telecom reads not like a manual of business success but like an ethical manifesto: to build not simply for gain, but for dignity.

As the chapters unfold, Bourdex’s narrative oscillates between vivid personal storytelling and granular technical detail. He recounts his early business dealings in the 1980s and ’90s, the bureaucratic mazes of NITEL, and the daring pursuit of a telecommunications license under General Sani Abacha’s military government. There is a cinematic quality to his recollections—the tense midnight meetings in Abuja, the coded alliances with military officers, the improbable friendships that turned policy into possibility.

These sections recall Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria in tone and intention: both works diagnose the systemic failures of governance but find redemption in individual initiative. Yet Bourdex’s narrative differs in form. Where Achebe offered moral critique, Bourdex offers demonstration—an anatomy of perseverance in motion. He documents the letters, negotiations, and international correspondences with Harris Canada, showing how an indigenous company emerged through sheer force of will and global collaboration.

Such passages risk overwhelming the reader with acronyms, specifications, and telecom jargon—R2 signaling, SS7 interconnection, E1 circuits—but they also lend the book an authenticity rare in corporate memoirs. What might have been opaque technicalities become, under Bourdex’s hand, instruments of drama. The machinery of communication becomes metaphor: wires and waves as extensions of faith and tenacity.

To situate The Making of Bourdex Telecom within Nigeria’s socio-political history is to confront the paradox of private enterprise under public decay. The book chronicles the twilight of NITEL’s monopoly, the hesitant dawn of deregulation, and the emergence of entrepreneurial actors who filled the void left by government paralysis. In this sense, Bourdex’s story parallels that of other indigenous pioneers—figures such as Mike Adenuga and Jim Ovia—whose ventures in telecommunications and banking transformed the national economy from the late 1990s onward.

Yet Bourdex’s tone is less triumphant than reflective. He does not romanticize deregulation; he portrays it as both opportunity and ordeal. The government’s inertia, the labyrinthine licensing process, and the outright extortion by state agencies form the darker undertones of his tale. His clash with NITEL’s leadership—recounted with controlled indignation—stands as one of the book’s most gripping sequences. When a senior official demanded an illegal payment of ₦20.8 million for interconnection rights, Bourdex’s defiant reply, “You are not God,” rang out like an act of civil disobedience. In such moments, the narrative transcends the genre of business autobiography and enters the moral theatre of national reform. The entrepreneur becomes citizen-prophet, challenging a corrupt establishment with the rhetoric of justice and self-belief. That blending of economic narrative with civic conscience is perhaps the book’s most compelling feature.

Stylistically, The Making of Bourdex Telecom occupies an intriguing space between oral history and polished memoir. The prose is direct, rhythmic, and often sermonic, reflecting its author’s background as both businessman and public speaker. Anecdotes unfold with the cadences of storytelling; sentences sometimes pulse with the energy of spoken word: “Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” The repetition of such aphorisms imbues the work with a sense of conviction, though occasionally at the expense of subtlety.

Where the book excels is in its evocation of atmosphere—the dusty highways between Aba and Lagos, the sterile corridors of power in Abuja, the crisp air of Calgary where the author first glimpsed technological modernity. These scenes transform what could have been a linear corporate chronicle into a textured work of memory.

Still, the narrative structure is not without flaws. The absence of an external editor’s restraint is occasionally felt in the pacing; digressions into technical exposition or moral reflection sometimes interrupt narrative flow. Readers accustomed to the concise storytelling of international business memoirs—Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog or Elon Musk’s authorized biography—may find the prose dense in places. Yet such density mirrors the complexity of the terrain Bourdex navigated. His sentences, like his towers, are built from layers of persistence.

Beyond its entrepreneurial chronicle, the book doubles as social history—a record of Eastern Nigeria’s encounter with modernization. The chapters on “The FUTO Boys,” a cadre of young engineers recruited from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, offer a microcosm of the new Nigerian professional class emerging in the late 1990s: educated, idealistic, and determined to prove that technical expertise could thrive outside the state. Their improvisations—installing antennas by candlelight, building networks amid power outages—embody the collective grit that sustained Bourdex’s vision.

The narrative’s cumulative effect is generational. Through the story of one company, we glimpse a society in transition—from analogue isolation to digital awakening. The book captures that liminal moment when the sound of a dial tone became a symbol of freedom.

Running through The Making of Bourdex Telecom is a persistent theology of success. Bourdex attributes every turn in his journey to divine orchestration: friendships “placed by the Invisible Hand,” setbacks reinterpreted as “divine redirections.” Such language, while characteristic of Nigerian entrepreneurial spirituality, acquires here an almost literary force. It recasts corporate history as providential narrative, where the invisible infrastructure of grace mirrors the visible architecture of towers and transmitters.

For some readers, this piety may feel excessive; yet it provides the emotional coherence of the book. The author’s faith is not ornamental—it is constitutive. Without it, the story of Bourdex Telecom would read as mere ambition. With it, it becomes vocation.

The foreword by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and the preface by former Anambra Governor Peter Obi frame the book as both inspiration and instruction. They read Bourdex’s career as parable: the triumph of private initiative over public inertia. Yet their presence also situates the work within Nigeria’s broader discourse on nation-building. The Making of Bourdex Telecom is not only the autobiography of an entrepreneur; it is a treatise on indigenous agency—on what happens when Africans cease to wait for imported solutions and begin to engineer their own.

In this respect, the book extends its influence beyond its immediate industry. Its lessons—about courage, timing, friendship, and faith—extend to any field where innovation must contend with adversity.

Judged as a work of literature, The Making of Bourdex Telecom is direct and sincere. Its prose favors clarity over ornament, and its authenticity gives the story a compelling sense of truth. Bourdex writes not to embellish, but to bear witness—to a time, a struggle, and a conviction that technology could serve humanity. The result is a hybrid work: part documentary, part sermon, part memoir of enterprise.

As a contribution to Nigerian business literature, it deserves serious attention. Few firsthand accounts capture with such detail the messy birth of private telecommunications in the 1990s—a revolution that reshaped the country’s economic and social fabric. In its pages, we hear both the crackle of the first connected call and the larger resonance of a people finding their voice.

Bourdex’s central message endures: progress begins when frustration becomes purpose. His journey from the backrooms of NITEL to the boardrooms of international telecoms is not merely personal triumph; it is a chapter in Nigeria’s unfinished story of modernization.

In the end, The Making of Bourdex Telecom stands as more than the history of a company. It is an ode to enterprise as nation-building, and to the stubborn optimism of those who refuse to let silence define them.

See the book on Amazon: >>>>>

_________

♦ Dr. Emeaba, the author of “A Dictionary of Literature,” writes dime novels in the style of the Onitsha Market Literature sub-genre.

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Houston

Houston and Owerri Community Mourn the Passing of Beloved Icon, Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie

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2 months ago

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October 3, 2025

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Houston was thrown into mourning on September 19, 2025, following the sudden passing of businessman and community advocate Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie, who peacefully joined his ancestors. Immediate family member in Houston, Nick Anozie, confirmed his untimely death and expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and condolences from both the Houston and Owerri communities.

Lawrence was born to Chief Alexander and Lolo Ether Anozie of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria, and will be dearly remembered by family members, friends, and the entire Houston community.

An accomplished accountant, the late Lawrence incorporated and successfully managed three major companies: Universal Insurance Company, LLC, Universal Mortgage LLC, and Universal Financial Services. Through these enterprises, he not only built a thriving business career but also created opportunities for countless individuals to achieve financial stability. His contributions to entrepreneurship and community development will remain a lasting legacy.

According to the family, arrangements for his final funeral rites are in progress and will be announced in due course.

Lawrence will forever be remembered as a loving and compassionate man who dedicated much of his life to uplifting others. He helped countless young Nigerians and African Americans overcome economic challenges by providing mentorship, financial guidance, and career opportunities. His generosity touched the lives of many who otherwise might not have found their footing. A devout Catholic, he was unwavering in his faith and never missed Mass, drawing strength and inspiration from his church community. To those who knew him, Lawrence was not only a successful businessman but also a pillar of kindness, humility, and faith whose legacy of service and compassion will continue to inspire generations.

For more information, please contact Nick Anozie – 832-891-2213

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