Reno Omokri

Here is wishing Mr Peter Obi a happy birthday on his 65th birthday, today, Sunday, July 19, 2026. May God bless you with long life in good health. My family and I celebrate with you even as we thank God for His blessings bestowed on you. We rejoice with you when you rejoice, and recognise your contributions towards enlivening participatory democracy. Scripture says, 'Iron sharpens iron', and you embody that. By being active in the political process, you have helped sharpen your followers, making them more conscious and engaged in the democratic life of Nigeria. For that, you have my admiration. And as this day only comes once in a year, it is perhaps the aptest desire of mind that the rest of your days shall be the best of your days, and that the Creator continues to increase you in wisdom as you increase in years. With malice toward none, with charity for all, I say once again, happy birthday, sir, and may this day put you in a good way, such that you say at the end of the day that you had a hey day! Best regards Bemigho Reno Omokri

Dear Chukwuebuka, Thank you for your feedback. Hack? This is nothing new unless you are not familiar with me. Has there been any year in which I have not wished Peter Obi a happy birthday? You can Google it. Year in and year out, without fail, I have always wished Mr Obi well on his birthday, because I am led by my principles, not my moods. I guess it is a cultural thing. Do not use your standards to judge others. Even General Buhari, whose government I fought to a standstill, received a birthday message from me on each of his birthdays. I do not allow politics to strip me of my humanity. Thanks again, and may God bless you.

Dear Oloche, Thank you for your feedback. Quite the contrary, Nigeria is not a "useless" country. It is actually the opposite. Nigeria is a great country that offers its people many benefits. As a Nigerian, you benefit because the Federal Government provides each state with approximately $1 billion in federal allocation annually, free of charge. Without this amount, most Nigerian states would not even be viable. That money enables these states to provide free education from primary to secondary levels, pay civil servants and develop infrastructure. Whether you produce or you don't produce, regardless of if you contribute or don't contribute to the commonwealth, every year, you get $1 billion from the Federal Government. Added to that is another estimated $150 million in VAT funds given to each state. Some states, and regions even get three times what they contribute. Additionally, Nigerian Public universities are heavily subsidised. Please Fact Check Me: Average tuition fees at Nigerian public universities is ₦100,000 or $75. Average tuition fees at Ghanaian public universities is GHS 17,145 or $ 1,503. If you are a Ghanaian citizen, you pay about a third of that, being GH₵6,000 or 500. Average tuition fees at British public universities is £9,250 or $11,900. Average tuition fees at European public universities is €10,000 or $11,128. Average tuition fees at American public universities is $11,000 if you are an American citizen and $31,000 if you are a foreigner. Moreover, approximately 1 million Nigerian undergraduates are currently benefiting from INTEREST-FREE student loans. In the US and the UK, student loans carry steep interest rates. Despite this disparity in fees, Nigerian-trained medical doctors and other medical professionals are highly sought after abroad due to the sterling nature of their training in Nigeria. Yet, you say Nigeria is 'useless'? Public healthcare in Nigeria is either free, depending on your state of residence, or heavily subsidised. All Nigerian university graduates are guaranteed a year's income of ₦77,000 monthly and accommodation through the National Youth Service Scheme, although the accommodation is often rudimentary. Each Nigerian citizen is entitled to Basic Travel Allowance. Taxes are low, and very few Nigerians even pay them. Nigeria has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios on Earth. Yet we all benefit from public infrastructure built with tax money. And even our fuel prices, which increased due to the Middle East crisis, are still less expensive than the price in all our neighbouring countries, including countries that have similar or higher levels of wealth per capita than we do, including Ghana and Niger. Oloche, when you analyse our situation as a sentient being, using purely facts and avoiding emotions, it will be clear to your rational mind that Nigeria is never a useless country. I therefore urge you to be more patriotic. Thanks again, and may God bless you.

If you want citizens of other countries to respect you, then you must show respect for your country. Your value as a Nigerian is tied to the value of Nigeria. If you come online to call Nigeria a "useless" country and a "zoo", you are telling foreigners that you are 'useless' and are an animal. And once you devalue yourself, don't expect them to raise your price. If you are jobless and seeking a job, don't come online to de-market Nigeria, even if politicians you admire do. They have made millions out of Nigeria and do not need a job. But you require one. Foreign investors will see your misrepresentations and avoid Nigeria, instead of coming here to invest and create jobs. If you want a visa, don't use your social media platforms to badmouth Nigeria. Embassies will check your social media accounts. If you run down your own country, you are inadvertently telling them that a, you are not patriotic and can put down their own nation at the slightest provocation, and b, you are a flight risk. If you want terrorists and bandits to stop abducting people, starve them of attention. Resist the urge to use your social media platforms to amplify their terror activities, which helps them spread fear. When they notice that their nefarious activities do not make the news, it will reduce their motivation to continue on that path. If you want religious harmony in Nigeria, then you must respect other faiths. You do not have to believe what other Nigerians believe, but you do have to respect their beliefs. Restrain yourself and do not blaspheme their Deity or prophets, either privately or publicly. Live and let live! Now, I invite you to say Àṣẹ, Ișe, Itșe, Amin, or Amen to this prayer: May God bless Nigeria and may Nigeria experience peace, progress and prosperity continuously in our lifetimes.

Your presence is a present. And if people stop respecting you, it is usually because you have given them an excess of the present of your presence. Even money loses its value when it is too readily available. As long as supply exceeds demand, devaluation MUST result. The solution, therefore, is to create demand for your presence by making it scarce. Better to hear ‘where have you been?’ than to hear ‘you again?’ Just as an overdose of drugs is fatal, so is an overdose of your presence fatal to your relationships. Never allow people to get an overdose of your presence. #RenosNuggets

Artificial Intelligence was invented for people. Humanity was not created for Artificial Intelligence. Therefore, as AI continues to grow, employers will look for employees who have what computers and Robots do not. Emotional intelligence. So don't just focus on your academics in school. Also, grow your relational awareness. Attend parties. Get to mix with people you don't like. Develop your ability to read people. Because machine learning is such that a computer can learn in one day what it took you four years to learn at university. But they can't learn to be human. That is your sweet spot. Dominate it. #RenosNuggets

It is not enough to understand how your own mind works. To be powerful and avoid life's pitfalls as much as you can, you also have to understand how other people's minds work, especially when they don't even understand how their own minds work. Most people treat their minds like their iPhone's operating system. It's there. It's part of their make up. But in truth, they don't really know how either their minds or their iOS works. And that, not the government, or their limited or unlimited education, is why they are broke, busted, and disgusted! #RenosNuggets

Dear Ponpyal, Thank you for your feedback. Every soul must taste death, so your words are completely satisfactory to me. With the way I have lived my life, I have a conscience devoid of offence towards God and man, and therefore have absolutely no fear of death whatsoever, whether it comes today or some other time. Thanks again, and may God bless you.

Thank God it is Jumu'ah. As-salamu alaykum to the Muslim Ummah. May this blessed day bring us into a state of reflection as we thank God for getting us through the first half of the year, and pray that we enjoy peace and make progress in the latter half. I wish the Mu'min a most meaningful assembly as they gather for Salatul-Jumu'ah globally. Please spare time to thank the Al-Hadi (The Guider) for the rescue of the Oriire schoolchildren by the brave men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces. May God hear your prayers. I also pray for peaceful religious coexistence. May God continue to bless Nigeria and give our leaders wisdom to manage the affairs of the largest Islamo-Christian nation on Earth. Finally, may Allah, SWT, grant us Salwa, farah, shifa, sabr, iman, hikmah, or whatever barakah we may desire from our Creator. May He be pleased with our ibadah. Jumu'ah Mubarak.

Dear Pastor Okezie (@Onsogbu), Thank you for your feedback. We are immensely proud of the great work you do for Nigeria, and I align myself with your view that President Tinubu is the alpha of Nigerian politics in this Fourth Republic, who, by the grace of God and the votes of the Nigerian people, will be overwhelmingly reelected in 2027. However, the individual in this photo, whom you identify as Peter Obi, is actually not the NDC Presidential candidate. The fellow shaking hands with the then former Governor of Lagos, and now very beloved President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was a man by the name of Alhaji Umar Njidda Pariya. I knew Mr Pariya during my first incarnation as a Presidential aide (Office of the Vice President) between 2003 and 2005. Frontally, he bears no resemblance to Peter Obi. But when he turns sideways, their similitude becomes uncanny. Unfortunately, Mallam Pariya is no more, having passed away in 2019, and his family may find it painful that his image is being confused with that of Peter Obi. Therefore, I am making this correction lovingly for the sake of a former colleague and out of concern for his family's sensibilities. Mallam Pariya was not a perfect man. But he was a loyal one. Most loyal. And for that, his memory is cherished. We hope that when we also inevitably succumb to death, since every soul must taste it, our living colleagues will also show loyalty to our memory. Thanks, and may God reward your labour of love for the administration of His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

You don't have to be loud to be confident. In fact, loudness is often a sign of inferiority. The best type of confidence is quiet confidence. When you have a commanding presence, even a nod from you can achieve more than a shout from a loud person. Be deliberate. Don't be rushed. Take your time. Don't raise your voice. Either raise the quality of your conversation or erase the argument by refusing to participate. You can never have more experience at being a fool than a fool. And no matter how deep the enmity, even an enemy can't misquote your silence. #RenosNuggets

Please fact-check me: Almost 70% of Nigerians who apply for a United Kingdom visa are approved. Almost 60% of Nigerians applying for an American visa are accepted. Slightly over 50% of Nigerians who apply for Canadian visas are granted visas. In addition, Nigerian citizens have visa-free access to at least 44 countries (actually more). Also, Nigeria's passport rose to 89th out of 199 countries on the Henley Passport Index, up from 94 in 2025 and 98 in 2022. What this means is that the Nigerian passport is STRONGER than more than half of all the passports on Earth. So, in conclusion, we have to be circumspect about our choice of words and not confuse personal experiences with national situations. Nigerians are not trapped in Nigeria, nor is Nigeria scorned by the rest of the world. Time Out magazine of London listed Lagos as the 19th-best place to live on Earth, and Detty December became the single biggest tourist event in Africa, drawing 1.2 million visitors to Lagos annually. Also, Foreign Direct Investment inflows into Nigeria hit an 11-year high in 2025, according to the World Investment Report 2026, released on Tuesday, July 2, 2026, by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Per UNCTAD, FDI into Nigeria increased by 148.4% to $4 billion in 2025, from $1.61 billion in 2024. If an individual is denied a visa, it is usually due to their specific circumstances and is not a reflection of, or a judgment on, their country of origin. Nigeria has given us so much. Many of us have risen from humble circumstances to achieve fame and fortune because of the Nigerian nation and its people. Let us therefore be prudent and not de-market the nation that has given us so much. Nigeria is not finished. Nigeria is blessed! Reno Omokri Ambassador Designate to Mexico. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years.

Hard work as a means to success is a myth that the upper class has used to confound the lower classes for centuries. Working harder does not necessarily make you richer. In fact, quite the opposite. It can destroy your health to the extent that the proceeds of your labour cannot recover your lost vitality. Instead of just working harder, try thinking better so you can work smarter. Two things are necessary for wealth building: having capital and getting clarity on where to invest it. Bricklayers are probably some of the hardest-working people on earth. Are they rich? Elon Musk is always on social media, yet he is wealthy. Where you invest your money is more important than where you get that money from. #RenosNuggets

Follow your core values and refuse to care what other people think about you, otherwise, social media will turn you from a person into an algorithm of other people's opinions, misinformation and disinformation. Don't expect to be popular throughout your life. That is weakness. Instead, learn to like yourself. As long as you have self-esteem, you are sufficient. Popularity is like fashion. It does not last. It comes and goes. To build your life around it is to construct your castle upon sand. Remember, God created you to fulfil purpose. He did not create you to be popular. #RenosNuggets

To get along with people, never assume that what you have to say is more important than what they have to say. This frees you from the temptation to interrupt them. Everybody on this planet believes they are important, even if they are not. Therefore, respect that belief. Allow people to talk without interjecting and listen to them intently, even if they are saying rubbish. The point is that when you do this, people will themselves respect you, and may even end up liking you. But if you constantly interrupt and interject and never listen, they begin resenting you. #RenosNuggets

If you die on the job, the mourning period ends the morning of your death. By afternoon, your boss is placing adverts seeking your replacement. So, be dedicated to your job, but never assume your boss likes you. It is your work he likes. And if he can find an AI to replace you, he will do it without batting an eye. That is why you should see your salary as start-up capital and your job as on-the-job training for you to start your own business. Your ultimate goal should be to fire your boss before he fires you. Be the boss even if you have to take a loss! #RenosNuggets