I Pledge

Happy independence to all Nigerians!

I am a proud Nigerian, anyone who knows me knows that and I get frustrated at the pessimists who go on and on about the issues we have. I love my country and I will keep the picture of a great country ever before me.

This morning I woke up with Nigeria on my mind and then my phone beeped and I got this rendition of the pledge from my friend and straight away I knew I had to share it with everyone.

                   

She-the-stranger

I watched her hum her way in and out of the room slamming the door so hard it bounced back on its hinges falling wide open again. Its been 6 days since she came to stay with me and its been 5 days since my irritation began its gradual rise. I have never had to share my space with a stranger before and that is what she still is after 6 days, a stranger! I am usually more friendly than I have been to her but because I have felt more frustration at her presence than companionship, I have kept my distance in case I snap and give her a little more than a piece of my feelings.

Dirty clothes have sat still in a bag by my couch, a damp towel has found its spot on my wardrobe door, strands of hair turn up everywhere and my boots and jackets have found a new owner. I'm more sad at my decision to help this stranger than happy at doing my friend a favour. My friend who I haven't seen in almost 9 years asked me to play host until she-the-stranger finds suitable accomodations. I was quick to accept as I was once a squatter with a friend before I found my place but my host was my friend so I could lounge. Now, I'm stuck with she-the-stranger who wont pick after herself and seems too comfortable in my space; my space which is my solace and now a damp smelly room that reminds me of my undergraduate days.

That humming which would not have mattered on another occassion grated on my nerves as I pulled the duvet over my head. "Please go to school", I prayed silently from under my hiding place. I desperately needed to clean and air my space. 4 hours later, I'm alone "ahhhhh" I sighed in relief, I have at most 7 hours before she-the-stranger returns with her endless questions and over familiarity. I have a few hours to own my space, my solace.

I keep saying to myself, "it could be worse, Ihotu stay calm all izz well"

Way To Go

The most recent irritation to road users is the number of tariffs they have to pay just to use the roads. It’s amazing how different groups waylay drivers and collect all kinds of amounts of money from them as payment for one thing or the other. The worst part is the mode of payment. We all know tax laws are slack in this country but that doesn’t give every union and corporative the excuse to become hoodlums and terrorists.

Take Abuja for example (I live here so I should know), road workers are made to pay for tickets everyday or they will be penalized with a higher sum than they owed. A few months ago, a taxi driver I know went to Mararaba, the first town in Nasarawa State coming from Abuja and was fined for not having a receipt that carries the Nasarawa State emblem even though he had one with the FCTs’. You have to note that the only demarcation between Mararaba and Abuja is a pillar and the same buses run through the two towns.

The Difference He Made ~ Anonymous

I don't know who wrote this piece but it touched my heart and I hope it touches something in you.



"THE DIFFERENCE HE MADE"...'Amidst the morning mist of the swift returning tide, I set out on my daily run, my walkman on my side.Lost within my private world apart from cares and woes, I ran along the moistened shore, the sand between my toes. In the distance I saw a boy, as busy as can be.He was running,stooping,picking up, and tossing in the sea. Just what he threw, I couldn't tell, I looked as I drew near.It seemed to be a rock or shell~as I approached him I could hear. 'Back you go,where u belong,your safe now hurry home.Your family's waiting for you little starfish,hurry on!It seemed the evening tide had washed the starfish on the shore, And the swift receding water left a thousand there or more. And this self-appointed savior,was trying one-by-one to toss them back into the sea, against the racing sun.I saw his plight was hopeless, that most of them would die.I called out from my private world,'Hey kid, why even try?'. 'Must be at least a thousand here, strewn along the beach, And even if you had the time, most you'll never reach.You really think it makes a difference, to waste your time this way?'And then I paused and waited,just to hear what he would say. He stooped and took another, and looked me in the eye.'It makes a difference to this one sir, this starfish will not die!' With that,he tossed the little life,back where there was hope.He stooped to take another.I could tell this was no joke. The words that he spoke to me cut like a surgeon's knife.Where I saw only numbers,he saw only life. He didn't see the multitude of starfish on the sand.He only saw the little life he held there in his hand. He didn't stop to argue,to prove that he was right.He just kept tossing starfish in the sea with all his might. So I too stooped and picked up, and I tossed into the sea, And I thought just what a difference, that this boy has made in me."

WALKING PHONES

GSM Mobile phone use came into Nigeria in 2001 with Econet. As usual, they started in Lagos as the commercial center of the country and those of us in other areas just heard about experiences of its users. We only saw it on television and heard about it on the radio. It had become one of the fantastic things that were to remain a fantasy to those of us without a lot of thousands to spend on its acquisition. Then in came MTN, then known as “your best connection”. Apart from the competition and its wider coverage, it was a little lower than Econet in cost. By 2003, a large number of Nigerians could afford mobile phones because of the flood of options from Nokia and Samsung especially. I could afford a phone too. My father bought my very first mobile phone, a Samsung R220 popularly called “blue face” and I joined the league of GSM users. However, I had to squeeze out N12,000 to get an MTN sim card.

My Condolences to Us All

A friend of mine asked me a few days ago what my take on the Dana plane crash and its resultant reactions from people was and I answered that I didn't have one. He was shocked because I'm opinionated and I often have something to say. At his expression, I said, "its a sad situation" and gingerly left the conversation. I have read posts and comments from blogs and twitter and Facebook and listened in on conversations and its sad that we don't seem to be improving in our appreciation of the situation of our country, Nigeria.
What we face from corruption, to irresponsibility and arrogance is BAD (read my post "My Nigeria"). And even though we are all educated to an extent about how our leaders decisions and inaction is depreciating to us all by ripple effect, we still blame it on others. Most of what I read was that the fault of the crash was from Indians, Indians??? How dumb are we? Can't we see that because we can not service our own industries we have to bring in expatriates and then turn around and blame them for their failures? which really is ours because we manage to go to their schools, learn to be 'world best' and then remain in their countries to work for them as we can't cope the 'backwardness' of our own. Yes we pay them the big bucks, but if we are patriotic in any sense we will double check on what they are doing and not leave our lives in their hands.

Ultimate Ramblings 1: In Relative Terms

It is said that good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. The law of karma says what comes around goes around or the bad you do will come back to haunt you (thoroughly paraphrased). Medically, they say an unripe fruit may contain the necessary acids for digestion. So, an unripe orange may be a better laxative than a ripe one and an unripe mango stands a lesser chance of increasing the frequency of toilet visits while a ripe one might induce such. Also, you cannot know how much strength you have until tested, neither can you know your capacity for pain unless your endure some. Can we say there is an antonym without a word? Therefore, there is no wealth without poverty and no love without hate. Only the state of a “status” describes the alternative.

Trip to BENtv and OHtv

Finally, excursion to Media companies, Bright Entertainment Network (BENtv) and Open Heavens Television (OHtv) was executed. This is the first phase of my project for this semester and it went WELL! as soon as I sat in the coach to return to Birmingham I felt like screaming “It’s done”, I didn’t though.

It didn’t happen without its hurdles. First of all I got a text from one of the 10 people to take off from here saying she was ill and couldn’t make it. I replied that that was fine and she should recover soon as I wondered how I would be able to afford the group ticket now 1 person short. I gave everyone their tickets and we were off to London. I suddenly realised I could ask 1 of the 2 people who were to meet us in Tottenham hale to come to Euston instead to make up our number. Ultimately it was good for him because he lives 5minutes from Euston station in London. Have I mentioned the stress in booking tickets and arranging travel?

Phlegm

I hate phlegm!

It’s not only disgusting in itself but the sound it makes trying to find its way up the walls of the throat is completely nauseating. Firstly, I can’t seem to be able to get it out of my throat whenever it manages to get all wobbly in there. I’ve heard people clear their throats or cough in order to free themselves from the clingy-ness of it but all I can do is watch. I’ve tried to copy the actions or sounds made by people around me just to get it out of its lodgings but it just wouldn’t budge from my own throat. I’ve seen people throw their heads backwards and make the weirdest sounds ever and spit it out or just grunt and there it goes. I can practically hear it grudging dislodging itself part by part from the throat walls and roll into a ball that finally comes out through the mouth with the force created by the sound made by the individual (exasperating I know). I have tried it all; coughing, clearing my throat, bending over, leaning backwards, jumping, drinking water in large gulps, swallowing food to push it down, sticking my hand in my throat, wishing it away, and trying to forget its presence… all to no effect. Phlegm just won’t come out of my throat. Fortunately, I hardly have it stuck in there but when it does I’m restless and distracted. It’s like watching a dog try to remove a tick from the base of its back. You’ll hear whimpering and sheer agony.

A DAY AT THE HOSPITAL

I've always admired doctors but hated hospitals because it remains me of helplessness and pain. I know on the other hand it’s a place of hope and the ideal place to get treated for diseases as opposed to the other options (you know what I mean).

I've had to spend time at a hospital in the last few months and it has intensified my distaste for the place, and I must repeat not the health workers! Fortunately it is a really good hospital I was visiting this time around. The floors are really clean and the restrooms surprisingly fresh smelling, you can imagine that my olfactometer was at full blast. The doctors are cordial and most of the nurses are bordering on sweet but a few have obviously missed their callings. For the first time in my experience (which is really nothing to be reckoned with) the AC’s are

Dancing My Legit Edge

A good friend of mine celebrated his birthday yesterday. (of course, “yesterday in this article only means the day before I wrote it and not the day before you read it) it was really cool for a come-chop-and-dance-if-you-know-how-to-or-not event. My friends and I got there on time and realised a number of people had been there a while longer. We got right down to the food because when it comes to birthdays people think of 2 things; food and hangout! As expected, there were many, “long time no see”, “where have you been?”, “na wa for you oh” and “guess we’ll see at the next party”.

I Love Sleep

I love to sleep and “dozing” is a hobby and a healthy one too. I can’t put in more than 6 hours sleep at night no matter how much I try, the best that can happen is that I sleep for 5 hours, stay awake for 30minutes and then 2 hours which will be punctuated by my awareness of every thing happening around me because I’m really more conscious than asleep after the first 6 hours.

Two different medical theories have come out to say that (1) an adult needs 8hours sleep at night and (2) an adult needs 6hours sleep. Considering the fact that we have only 24 hours in a day; we would be willing to let sleep have 1/3 of that time by giving it 8hours. Using 6 hours for the same purpose means giving up ¼ of your day as well. The question is; what is healthy and what is not? I believe being refreshed in the morning after a good nights rest is healthy.

Blood is Thicker Than Water

I became an independent citizen about 5 years ago and it’s been both fun and the opposite. But it’s been an eye opener. Yes, the world is mean and cruel and you have make a way for yourself while using what you’ve got to get what you want. But I learnt another lesson too; “blood is thicker than water” is relative.

I have been living in Abuja for the last 4 years and in that time I’ve experienced a paradigm shift. So much so that I see appreciate the phrase, “a friend sticks closer than a brother” more than “blood is thicker than water”. I now know that family knows the right thing to say to put a smile on your face temporarily while friends know what to do to put a smile there permanently. Some of the friends I’ve made have become my greatest friends ever and have defied the “childhood” friend rule

My Playlist 1

A month ago I was asked if I would be interested in representing my campus society on radio. I am the president of the Nigerian Students Society and among all the numerous things I was supposed to get involved in, this one sounded pretty interesting and I was intrigued because part of the deal was I learn how to produce and maybe I could decide to be a DJ sometime (smiles then chuckles). I replied that I would and that increased my activities by 15% even though I wasn’t on the radio yet. The producer wanted to know what I would be talking about, how “strong” my accent is, how interesting I could be and what kind of music would be played. To the last question, I answered, “Nigerian music of course” with my left eyebrow raised. Then I was asked to bring 20 tracks that did not contain, swearing, curse words and anything that may offend the diverse range of listeners but would represent talent and Nigeria as a country.

Affectionate Ignorance

Affection is defined by the Word Web dictionary as, “a positive feeling of liking”. Encarta dictionary says it is a, “fond or tender feeling towards someone or something”. Therefore, the word affection denotes the positive and good.

The portrayal of affection most times seeks reciprocity in kind; no one wants to like someone who doesn’t like them back. And as a result, denial becomes a game and an interesting one at that.

KOBO KOBO

I have developed a fascination with coins
Firstly because it's a new way of transaction I'm getting used to and secondly because em...em...they are coins(?)
Anyway, now I exchange my notes for coins when my stash begins to diminish and I always find ways to use them
I remember my first few weeks when I didn't know how to identify the coins and the cashiers will take pity on my confusion and point out which was which to me and all I could think of was "they are so many kinds" 8 different ones in total; 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2

MY NIGERIA

I am a supporter of Occupy Nigeria. I do not necessarily support the NLC but I understood the concerns of Occupy Nigeria and those were my concerns as well. In the midst of all the cries that arose from the overwhelmed emotions of Nigerians was that of corruption. The removal of fuel subsidy is not bad in itself as many of my “learned” friends tried o tell me even though I already knew that, but its all about timing and clarity.