That 'ZAIN MY BUSINESS' advert

Advertisements for product and services no doubt a lot of the time play quite a big role in getting people to decide whether to go for the services and or products advertised.

A lot of time, the adverts may be more attractive and attention-grabbing than the actual product and service really on display. At other times, one may see a less than inspiring advert for a product that is really quite good. In Nigeria particularly among the GSM (global system for mobile communication) providers, I have always felt that MTN has the best adverts. I must in fact admit that there was a time when I was so irked by the difference (or rather disparity) between their adverts and their image that having just seen one of their really nice adverts, I couldn't help but exclaim something to the effect that the only thing they are known for is their quite good adverts!

The other telephone networks have over the time managed to get by with adverts that have in my opinion, not particularly been inspiring. Some of these adverts have been at best, just there while a few have barely managed to score average marks.

Zain has however been airing one advert for Zain my business on the radio in recent times. I find the advert a bit annoying and I think Zain should change the agency in charge of their account and or the people who approve adverts in their company.

The 'Zain my business' went roughly as follows:

A guy runs panting to his boss and says "boss, we can seal that deal now if we can get all the other people to agree"
BOSS: I'll cal everybody
GUY: How're you going to get XYZ in Abuja?
BOSS: (sighs heavily) that's true, I'll call him
GUY: And all the others?
BOSS: (another quite heavy sigh) yeess, I'll call everybody one after the other (this said as if weighed down by the enormity of the work ahead of him)
GUY: But that's a lot of airtime boss
BOSS: (bursts into laughter) don't worry, I use zain my business!

I am not sure what message the authors or creators of the adverts thought they were trying to pass across by the mannerism affected by the people in the advert but I sure thought there was a subtle attempt at insulting the listeners to the advert inherent in that advert. The insult is implicit in the guy's question to his boss "How are u going to get XYZ in Abuja?" To hear that question you would think we were back in those days when calls had to be routed from one quaint place to another. What in fact play on my mind every single time I hear that advert is that the call to Abuja will be routed through the Nigerian roads from one state to another until it gets to Abuja and since our roads are in a really sorry state, having to call someone in Abuja really should be a cause for concern! This is because not only will it take days before the call goes through, it might also suffer accidents and police extortion on the way! Now who wouldn't worry and sigh heavily at the thought of having to go through all that in an attempt to get some people to give a quick assent to a deal they've been praying and probably fasting for!

I got the same impression when the boss said he'll call all the others one after the other in a tone of voice that falls just short of mournful. The boss only stupidly (in my view) burst into laughter when the subordinate expressed the concern at the cost implications of calling all those people. One would have thought the boss would have from the beginning showed an eagerness to make the calls since he knew all along that he had zain my business which was supposed to make calls really cheap and affordable instead of affecting the heavy and mournful tone until the very last moment.

Well, just goes to show, we can't get it right all the time!



GUY: How are

SUCCESS VERSUS HAPPINESS

I was watching one of the too many reality shows (Holly's World)that are on TV these days a few days ago and a guy on his way to what at that time was to him, sure success (read fame)thought out loud whether he would prefer success to happiness. To him, happiness was hanging out with his friends and having a generally good time with people he was comfortable with. Success on the other hand, was leaving the place where he had all his friends and going to earn a living and achieve fame in a place he could hardly understand.

At first, I was startled by the question he asked himself about whether it was happiness he wanted or success. My first reaction was of course to exclaim "but they are not mutually exclusive!" And of course, I believe with all my heart that happiness and success are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, I have only ever had one ambition in life. It is not to be a lawyer or to be rich beyond my wildest dreams or to be famous. No, it is a very simple ambition. And yet in my opinion, it encompasses so many other things that people ask for individually. What is this ambition? It is simply, as you might have guessed, to be happy.

My own definition of happiness, unlike the young man's in that reality TV show includes success; not just in my work, but also in my personal life. It includes the happiness or fulfillment of members of my family, immediate and extended, it includes the happiness of my friends and the success of my country.

I have not checked the definition of happiness in the dictionary, but I know I really do not need to, to arrive at my definition. And my definition has to be so wide because it really will be a difficult thing for me to say I have everything I want when the people around me either lack so many things, or have to constantly run to me to give them this or that due to probably the biting economic hardship in the country.

While for me happiness and success might not be mutually exclusive, I wonder, whether particularly the celebrities and a lot of the public figures we see both in Nigeria and abroad, do not make a conscious decision to pick one and sacrifice the other. More than once, I have had to ask myself why people who are so creative that they literally bring a lot of joy into the lives of others do not themselves get any happiness from their works.

Michael Jackson was by all and any standard imaginable, a very successful musician, indeed, he was a legend. Was he happy? That is a question I believe can only be truthfully answered in the negative. Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, all have achieved a great deal of success in their chosen career. But can it be said that they truly have happiness? Well...I very much doubt that.

And yet, I am positive that success and fame are not mutually exclusive. whether a person has just one or both really depends on what the person truly desires. And a person can be successful, famous and still be happy. Such a person will only have to work at it...

Guilty!

Once again, I have found myself criminally negligent of this blog. I have both good reasons and no reason at all for my negligent behaviour. I have actually been swamped with work, but I know if I had really been determined to put something up, I would have. In the meantime, a lot of things have happened; the good, the not so good and the downright bad.

In the time in which I have neglected to post on this blog, 33 Chilean miners had been trapped thousands of feet below ground and been, happily rescued, Nigeria had its 50th anniversary as an independent country amidst bomb blasts which claimed some lives and the president made a mess of the situation by jumping to absolve the group that claimed responsibility of any blame in the matter. The president by so doing jeopardised the investigation into who was responsible for the bomb blasts.

I discovered the enjoyment of watching the X-Factor (yeah, I know, I know, it's been on for years and years!). Kayode Fayemi reclaimed his lost mandate in Ekiti State after 3 1/2 years of almost frustrating legal battle!

A lot has actually happened that should have required in depth commentary but I snoozed through them all! I hope to start getting my act together again and to be more up and doing in the days to come.

And did I remember to mention, thanks to Facebook, members of my secondary school were able to get together again after 17 years! I tell you, it was wonderful to see some of these people again and I look forward to the next reunion.

Signing out now, hope to post again real soon!

Guilty!

Once again, I have found myself criminally negligent of this blog. I have both good reasons and no reason at all for my negligent behaviour. I have actually been swamped with work, but I know if I had really been determined to put something up, I would have. In the meantime, a lot of things have happened; the good, the not so good and the downright bad.

In the time in which I have neglected to post on this blog, 33 Chilean miners had been trapped thousands of feet below ground and been, happily rescued, Nigeria had its 50th anniversary as an independent country amidst bomb blasts which claimed some lives and the president made a mess of the situation by jumping to absolve the group that claimed responsibility of any blame in the matter. The president by so doing jeopardised the investigation into who was responsible for the bomb blasts.

I discovered the enjoyment of watching the X-Factor (yeah, I know, I know, it's been on for years and years!). Kayode Fayemi reclaimed his lost mandate in Ekiti State after 3 1/2 years of almost frustrating legal battle!

A lot has actually happened that should have required in depth commentary but I snoozed through them all! I hope to start getting my act together again and to be more up and doing in the days to come.

And did I remember to mention, thanks to Facebook, members of my secondary school were able to get together again after 17 years! I tell you, it was wonderful to see some of these people again and I look forward to the next reunion.

Signing out now, hope to post again real soon!

TOO HUMAN TO SUBMIT

HE created everything
I know HE sees all things
All HE asks of me is that I submit totally,
so HE can give me all that I desire to live happily
But oh no, I am sure He asks too much of me,
How on earth should I be expected to just leave things be
When I can contribute to my own paintings?
Oh no, I’ve got to help myself I can’t just do nothing!
I know, I know, I am expected to surrender
While HE takes charge and make my life a wonder
Being me, I couldn’t help but fight HIM every step of the way
Wondering how HE could be so slow and expect me to wait
HE has fought my battles I realise, with the benefit of hindsight
I know HE has foresight, hindsight and all sights
I just wish HE would not expect so much of me!
Expecting me to submit totally is such a heavy burden!

ÓAdenike Abimbola Oyalowo
10082010

OWHIESKY

I heard a joke today on my way to court and I feel it will be criminal for me not to share it with y'all. The joke was about a girl who was meeting her boyfriend's family for the first time. The girl was nervous, not sure exactly how to behave in front of her potential parents-in-law. To make matters worse for this girl, she started having the kind of discomfort can sometimes be brought on by eating too rich food that sometimes do not agree with the system. And so it was that the girl (Jane) let out (inadvertently), a faint sounding fart. The boyfriend's father after the fart looked towards their dog under the dining table and shouted "Owhiesky". Jane heard this and smiled in relief and so when nature came calling the second time, she did not bother to muffle the sound and the boyfriend's father again looked towards the dog and shouted "Owhiesky". Jane again did not bother to hide or muffle the sound of yet a third fart when it beckoned, and this time, the boyfriend's father shouted 'OWHIESKY, WILL YOU GET AWAY FROM THERE BEFORE THAT GIRL MISTAKENLY DEFECATES ON YOU?'

I couldn't resist bursting into loud laughter when I heard that joke this morning, and it reminded me of a quote by Robert Bloch which goes:

A man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone else to blame.
Surely, Jane would not have comfortably continue letting out fart after farts if she did not think the poor innocent girl nestling under feet was a convenient fall guy, well, fall dog if you like.

Those Little Things!

Someone shared a link on Facebook yesterday. The link was about a man who had made up his mind to divorce his wife but who accepted his wife's conditions that he put the divorce on hold for a month for the sake of their son who was to write his exams at about then and also that the husband carry her out of the house the way he had when they newly got married. The husband accepted the conditions thinking nothing would change his mind as he had found love in the arms of another woman. To his surprise however, carrying his wife of ten years out every morning for the 30 days made him to start paying attention to those things that he had long closed his mind to, and he discovered that he loved his wife still. Though he resolved that he would not go ahead with the divorce, his wife eventually died of some sort of cancer just at the end of the 30 days period.

My focus here is not on the death of the wife and the guilt the husband would have felt had he not resolved not to go ahead with the divorce, rather, it is on the fact that the time in close proximity that the couple had to spend together made the man realise that the love he thought was gone from his marriage was still very much alive. Reading that story, I could not help but be amazed at how seemingly little things could destroy major things in our lives. A lot of us for instance, tend to take our partners for granted once we feel that our feet are now firmly grounded in the relationship/marriage, we expect our partners to understand when we fail or neglect to create chance to spend real quality time together. Of course we always have 'valid' excuses why we can't find that time to spend together; the men have to work very hard to make the money for the family to live a good life, the woman also probably has to be more up and doing in order not to be part of the load that her office will shed in this time of economic difficulty and on and on the excuses can pile.

The major suspects in marriage/relationship break-ups usually include lack of trust on the part of one or both of the partners,actual (and sometimes imagined) infidelity, lack of communication etc. However, little things that we do not often suspect also wreak havoc on marriages and relationships and cause sometimes lasting damage to a relationship that has taken years to form. Like the man in the story, we may need to ask ourselves when we last took a really good look at our partner. The man in the story had not really looked at his wife in a long time and that was why he never noticed that she was suffering from cancer and was in fact dying. We may also need to remind ourselves of the original qualities that attracted us to each other and whether those qualities are still there, hibernating or can be rekindled.

About two years ago, a lady came to me that she wanted a divorce from her husband and she wanted the paper filed before November 11 of that year. I was of course puzzled by the mention of that specific date and inquired why that date. She replied that the day was supposed to be her third wedding anniversary! Now, November eleven happens to be my birth date and I frown seriously at anything untoward happening on that day. And so I decided to become an emergency counselor, preaching and pleading that she hold on and see whether things could not be salvaged. Fortunately for me (and of course she and her husband), other people also intervened and she and her husband decided to have another try at making things work. And guess what, things started to work! Now she has had another baby and she could not contain her excitement when she was telling me about it on phone. I was also very happy for both of them and thankful that they both decided to make things work again. I often wonder how many marriages could be saved by the couples trying just that much harder to see things work? When was the last time we reminded our partners of how much we value their presence in our lives?

Don Marshall once said Love is like a muscle, it needs constant exercise or else it loses its strength. How many of us still exercise our muscle so that it responds to us every single time we need it to? With the spate of divorce and break-ups and separations all around, you'll be surprised at how amazingly few the number will be. I was shocked when I read the recent report of Al and Tipper Gore's break up of their 30 year-old marriage. After staying together for 30 whole years, I wondered what really could have gone wrong.

Well, it should not be too surprising if it just happens to be those seemingly little things that are often overlooked and yet contribute in making marriages and relationships so much more pleasant and enjoyable.

Not So Gloomy!

Anybody familiar with the attitude of workers in any government-owned establishment towards their work and people who conduct one form of transaction or the other with them will readily agree that the attitude of the workers are usually one of people not obliged to do the work for which they are paid. Not only will they not do their work unless you soak their palms "with grease" they also are usually very rude to boot. My pleasant surprise can only then be better imagined on tuesday the 22nd June when things appeared quite different at the Ikoyi branch of the Nigerian Immigration Service (Passport) office when I went to take my picture for the new e-passport.

By the time I got there shortly after 8 a.m., the officials had started calling names of those of us who had appointment to take pictures for that day and everything was done in such an orderly manner that I had to remind myself that this is actually Nigeria! To add to the pleasantness of my experience, I was supposed to be in court that morning and time was already galloping very fast against me moreso because the particular court I was supposed to be in sits very promptly at 9 a.m.! I was thus forced to approach one of the officials to explain the dilemma I was in and see if something could be done to speed up the process for me or if I could reschedule my picture-taking for the following day.

The official I went to meet was really quite friendly and he directed me to a superior officer who also to my pleasant surprise was really quite friendly and because of his help, I was able to finsh with all the processing at shortly after 9 a.m. Perhaps what impressed me more was the fact that all the officials I came into contact with on that day were friendly and polite. They did their work well and organised the whole place in such a way as to foster orderliness.

With my experience at the Ikoyi passport office, I couldn't help but nurse the hope that things might get better yet in ths country, you can call me naive or whatever else you choose to, but I think it is a hope worth nursing!

SUPER EAGLES HERO

My brother told me a joke he heard yesterday about the performance of Nigeria's Super Eagles at the ongoing world cup in South Africa and it went like this in an exchange between a young student and his teacher:

TEACHER: Who is your hero? is it your father?
PUPIL: No, my father is not my hero because he beats me.
TEACHER: Is your hero your mother then?
PUPIL: No, my mother is not my hero because she also beats me
TEACHER: who then is your hero?
PUPIL: My heroes are the Super Eagles of Nigeria because they can't beat anybody.

I think that was really funny! While it may not altogether be true that the Super Eagles cannot beat anybody, it sure was true of their World cup performance because they couldn't beat anybody!

I did it again!

I have two immediate problems as it concerns my blogging folks, I don't know if anybody can come to my rescue, I seem to be suffering from two diseases; intellelazigintis and longstorigintis!

While the first disease is one I've been aware of for some time, I'm almost shocked at the second disease! Ok, ok I know I need to break down what each of those diseases really are. Intellelazigintis, as you good and intelligent folks might have guessed by now, is a condition of being intellectually lazy and not doing enough to challenge one's intellect. It's partly the reason why I had to start this blog. No doubt, having a blog has helped me, indeed, forced me to sometimes challenge my intellect and put something on paper (or is it computer?), but my good people, I'm very much aware that this intellectual laziness of mine persists even as I force myself to type out these words and report myself to yáll. .

Now while the first disease is one which I'd been aware of and had to start this blog to see if I could thereby cure, the second disease is one which this blog has exposed to me and you can bet I'm not finding it funny at all! Longstorigintis my good people is a condition which makes it almost imossible for a person to be able to write a brief story or aticle. I would never in a million years have thought myself capable of contracting this disease if not this blog and the notes I was writing on FB.

I had always prided myself on being a master at brevity in writing. One year in my first university, six years in UI and another year at the Law school during which periods I never once exhausted my answer booklet convinced me that I could not write a long story if my life depended on it. Boy!, how wrong can a person be! Since writing on my blog and the notes ob FB, i'm yet to succeed at writing a short article. I have tried and I have been failing! I will however refuse to give up, because only if I do will I have truly failed. I shall succeed yet! You just watch folks.

OMG! I just did it again!

My Best Friend: 16 years today

16th day of June 1994 was supposed to have been a reasonably happy day for me- it was my matriculation day at the first university I attended before I eventually found my way to the premier university in Nigeria. Indeed, the day started fairly happily enough, I had no inkling at all that the day would end with me almost drowning in a river of my own tears.

My mum came for my matriculation with the news that I had to follow her and my aunt that came with her back to Lagos as my dad's illness had taken a turn for the worse. Even at that time, it did not occur to me that my dad would have given up before we got to Lagos or that it was time yet for him to die.

I had always prided myself as being one tough gal, at those times with little to do and with the mind free to roam about, I had always asked my self what my reaction would be if one of my parents were to die and I had always assured myself each time that tears would not be part of the whatever feeling might overcome me.

As it happened, I couldnt have been more wrong! I was incnosolable, I tried but failed woefully to stop the tears from flowing (torrentially too!). And for the following two months or so, I could not tell anybody about my father's death without opening another flood gate of tears that stubbornly refused to stop!

Today the 16th June 2010 marks the 16th anniversary of one man I loved dearly, a man who truly left crystal clear imprint in the lives of his children and those he came across. He had his faults like all normal humans sure, but 16 yrs on, I remind myself now more than ever when it's so easy to fall by the wayside and join the bandwagon of a society fast losing its values, that I have to remember that I am my father's daughter and should not be (whether caught or not) doing things just because it's the vogue or it's what people do, knowing very well that a purported short cut usually end up lengthening the journey even more.

I sorely miss you daddy! I pray that God almighty grants you eternal rest and forgive all your sins. sleep well daddy, I promise I will try my best to not do things that will bring disappointment to you.

Grumblings

Looking through my friends'pictures on Facebook and seeing all the fun most of them seem to be having, I couldn't help but think: Oh, Nike u've surely had the most boring of life! Boring, BORING, BOOORRRRIIIINNNGGG!!!!!
I felt that almost without a doubt, I've led the most uneventful and boring life a young human can live!

Some days and self-examination later (during which time I vowed to go to the cinemas daily,try some mountain climbing, hunting, take a break from work and go to a far and exotic place, do whatever else translate into eventful and interesting living), I asked myself, what really does it mean to have an eventful life?

Sure, an eventful life could mean doing all those things I vowed to do but may not really get around to doing, but looked at from another angle,I had to (psyche) myself, so I've not had an eventful life,I've enjoyed reasonably good health, things have been stable in my life except for the accident I had on the 2nd day of 2009; I guess I should go ask some people who have led really eventful lives how well they've been enjoying their lives... People like terrorist for instance!

While I believe I should seriously liven up my life, I think it will do well to perhaps remind myself of God's favours and mercies and learn to give thanks for the gift of life and good health. The Chinese after all have a curse: MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES!

THE PRESIDENT BREATHED HIS LAST

I was drifting between sleep and wakefulness on the 5th day of the fifth month in year 2010 at about 27 minutes after eleven at night when one of my brothers called out: YAR'ADUA IS DEAD! Check STV! I immediately practically flew to the sitting room, wrestled with the TV remote control for a few seconds and finally got the TV on. And sure enough, there he was, staring wordlessly at me from the screen of the TV while I read what STV had to say, which was precious few: PRESIDENT UMAR YAR'ADUA IS DEAD.

I quickly scanned the other TV stations; nothing! The president was dead and even channels TV was showing a movie! Next, I went on the net, I had to get further confirmation (I knew anyway, that for STV to carry it, it had to be the real deal. I do not know STV for any extra ordinary act of boldness). Which website to check? oh yes! 234next.com! They seem to have this reckless boldness which I secretly find appealing. It was anyway thanks to them that the whole news of just how sick the president was, began to unravel, and they seemed to have been right when they insisted on standing by their story about the president being brain damaged even after the controversial BBC broadcast.
Sure enough, the news was already on Next's website, but it was without an accompanying story. Saharereporters had also by then carried the news.

Also, the other TV stations had caught on by that time and were flashing the breaking news. Having got sufficient confirmation, my sometimes fertile imagination went on immediate overdrive. Did he truly just died? had he been dead a week or a month before? No! I immediately chided myself. That would simply not have been possible! Or could it be?

I wondered what was going through Turai's mind; was she truly mourning her husband and companion of about 35 years or was she just mourning the now certain loss of her position as Nigeria's first lady?

What was Jonathan thinking? the now certain thrust of full presidential responsibility on his shoulders? or eureka!

What about Patience Goodluck? She'll at least now be certain of what her title should be unlike when her husband was acting president and she was neither first lady nor second lady!.

My mind was running in a thousand different directions and I had trouble catching up with it. I had the urge to call a thousand people to ask if they'd heard the news but lack of credit on my phone and the ungodly hour put paid to that.

I wondered what was happening with the political vultures. Or should I rather call them hawks? The vulture is after all reputed to be a patient bird which preys on the already dead. The Hawk on the other hand, preys on living and defenceless creatures. On that note, the hawks won. What schemes will the hawks be up to in order to become vice president? what will they consider taboo and what will they do?

Finally, I felt sad at the way the whole situation was handled by the president's family. I felt sorry for Yar'Adua for allowing Obasanjo to convince him to become president despite his poor health. I felt sorry for Yar'Adua for the way politics was played with his health, with his life and with the country. At the end, I couldnt help but feel sorry for Turai, she fought long and hard. But in the end, death won and the president drew his last breath!

LASTMA: At their worst

However hard I try, I just cannot cease to be amazed at man's capacity to be cruel to fellow man. 'Man' is of course here used in the generic sense. I was at Sabo yesterday to check some things at the Corporate Affairs Commission, and I Saw LATSMA's (Lagos State Traffic Management Authority) towing truck in the process of towing a 2008 Toyota Corolla vehicle. The reason for the towing? the unfortunate driver had packed the car though in a place that had been designated as a parking zone, but had in the process exceeded the line in which the car was allowed to park!

I quickly thanked God for not having made the same blunder a mere few seconds before. While I agree that LASTMA had done some pretty good work over the time, increasingly, I keep wondering if the Lagos State government has not decided to leave them to just make money that go into their private pockets and not into government coffers.

The hefty fine that the government imposed on traffic offence has in my view done more to enrich individual LASTMA official than to deter die-hard traffic offenders or even serve as part of the revenue-generating ventures of the government. Because of the huge fine, LASTMA officials attempt to arrest vehicles at the slightest infraction even when the vehicle owners should have just been let off with no more than a warning. The attitude of LASTMA officials has sent me wondering what exactly again was the reason why the authority was established; is it for ensuring smooth flow of traffic, or for the purpose of revenue generation?

If the reason is the former, then it seems to me that LASTMA officials have either forgotten that, or most of them are not even aware of the reason in the first place.
If the reason is however the latter, then I have to ask again, revenue generation for who? LASTMA officials, or the Lagos state government? Most of the things I have witnessed in recent times point to the latter.

Back to the towing I witnessed yesterday, I couldn't help but think as I watched the car being towed that since about half of the car was well within the space reserved for parking, then only the latter half which was out of the line marked should have been towed! My authority is based on the judgment of the "Daniel" that came to judgment in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice where Shylock was ordered to take his pounds of flesh without shedding any blood. The Yorubas will also say "IKA TI O BA SE NI OBA N GE" meaning it is the finger that offends that the king cuts off or amputates as the case may be.

What's Your Poison?

I am a lady of the time
I understand how to flow with the hype
Oh yes, to be a part of my group
You have to conform or you'll be out of the loop
Oh, my sense may travel
And my person completely unravel
under the influence of my poison
But I have got to take my poison!
Now you want to join my group
But I have to ask before you're allowed in the room
What's your poison
That's your audition
I love my bottles green and brown
I down the content whether I'm up or down
What? Did I hear you say you drink coke?
Too much sugar you think you can cope?
Though I may be a lass
I can hold my own with the lads
Even if I kill my organs in instalments
Surely it's not a concern of the government
And I'm sure it's not a crime
To dance in steps with the tune of the time
I only have to drink to my death responsibly
So choose one girlfriend, and let's die merrily
- Adenike Abimbola Oyalowo
(c) March 2010

Random Thoughts on my Country

On Thursday the 13th of August 2009, I read an article by one Akeem Soboyede, which I consider to be absolutely spot-on on the back page of The Punch Newspaper. Akeem Soboyede linked the activities of the infamous Boko Haram sect to that of our so-called rulers. As everyone now know, the boko haram sect was against western education (and by implications, all the fall-out of western education, to wit, civilisation etc). Mr Soboyede argued (and I totally agree) that it is probably because of the boko haram thinking of our rulers that they are trying very hard to obliterate all traces of civilization in Nigeria: traveling back in time to the age of darkness, making sure all roads which have turned bad get worse, ensuring that ASUU does not return to work so that Nigeria will be a largely illiterate society, I’m sure it will not be necessary to list all the other things which were once part of the regular fixture in Nigeria but which are either no longer available or are extremely scarce and therefore expensive (regular pipe-borne water, some measure of security, well-equipped general and teaching hospitals, need I go on?).

Mr Soboyede concluded that whenever we think of boko haram, we should think of the nation-suckling Nigerian rulers and I cannot agree more. And of course like the hypocritical leader of the infamous sect who despite condemning education and its derivatives did not hesitate to take advantage of sophisticated and state of the art communication gadgets for his evil activities, our rulers also take advantage of the good and well-funded schools over there for the education of their children, the ever-improving health facilities for themselves and their families and cronies, the uninterrupted power supply available over there for their holidays etc. And so as suggested by Mr Soboyede, when next you look all around you and see the rot that our dear country is becoming, and you remember the horror of the boko haram, think of the Nigerian rulers who have the chance to make things so much better but rather chose to determinedly destroy the ones they met in place and return Nigeria back to the dark ages, and might I add, all because of their lust for money.

I really do wish somebody will come out with an idea on how ASUU can get the government to answer their demands without resorting to strikes. I have tried (perhaps not hard enough, I admit) but am yet to come up with something. The need for an alternative to strikes really comes up in the face of the fact that by frequent and prolonged strikes, ASUU is unwittingly contributing more to the destruction of public education than they realise. I once attended a forum where someone talking about the immeasurable importance of educating our youths and developing the human materials in any nation said that infrastructures destroyed can be built up within a short period where there is a will, but human capital left to rot over the years can never really be repaired in the same way physical materials can.

I do understand the need for ASUU to make their displeasure known to the government and the need to get something to be done about it… For the first time in our history (hope I’m right o), we have two graduates (former lecturers to boot!) in the top two positions in the country and education is deliberately being allowed to die a fast but nevertheless excruciatingly painful death.

Hmmm, amnesty for the militants in the Niger Delta, I really hope for the sake of everybody and infrastructures in the region, that it works. I have my doubts, but I desperately hope it brings peace and sanity and development to the region. I don’t want to imagine what will become of the whole country if it does not work. So, I’ll let things lie at the stage of my hope (please God!!!!!!!!).

It was really shocking hearing about the sack of the five CEOs of the five troubled banks and their executive directors last week Friday (Aug 21st 2009), I particularly sympathize with Cecilia Ibru (don’t ask me why but I swear it’s not because we share the same gender) even though I think she and the other four must have been very reckless in their risk taking. Even financially un-savvy me knew that the boom at the stock exchange can not last for too long, so how could they (who were supposed to know) have failed to come to the same realisation? And while I’m on that, let me quickly (though it has started happening already) point everyone in the direction of microfinance banks. Has anyone noticed just how fast they are springing up? Do they have any sort of regulation to keep them in check at all? For me, their proliferation is a sure sign that there is fire on the mountain. CBN (or the proper authority) now is the time to act.

Still on the five banks, while I congratulate the CBN governor for having the boldness to act so fast, I am worried by the fact that all what is happening now had been reported by the Vanguard newspaper as far back as March of this year! Even right to the trip (desire, if you like) of the CBN governor abroad to shop for foreign investors to take over the banks! Now can somebody tell me what really is going on here? Could it be a case of doing the right things with the wrong motive? Oh, I give up!

The result or verdict on the Ogun gubernatorial election is out. No surprises there. I really did not expect that the boat will be rocked. What I pray for is that one day, the votes of you and I will count. I pray further for God to give me (and you) the strength to keep going out to cast my (our) vote according to my conscience and to not allow myself to be frustrated by the fact that the votes seem not to count at present.

If ever there is a country that encourages dishonesty in every facet of life, Nigeria is it. Go through vacancies in the dailies and you’ll see request for graduates with two to three years’ experience and who should not be more than 24 years old at their next birthdays! Now whoever told these people that persons over 24, 25 or other older ages cannot learn or work well? Do they ever hear of that kind of inanity in the western countries? Of course needless to say, a lot of people are now being forced to bring their ages down if they must get jobs.

Another really annoying thing now is the request for experience. Now if people who have these experiences had not been given a chance to work by some other organisation, how would they have acquired the experience?

And who says Nigerian graduates are unemployable? Despite ASUU strikes and all, I’m happy to say Nigerian graduates are very employable. I would say it just depends on who he/she is and how willing he/she is to get into the work. The lie was particularly (in my opinion) given to this claim when Bank PHB came up with the maiden edition of The Intern. All the participants with the exception of one were graduates of Nigerian universities and most were from public universities and in my opinion; they all gave very good accounts of themselves. The on-going Zain challenge is another case in point. In spite of the falling standards, Nigerian (public) universities like UNILAG, UI, UNN are acquitting themselves quite well in the competition.

Now, what haven’t I expressed my thoughts about? A lot, I guess, but you know what? The rest can rest (honestly, no pun intended) for now.

New Naija Words

Stumbled on this and can't resist putting it here!



Aondoakaa (noun): a muguloid from a family of goats known as mumucoideae, also related to a breed of monkeys of the order didirincoideaeâ e.g. (1) You are a chronic aondoakaa (2) An aondoakaa at 40 is an aondoakaa forever!

Yar'Adua (noun): a person who abandons his people and is silent for a long period of time e.g. (1) My girlfriend’s gone yar'adua on me again (2) Why the yar'adua, is everything okay? (3) Yar'Adua is the best answer for a fool.

Turai (adjective): Very greedy e.g. (1) that babe is too turai for my liking. (2) Why are you eating like a turai person?

SOURCE: Anonymous.

New Naija Words

Stumbled on this and couldn't resist putting it here!



Aondoakaa (noun): a muguloid from a family of goats known as mumucoideae, also related to a breed of monkeys of the order didirincoideaeâ e.g. (1) You are a chronic aondoakaa (2) An aondoakaa at 40 is an aondoakaa forever!

Yar'Adua (noun): a person who abandons his people and is silent for a long period of time e.g. (1) My girlfriend’s gone yar'adua on me again (2) Why the yar'adua, is everything okay? (3) Yar'Adua is the best answer for a fool.

Turai (adjective): Very greedy e.g. (1) that babe is too turai for my liking. (2) Why are you eating like a turai person?

SOURCE: Anonymous.