MOCALITY CLOSES SHOP!

I think I first heard about mocality.com on the radio either early in 2012 or sometime in 2011, I’m not really not sure exactly when. What I do recall is that the advert of mocality that I heard on radio then cast it as a directory of sort for local businesses in every person’s locality. For instance, if memory serves me well, the first advert I heard about Mocality.com was about a lady who needed to buy good Ofada rice for her boss and who was directed by a friend to the website for the nearest place at which she could buy the rice.

That was before they came up with mocality deals. Mocality deals aroused my interest and I signed up to receive their daily deals directly to my mail and I have as a result bought a few products and services and got to meet new people and service providers. This is how the deals (from my corner as a consumer) work, the mocality team get some product sellers and or service providers to offer their products and or services at a reduced price for a particular period of time, may be a week, and consumers like me who are interested in any of the products or services click either to buy the product/service online or go to the office of mocality in Ikeja G.R.A. to pay for it and then collect a coupon which they take to the office or shop to get the product or service already paid for.

I don’t know how profitable this venture was for the mocality crew, but I do believe very strongly that while they were still on, they provided a very valuable service mostly for the Small businesses and enterprises which ordinarily have very little or no at all budget for advertisements. For instance, a consumer who purchased a deal on mocality.com and goes to redeem the coupon at a particular business outlet can thereby establishment a relationship with that outlet that goes way beyond just merely redeeming the coupon of the product/service purchased. The consumer can see other products of interest which he/she would buy quite apart from the deal already purchased.

When I got the text and email messages which informed me of Mocality’s intention to shut down on the 28th February 2013 and which invited me to redeem the coupon of any deal I might have purchased from them on or before 25th February 2013, my first reaction was; there goes yet another casualty of Nigeria’s horrible business environment. I nevertheless put a call through to one of their staff members and asked why they were closing down. The only response she gave me though was that it was management’s decision. In search of further insight into why the company was shutting down, I went online and read their blog, therein I learnt that the company was shutting down not only their Nigeria operations, but the Kenyan as well.

Deal Dey is still in place though to continue to give small businesses the much needed exposure, but I can't help thinking what happens now to all those that earned their living at mocality.

HYPERTENSION, NOT DRUGS

The report of the autopsy done on Goldie came out yesterday and the result was that she died of hypertensive heart disease which in turn triggered intracerebellar haemorrhage. (Hypertension seems to have shifted from something associated with the old to a condition which does not discriminate based on age). This is of course contrary to the rumours being widely circulated even before Goldie’ s body got cold that she died from doping or drug use.

While the news of Goldie being married came as a huge surprise and left me wondering whether my perception of her was at all right, I am at least happy to see that my firm belief that she wasn’t the kind to be hooked on drugs is given some sort of validation. Of course this doesn’t mean that her dying of hypertension will make her death less sad, but it does mean that she died with her dignity virtually in place.

MARRIED GOLDIE!

I, and I’m sure thousands of other Nigerians who knew Goldie were sure at the revelation after her death that she was married and had been since 2005! The name Harvey, which most of us thought was her family name, it emerged, was in fact her marital name. Her husband, Andrew Harvey has since circulated pictures of their wedding probably to further convince all that there was indeed a wedding and a marriage.


The news of Goldie’s marriage was all the more surprising because of Prezzo, her former Big Brother Africa housemate’s proposal of marriage to her. These revelations, may of course have no bearing whatever on Goldie as a hardworking and homely(?) person but they do raise a lot of questions on whether anybody really knew the real Susan Oluwabimpe Harvey.
While her desire to probably keep her private life out of public scrutiny is of course, the total secrecy or at best confusion surrounding her marital status is probably the entertainment industry’s best kept secret. I had in fact earlier written that she would have, had she lived made a good wife to some lucky man, now Andrew Harvey who was she was married to for about eight years before her demise will be the best person to answer if she was.

SUSAN "GOLDIE" HARVEY: TRULY GONE TOO SOON

Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee – John Donne





There is something about the news of the death of a young person that affects me deeply. And so it was with very great shock that I heard just this morning, I slept very early last night, the news of the passing on of Susan Harvey popularly known as Goldie this morning on 98.1 Smooth FM’s ‘Freshly pressed’ program.

This is by no means a tribute, I do not lay claim to knowing her beyond what I saw of her while she was in the Big Brother House. I am not a fan of her music, I am more a fan of soulful music and oldies. This is just my perception of her person and an expression of my shock at the suddenness of her death

Perhaps, if Goldie had not participated in the Big Brother Africa Stargame edition last year, the news of her death might not have affected me for more than the few minutes that news of the death of strangers usually affect most of us before we promptly move on with our lives while chanting that life must go on.

However, much as I do not approve of the fact that the Big Brother Africa reality show does not appear aimed at promoting any particular talent in its participants but rather has the effect of promoting idleness and vices such as drinking and smoking, I must nevertheless confess to taking more than just passing interest in the reality show. And so, I was one of those who watched 2012’s edition of the Big Brother Africa dubbed Stargame in which Goldie participated. Prior to Goldie going into the house, I only knew her as a musician who dressed “funny” (for want of a better and more appropriate word) and none of whose songs I knew. But Goldie’s participation in the Big Brother Stargame showed not just me, but I believe also, a lot of Nigerians the side of her which her music never did.

In the house, we saw a Goldie that was homely, always cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry of both herself and Prezzo, the Kenyan housemate she fell for in the house. I saw an intelligent Goldie who won most of the tasks in the house that had to do with the intellect (just like Malvina in the previous edition which Karen Igho and that unbelievably boring Zimbabwean guy won). I saw a Goldie who was particularly emotionally vulnerable. I also saw a Goldie who in spite of her apparent deep feelings for Prezzo and the latter’s obvious desire for a physical relationship refused to allow herself to be messed up. I saw a Goldie who didn’t drink alcohol or smoke and who I very much doubt would have allowed herself to be pulled into doing drugs. I also a Goldie who was very strong in spite of her apparent emotional vulnerability. I remember my dislike of Prezzo because of the way Prezzo treated her and I felt he was very much unworthy of her and remember praying that the husband she marries be someone who will truly love her and not someone who will take advantage of her. I have no doubt she would have been a great wife to some lucky guy she will now never marry and a great mother to children she now will never bear.

The news of her sudden death after complaints of headache was all the more shocking to me because having seen her on Big Brother Africa Stargame, it was as if I had gotten to know her as a person and not just the singer with the noticeably false eyelashes and outlandish dressing. May her soul rest in peace and may God console those she left behind while forestalling this kind of death of our youths who have the capacity to contribute so much to the growth of our country.

A MAN OF YESTERDAY

I am much more comfortable writing prose than poems. However there are times when I feel a poem will do the most justice to particular subjects. I also resort to poems when I do not want to sound judgmental or when I do not want to take sides or sometimes when I want to be free to express what is in really in my mind without any let or holds.

I am not sure under which category the poem below falls I just know that I prefer to write my opinion on the matter at hand in verses rather than in the prose I'm so much more at home with.

Not being such an excellent poet, much as I tried as will be noticed after the first stanza, I surrendered and discarded any attempt at maintaining a rhyme. I opted to concentrate on the message I needed to pass which I might not be able to anytime soon if I had decided to make sure I kept the rhymes flowing. Still, I hope everyone reading will see this as a reasonably good try.

Enjoy...



A MAN OF YESTERDAY

I remember a man of yesterday
Oh no, he bears no resemblance
To the man he is today
The only thing same being a physical likeness
Yesterday, he wrote
Like a guardian of the Nation’s Estate
Respected member of the fourth estate

Oh, I remember a man of yesterday
Today, his new master guarantees his own mini State
Yesterday most mistook his writings
For a fight for their perpetually raped nation
Unawares that they were just applications
Those beautiful words no more than disguised frustrations
To be noticed and invited to partake of that famed cake
The longer his applications went unanswered
The more wisdom filled hitherto blank pages
The more truth flowed from his pen
Against the thievery & rape by those
With whom he now clinks glasses
The more the applause from the ignorant majority
Who responded by raising his pedestal

Oh yes, there is a man of yesterday
Who is now one of the men of today
With the primary responsibility of barking & growling
At the hypocritical men of yesterday
And of course those collective children of anger
Who dare get angry at the violent & merciless rape of their future
And those impressionable public
Whose brains cannot on their own interpret the rotting & rotten system
Who need twitter & facebook Lords to interpret for them

Oh no, he is a man of yesterday no more
Like the politicians he has crossed the carpet
He has transformed into a man of today
who refuses to think of tomorrow
counting on the public’s customary forgetfulness
if he can forget all those seemingly beautiful words of hungry days
how dare some people remember them today?
How dare anyone resurrect dead words to judge him today?
Surely yesterday is gone
And today demands an angry pen

Surely, he is now a man of today
Who can blame a man who changes his dance steps
To match the new beats that now fills his ears
Who dares blame a man for stockpiling today
So his children do not go hungry tomorrow?
Who dares blame a man for partaking of that irresistible cake
If the amnesiac people will forget before tomorrow?
Who dares blame a man for letting angry pettiness replace truth
If the pettiness will serve as his insurance against tomorrow’s hunger?
Who dares blame a man today,
For turning his back on a forgetful lot
Who have forgotten how they almost deified him yesterday?
Oh yes, he is now a man of today
And today is taking good care of his family’s tomorrow

©Adenike Oyalowo 040213

èèmò lukutupébè

Something happened to me recently that gave me the idea for this article. It also made me thankful to my parents for raising my brothers and I up with the Yòrùbá language. My ability to speak and write in Yòrùbá reasonably well is also because I attended a public primary school where I had a good Yòrùbá language teacher who laid a good foundation and is owed almost equally to the fact that I lived for quite a while with my paternal grandmother. I also read quite a lot of Yoruba literature in Elementary school. As anyone who was brought up with a local language will testify, there are certain expressions and situations that just cannot be adequately captured with the English language.

Now, don’t get me wrong, speaking the English language and speaking it well, is good. But I bet most of the people who actually have and speak an indigenous or local dialect will agree that however fluent you are in the English language, certain things are best said in the local language. Take the Yòrùbá language for instance, there are certain things that will happen and the first thing that pops into mind will be the following song or some other very similar song or expression:

Mo r í èèmò ni Agége
Ajá wọ èwù, ó ró şo
Ộbọ ń gun kèké…

The song goes on but I can’t swear to the exact lyrics of the remaining lines. The three lines above when translated into English go roughly go as follows:

I saw wonders in Agege
A dog dressed up and tied wrapper
A monkey is riding a bicycle…

The remaining lines go on to describe the surprising mannerisms of a house rat, an animal smoking a cigarette and a cow drinking alcohol. Of course by now, if you did not know, you would have guessed that this song can only come to mind when a person has witnessed or experienced something very surprising or very much unexpected.

In the midst of my ruminations about the richness of our local languages and their adequacies in describing certain situations, I wondered idly about how the song above and indeed most of our local proverbs came about. I remember having a book of Yòrùbá proverbs and the story behind most of the proverbs when I was in Elementary school. I remember the book made some very interesting reading even if I can no longer lay claim to remembering most of the stories I read.

The richness of our local languages makes me sympathise with today’s children who are mostly raised with the English language. What I find most ironic and amusing about today’s children being raised with the English language is those whose parents can barely string two correct sentences together forcibly speaking bad English to their children and thus possibly corrupting these children’s spoken English. In my opinion, these children suffer from double jeopardy; they do not speak their local languages well if at all, and they speak bad English and are probably worse at writing the English language. I once heard a story about a mother threatening to beat her child for some wrong done who said: You will eat cane o. If you think that is funny, wait for this; one of my brothers once told me about overhearing a girl pointing her father who was smoking a cigarette to a friend thus: “look at my father, he is drinking cigar”. Haba!

I know we Yòrùbás are probably the most guilty of speaking what is called “Yòrùbá English” a sort of literal translation of Yòrùbá words into the English language, but I think saying someone is “drinking cigar” rather than smoking a cigarette is carrying literal translation too far.

I am not a big fan of Nollywood movies especially those not produced by Tunde Kelani, Kunle Afolayan and very few other really great producers. In spite of this fact however, and also in spite of the fact that I hate how Yòrùbá script writers muddle up their stories towards the end and all the flashbacks they never seem to be able to do without, yet, I am greatly tolerant of, and even sometimes enjoy watching Yòrùbá films because of the richness of the language and the way the words are used.

I believe children will be better raised with both the local languages and the English language being spoken in the homes. Just imagine trying to say èèmò lukutupébè in the English language! Anyone willing to try?

MICHELLE OBAMA AND NIGERIAN FIRST LADIES

Transcript of Michelle Obama's remarks - KansasCity.com

I have not had the chance to watch the ongoing Democrats National Convention (DNC). I certainly did not have the opportunity of watching the first lady of the United States give her speech on the first night of the convention. I did have the privilege of reading at least an article and a number of comments on Michelle Obama's speech.

Eva Longoria posted on her facebook page that the speech brought tears to her eyes. I had previously seen a number of other comments along the same line. These comments prodded me into reading the full transcript, the link to which is above.

Michelle Obama expectedly came across as the very intelligent lady that she is. She told her and her husband's story and made us understand the story behind her husband's passion for healthcare reforms and cutting student loans. Her story told of the upbringing that taught she and her husband the values which is lacking in most of our societies today. It told the old and evergreen American story.

While the speech did not actually make me cry, it came very close to it. It gave me actual goose pimples and made me swell with love for Michelle and everything she stands for. It made both very proud and happy but also quite sad.

The sadness came from happenings at home in Nigeria. It made me wonder what comes to the minds of our various first ladies when their husbands tell them they are running for political offices. Does it  give them the desire to help their husbands make the much needed difference in the lives of the majority of the people? does it inspire them to influence their husbands the work towards Nigeria attaining its much touted potentials? or do they see it as the opportunity to lord it over the rest of us, closing the air space while they fly alone and bringing untold hardship to ordinary road users while they are driven? does it perhaps present an opportunity to get money allocated to their non-existent offices that would have served to improve the lot of thousands of the citizens?

I surely will like to know the answers to these questions. I will like to know for instance, if the Dame  has an opinion on the proposed introduction of the N5,000 and the conversion into coins of the N5, N10 and N20 notes? If she does, I will like to know what it is. I will like to know what effect she thinks the conversion to coins will have on the ordinary Nigerian, whether she cares that it will make the price of some of the seemingly things like "pure water" for instance beyond the reach of those at the very base of the societal ladder? I will like to know if she has the desire to see her husband as the genuine change agent for the better that Nigeria sorely needs or if she even cares that his actions so far do not cast him in that light. I sure will like to know. I doubt I will, I however do look forward to the day our first ladies will rather than struggle to be first ladies with miles-long convoys that drive the rest of us off the roads choose to be the inspirational figures that their husbands need to help Nigeria attain its much touted potentials