Sometimes in March
The rain is so heavy
Night time refuses to come
Long wait for supper
But she needs one more leg
A tripod stand-pivotal inside-out
The protruding rumbling tummy
Needs palliative touches
The white-robed stethoscope holders
Are lost in thought
Why the sun should refuse to set?
With the bright cloud
Crying all through
…but this child must be born
Sometimes in March
The happenings and happenstances
The inexhaustible vortex of human existences
The variegated events in the tummy
The motley inhabitants of her habitat
The scorching moon
Tomfooleries of various colour
The vagaries of the weather
Vadose occupying its unusual position
Shikaras are no longer flat-bottomed
All conspired against an innocent soul
One thing has no shred of dubitation
The signs are ominous
…but this child must be born
Sometimes in March
No more vaginectomy
Knives and scissors become useless
Stethoscope hanging dutiless
People must hear this
The forest trees must dance naked
The hefty cow must be led by a slaughter
Plates must be plenteous
The edibles must scramble for attention
Food varieties must submit their resumes
People must screen food to eat
For oral cavities
The busy time has come
Anuses must not be left behind
Night must come quickly
The party must begin soon
But why?
…the child is born
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
That god is their God, not mine!
The greatest crime that man can commit against itself and God is to serve another god. Lucidly put, studies have shown that Islam and Christianity are the two popular religions in Nigeria (apologies to the traditionalists). According to my findings so far, the believers of the two religions are serving the same God which is appearing to them in different forms. The nomenclature ‘God’ is sacred, formed from three letters and perhaps, the biggest of all names in the universe. Put differently, the name remains a mystery till today as to how it came into being. Trust the insatiable human beings coupled with their satanic envious nature, they have succeeded in giving themselves other little gods. Unfortunately, out of their lack of rigorous thinking ability, sheer foolhardiness and psychosis assailing many a god worshipper, these gods have been embellished in the heavily soaked virtue of the real God. What a sacrilege!
Nigerians are interesting people to be with, given the fact that we also live in interesting time. Possibly, I stand to be pilloried; Nigerians may be the most pious people on earth-not even the motley inhabitants of Asia, Caribbean Island and other parts of Africa which were decapitated and decimated by the callous, virulent and ravaging act of slavery called colonialism. The British born most populous black nation, possibly christened by Lord Lugard’s mademoiselle, Flora Shaw in the very heat of one of their innumerable nights of emotional tête-à-têtes as Nigeria, is a force to reckon with in global religious righteousness. From the Northern pole of the equator, through the Eastern axis to the Southern and Western regions of Nigeria, the name God has, with no shred of dubitation, become a household name. Every Tom, Dick, Harry including Samson and Rachael have become used to swearing by the name ‘God’ so as to defend their malicious dispositions and their unholy night and day shindigs. Would they go unpunished? Probably they will not. But I have come to realize that the God they swear with is not the real God, but their god. One wouldn’t have bothered to sign-post this if not for the frequency and consistency of its infelicitous occurrence. It has become a recurrent decimal in the watery mouth of our dear hedonic politicians. They eulogize their god when they rig elections and when they fail in the pursuance of their crude course and crippling sycophancy which put the country on a staggering tripod-stand of ruse.
The memory of the truncated third term monster championed by the Teflon demigod of Owu will linger for a long time. But he shielded himself off the shame by transferring the blame to his god. He posited, “if I had wanted third term, my God would have given me”. That god is his God, not mine because his God has the semblance of god. But the former president should know that he wished for third term even if he had not openly pronounced it. Clearly put, his God, sorry, his god failed to grant his wish. That god cannot be my God! Now the sons, grandsons, daughters and grand-daughters of the inhuman, nay, inglorious and objectionable self-made paterfamilias of the crippling Nigerian society are currently busy re-aligning and forming new political equations that would explore unconventional, path-breaking and innovative approaches to abysmally rig elections come 2011. Very sure, he will keep thanking his god for sparing his political lineage to continue leading the country down the freeway to the valley down below. He often boasts of landmark political, not socio-economic achievements. The consolidation of the largest political party of soulless gangsters in Africa, breeding of electoral mandate scavengers and overseeing political power transition to the docile and placid Insular of Katsina, are among his very many political victories. No doubt, he has a course to ceaselessly give thanks to his god, not mine!
We surely live in interesting country and interesting times. Election riggers also have their gods. When they rig and re-rig elections, they go gaga, gyrating and twisting their waists to the rhythm of stolen mandates, and ultimately bow to praise their gods. Regrettably, these political vampires have so much gained currency in the political front. Such avaricious messiahs, as argued by Idowu Akinlotan, are gifted in acquiring the appurtenances and fripperies of political power but, quite disgusting, are not astute in using them. What is painfully irritating is that election riggers and re-riggers seem to have taken Nigeria as an enabling environment to continually and freely execute their misbegotten political and religion jingoism.
As far as I am concerned, the simplicity and calm nature of the real God should not be taken as docility and placidity, but should be cleverly taken as an opportunity to re-amend broken ways, right the wrongs and re-invite Him to take charge. But if they will continue in their unholy ways, stealing people’s mandates, disrupting the peace of the land, draining the strength of the country and ceaselessly praising their gods for these acts, that god they called their God will not be mine! My message is clear, such individuals, according to Ademola Adesole, are usually graceless and end up as foot notes in the colossal book of human history.
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
ASUU STRIKE IN HARVARD AND HOME SUPPORT
Recently I took time to reflect on the steady progress and impact of the on-going industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) vis-à-vis the goebellian propaganda championed by the ever retrogressive Nigerian government, catalyzed by the foul crying of some myopic students against ASUU. Sadly enough, the parochial, perhaps often ideologically handicapped opinions of some parents against the aggrieved university pedagogues are bias. I have discovered among other things that there is need for the bias debaters of the on-going discourse between ASUU and the FG to think beyond the box. The FG on its part has been playing the game of agreement subversion. The unwholesome subversion would remind one of the distasteful glorification of intellectual and cerebral paucity, riling, steady and progressive promotion of mediocrity and the dearth of ideational fecundity, and of course a childishly veneration of skull emptiness.
I was engaged in an intellectually enthralling exchange of ideas with one of my highly artistry brainy, often critical allies, Ademola Adesola when he posited that it was time for us to drift responsibly from writing and speaking rhetoric to taking constructive action with structured thinking and iron clothing to shield ourselves from the sobering metaphor for the ceaseless repudiation and mockery of futuristic tendencies and scholastic deification being showcased by many Nigerian youth. In accordance with the shrewd understanding of Professor Adebayo Williams, the arts of moving away from writing and speaking about unanswered questions to the chemistry of taking actions should be done not in anger but with the view to making the seemingly magic of the past to bear on the morass of the moment. With this in mind, I want to posit that I have since began to take actions on some things but the intellectual shallowness as portrayed by some students about ASUU strike, the utterly fallacious drumbeat of some parents and the dance of shame of the FG which gives ballast to this ratiocination made me to lost the ephemeral immunity I have garnered against my pen-hence the emergence of this vignette.
It appears that our highly revered and often unbelievably cheated university teachers have lost home support-no thanks to some intellectually incarcerated ones among them who often parade themselves as faithful servants in a university in the north central region of Nigeria despite their cerebral nothingness coupled with their bi-annual production of semi-illiterate graduates. It was this revelation that prompted me to push my pen and write a strongly worded letter about ASUU strike and the state of the nation to a friend of mine who is currently a junior research fellow in Harvard University (reminds one of our trammeled thinking student governors in their failed Harvard party). In the letter, I made strong appeal to my friend to help mobilize Nigerian internationals in Harvard University in a peaceful protest to neighbouring media houses in support of ASUU strike and unhampered implementation of Justice Uwais’ Electoral Reform Recommendations.
In case some students and some parents in the hostile quarters against ASUU are still in the cloud as to what the Nigerian populace stands to benefit from ASUU strike, I will painstakingly drop few lines. The strike if supported and its aims are achieved will force the FG to make educational policies that are systematic, strategic and sustainable. The policies would be pragmatic, responsive and result-oriented, continually evolving to address emerging challenges and would be pro-active. The strike if successful, will help reposition the educational system in such a way that Nigerian universities will be best fit to compete shoulder to shoulder with universities in other thriving countries. If the strike has the required massive support-base to make it a success, it will help to restore the lost dignity in the Nigerian educational system, foster the teaching and acquisition of qualitative education, ensure stable academic calendar and ensure the production of highly skilled graduates with brainy skulls and guided thinking! The parents and students on the side of the FG should see the agitations of ASUU as a collective struggle that must be pursued with sense of purpose and constructive criticisms vis-à-vis the expected results. They should see it as something whose benefits are trans-generational.
The strike is a course whose gains are not for only this generation but also for generations to come. So if we fail to leave formidable educational legacies for the generations to come which we can easily achieve through the success of ASUU strike, history books will be there to expose our deeds. The legacies must be defined and refined, particularly in the face of accretions, cobwebs and diplomatic sheens they might collect later in future. The legacies must also be reviewed with the benefit of historical hindsight and changing historical circumstances.
We must go back to the basis, re-couple our educational vehicles with strong and protected educational engines that have unimaginably high resistance to academic corrosion and brain knocking. The new educational vehicles must be anchored by un-derailing drivers of education who have unbending historical logic, unflinching determination, telepathic understanding of the historical forces at play garnished with refined and sieved driving energy. They must in addition be aided by generalissimos of steady educational progress who will be conducting the affairs of the academic arena and will be calling on people to board the progressive educational vehicles. The educational conductors must have un-burnished determination, they must have mental focus and clarity of mind, and they must have the ability to defy earth-pulling gravity and adversity. It is thereafter that we can begin a smooth educational journey that will definitely lead us to our much awaited educational promise land.
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AS ANONYMOUS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT. Please do not forget to include your name/location if you are commenting as anonymous.
I was engaged in an intellectually enthralling exchange of ideas with one of my highly artistry brainy, often critical allies, Ademola Adesola when he posited that it was time for us to drift responsibly from writing and speaking rhetoric to taking constructive action with structured thinking and iron clothing to shield ourselves from the sobering metaphor for the ceaseless repudiation and mockery of futuristic tendencies and scholastic deification being showcased by many Nigerian youth. In accordance with the shrewd understanding of Professor Adebayo Williams, the arts of moving away from writing and speaking about unanswered questions to the chemistry of taking actions should be done not in anger but with the view to making the seemingly magic of the past to bear on the morass of the moment. With this in mind, I want to posit that I have since began to take actions on some things but the intellectual shallowness as portrayed by some students about ASUU strike, the utterly fallacious drumbeat of some parents and the dance of shame of the FG which gives ballast to this ratiocination made me to lost the ephemeral immunity I have garnered against my pen-hence the emergence of this vignette.
It appears that our highly revered and often unbelievably cheated university teachers have lost home support-no thanks to some intellectually incarcerated ones among them who often parade themselves as faithful servants in a university in the north central region of Nigeria despite their cerebral nothingness coupled with their bi-annual production of semi-illiterate graduates. It was this revelation that prompted me to push my pen and write a strongly worded letter about ASUU strike and the state of the nation to a friend of mine who is currently a junior research fellow in Harvard University (reminds one of our trammeled thinking student governors in their failed Harvard party). In the letter, I made strong appeal to my friend to help mobilize Nigerian internationals in Harvard University in a peaceful protest to neighbouring media houses in support of ASUU strike and unhampered implementation of Justice Uwais’ Electoral Reform Recommendations.
In case some students and some parents in the hostile quarters against ASUU are still in the cloud as to what the Nigerian populace stands to benefit from ASUU strike, I will painstakingly drop few lines. The strike if supported and its aims are achieved will force the FG to make educational policies that are systematic, strategic and sustainable. The policies would be pragmatic, responsive and result-oriented, continually evolving to address emerging challenges and would be pro-active. The strike if successful, will help reposition the educational system in such a way that Nigerian universities will be best fit to compete shoulder to shoulder with universities in other thriving countries. If the strike has the required massive support-base to make it a success, it will help to restore the lost dignity in the Nigerian educational system, foster the teaching and acquisition of qualitative education, ensure stable academic calendar and ensure the production of highly skilled graduates with brainy skulls and guided thinking! The parents and students on the side of the FG should see the agitations of ASUU as a collective struggle that must be pursued with sense of purpose and constructive criticisms vis-à-vis the expected results. They should see it as something whose benefits are trans-generational.
The strike is a course whose gains are not for only this generation but also for generations to come. So if we fail to leave formidable educational legacies for the generations to come which we can easily achieve through the success of ASUU strike, history books will be there to expose our deeds. The legacies must be defined and refined, particularly in the face of accretions, cobwebs and diplomatic sheens they might collect later in future. The legacies must also be reviewed with the benefit of historical hindsight and changing historical circumstances.
We must go back to the basis, re-couple our educational vehicles with strong and protected educational engines that have unimaginably high resistance to academic corrosion and brain knocking. The new educational vehicles must be anchored by un-derailing drivers of education who have unbending historical logic, unflinching determination, telepathic understanding of the historical forces at play garnished with refined and sieved driving energy. They must in addition be aided by generalissimos of steady educational progress who will be conducting the affairs of the academic arena and will be calling on people to board the progressive educational vehicles. The educational conductors must have un-burnished determination, they must have mental focus and clarity of mind, and they must have the ability to defy earth-pulling gravity and adversity. It is thereafter that we can begin a smooth educational journey that will definitely lead us to our much awaited educational promise land.
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AS ANONYMOUS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT. Please do not forget to include your name/location if you are commenting as anonymous.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
PERSONAL TREASURE
I am sure we all treasure a lot of different things though a lot of them are just the regular things. In fact, sometimes some of what we treasure the most, we cannot lay personal claim on. Treasures like wrist watches, laptops and family mansions fall within this category and as a result, we fail to treasure some items we should. There some things we have but either has no idea what they are worth or have forgotten why that things should be special to us. Well, right now am been led by a good spirit to highlight some of these things to you.
MAMAS WRAPPER
In this part of the world, mothers often give their children one or more of their wrappers. Well just so you are a foreigner, let me educate you a bit. The only traditional wear for women that transcends all tribes in Nigeria (either blouse or buba) and wrapper so mothers are fond of giving their wards one or more of their wrappers to use as cover-cloth (quilt) most especially if the child is on his way to a boarding house for the first time or travelling. A lot of us have it but don’t remember the significance any more. Well, if you happen to fall in that category, let me remind you. You see, when our mothers give us the wrappers, it’s their silent way of saying-‘hold on to this when you miss my warmth, when you see this, remember that my love is with you anywhere you go and I never cease to pray for you.’ For those of us that still have ours, well agree that no quilt can be compared to mamas wrapper. Single advice- if you don’t have one yet, get yourself one fast.
YOUR HOLY BOOK
The song writer writes- I have a wonderful treasure- a gift of GOD without measure and we travel together. My Bible and I. Need I say more? What about Quran? Very essential too!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Those pictures of you when you were still a baby, the one that has you blowing out your 1st birthday candle or the one with your parents way back. Believe me, it is a treasure because how else are you able to realize what a fine person you have grown into? How else can you remember how thin uncle Luke used to be before he got a job or how much mum and dad must have spent for your first birthday. You see, albums are useful for reflection, rejuvenation, bringing back pleasant memories …. And the list is endless.
YOUR GOOD FRIEND
That person who is close enough to sleep over at your place. That person who has both your parents’ phone numbers stored in his phone. That person that understands you perfectly. The one that know your mood by the tie you are wearing and the one that pray for you always. Don’t take them for granted or forget to tell them how much they mean to you because should you lose them, getting a replacement won’t be anytime soon.
YOUR PHONE BOOK
The treasure here is not in the type of phone neither is it the amount of airtime in it but the numbers. Those numbers that call you just to check up on you, the numbers that remind you with the fact that you have people to lean on. Yes! Those numbers you can call when you need a little rise. Phones may get lost and call credits used up, but contact lists should never be toyed with.
This conclusion is simple. None of the above listed should be missing in our lives.
Written By:
SHOLA UNDIANDEYE
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW USING YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT OR AS ANONYMOUS IN CASE YOU DO NOT HAVE GOOGLE ACCOUNT.
MAMAS WRAPPER
In this part of the world, mothers often give their children one or more of their wrappers. Well just so you are a foreigner, let me educate you a bit. The only traditional wear for women that transcends all tribes in Nigeria (either blouse or buba) and wrapper so mothers are fond of giving their wards one or more of their wrappers to use as cover-cloth (quilt) most especially if the child is on his way to a boarding house for the first time or travelling. A lot of us have it but don’t remember the significance any more. Well, if you happen to fall in that category, let me remind you. You see, when our mothers give us the wrappers, it’s their silent way of saying-‘hold on to this when you miss my warmth, when you see this, remember that my love is with you anywhere you go and I never cease to pray for you.’ For those of us that still have ours, well agree that no quilt can be compared to mamas wrapper. Single advice- if you don’t have one yet, get yourself one fast.
YOUR HOLY BOOK
The song writer writes- I have a wonderful treasure- a gift of GOD without measure and we travel together. My Bible and I. Need I say more? What about Quran? Very essential too!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Those pictures of you when you were still a baby, the one that has you blowing out your 1st birthday candle or the one with your parents way back. Believe me, it is a treasure because how else are you able to realize what a fine person you have grown into? How else can you remember how thin uncle Luke used to be before he got a job or how much mum and dad must have spent for your first birthday. You see, albums are useful for reflection, rejuvenation, bringing back pleasant memories …. And the list is endless.
YOUR GOOD FRIEND
That person who is close enough to sleep over at your place. That person who has both your parents’ phone numbers stored in his phone. That person that understands you perfectly. The one that know your mood by the tie you are wearing and the one that pray for you always. Don’t take them for granted or forget to tell them how much they mean to you because should you lose them, getting a replacement won’t be anytime soon.
YOUR PHONE BOOK
The treasure here is not in the type of phone neither is it the amount of airtime in it but the numbers. Those numbers that call you just to check up on you, the numbers that remind you with the fact that you have people to lean on. Yes! Those numbers you can call when you need a little rise. Phones may get lost and call credits used up, but contact lists should never be toyed with.
This conclusion is simple. None of the above listed should be missing in our lives.
Written By:
SHOLA UNDIANDEYE
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW USING YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT OR AS ANONYMOUS IN CASE YOU DO NOT HAVE GOOGLE ACCOUNT.
Monday, July 6, 2009
AIMING HIGH
Truth be told, to achieve greatness you need to take practical steps. First you must stand on the rock, avoid shaky foundation and place your aspirations above your challenges. The picture with this nugget will give you an insight into how to achieve greatness depending on your power of interpretation.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
SUDDENLY GOD WAS NAKED IN EKITI
Could it be said that it is all over in the struggle to ostracize impunity from our society and prevent political terrorists from imposing their unpopular will and mislead people by their tainted conscience (if there is any)? The Ekiti case is suffix to make assertions. If we could not win the war against political fraud and corruption in just 10 local governments of a State, I am worried or how do we triumph over corruption syndrome in the 774 local governments that make up the Nigeria entity? Just an avoidable step of an electoral umpire cost us to lose the mini war. It becomes more spine-tingling when recourse is made to the claim of the umpire who brilliantly misled the country and the global community by her womanly posture and feministic style of letter writing. No wonder she initially won the heart of the country but unfortunately thereafter, she lost the heart of the country by hiring her conscience out (I don’t want to say ‘selling her conscience out’, she might repent and confess one day) to the ‘almighty’ Professor of political fraud and electoral corruption who is ‘too’ weighty to be permanently lifted off his appointment seat by even the Grand Commander of the country. I think he is also enjoying immunity even if our constitution does not give him. But do not forget that he has his own constitution which explicitly shields him from the hands of his enemies (the progressive ones). Section 2(a) of Iwu Personal Constitution, 2007 states that: “In accordance with the do-or-die platform (soon to be transformed to die-and-let-us-live) on which I am commissioned to serve my depraved fatherland, I stand to enjoy immunity against all forms of antagonism from 2007 up to another 60 years, the period through which my political party will reign supreme. I am hereby commissioned to continually rig elections and go scot-free starting from 2007 up to 60 years time and in the case of my death before the completion of the assignment, my anointed cohort will take up the challenge”. What then shall we say of a woman whose conscience suddenly flew her? She would have become another Condoleezza Rice but for her ‘fraud-filled Christian conscience’ purportedly tied to God (as if God is dead). In more decent societies, she would have been a guest of the law enforcement agencies (are they not corrupt in Nigeria?) that would be interested in knowing those who wanted her to subvert the people’s will. Frankly speaking, I hate to think that she was compromised. Or was she? If she was, then the all-time shameless Professor of electoral fraud would surely be involved. To this end, rebranding Nigeria should be aggressively geared towards Nigerians conscience rather than engaging in a fruitlessly inconsequential SMS-powered rebranding jamboree championed by the once celebrated Amazon Professor whose profile (garnished by her accomplishment in NAFDAC) is about to be stained by her current futile initiative. Or why should she want to paint us white to the outside community while we are black? And it is against logical reasoning to venture into marketing promotions of an unmarketable product. Or what would you say of a country where the truth is far away from people’s mouths, where corruption reign supreme, where people’s votes no longer count, where people lie against their conscience under duress, where the chief electoral man is conscience-less, where the president is slow at implementation, where people are law unto themselves, where politicians want to become political Methuselah and where political office holders want to stay in office forever (as if death is dead)? Funnily when the apostle of ‘Christian conscience’ resigned, the Rebranding Minister, oh..sorry..Information Minister was restless (almost crying) arguing that the resignation was a dent on her rebranding project. What an argument by a “Professor”! Instead of hijacking the opportunities offered by Ekiti debacle to foster her rebranding campaign, she allowed the opportunity to slip by and was busy dancing in the cloud with Mr. Rule of Law, the occupant of Aso Rock. “I will allow rule of law to prevail,” Mr. Slow chorused. But this is a goebellian propaganda that will soon boomerang. Where is rule of law in Ekiti where the court ought to have pronounced the winner based on valid votes rather than calling for a rerun in places where electoral fraud took place? Where is rule of law in Osun, where the court ordered retrial instead of declaring the outright winner? What is happening in Ekiti is apartheid in another dimension. It is case where Nigerians are enslaving Nigerians. Could there be rule of law in this kind of situation? Or could there be rule of law where the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is a law unto himself? But before Mr. IGP waxes lyrical in his grim comedy as he showcased in Ekiti case, he must remember the fate of the likes of Sunday Adewusi (1983), Tafa Balogun (2003) and Sunday Ehindero (2007). For clarification, I am not a member of any political party but I belong to the progressive class that believes in true federalism, liberalized democracy with social equity and justice as the bedrock of the political structure. What happened in the ‘Fountain of Knowledge’ was a clear pointer to the fact that the people of Ekiti were robbed naked. Since the voice of people is the voice of God, then God was also robbed naked in Ekiti. But believe me, it is written in the holy books, you cannot rob God and escape with it. Surely with time, nemesis will catch up with the evil doers!
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LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AS ANONYMOUS AND PUT YOUR NAME AND LOCATION AFTER YOUR MESSAGE
Saturday, May 9, 2009
WE ALL NEED HELP
Again, I have chosen to push my pen for an issue that is germane to our continued existence as a people. But before I proceed I want to jolt your attention to the fact that I belong to the school of thought which believes that no man is an island. I said this because the fusillade of questions that came after the publication of my last article titled: “I Will Dream Again” gave a cause for reflection. While this article is not a repose, as it were, to the reactions of some concerned youth, it is principally meant to consolidate my understanding of human existence as exemplified in my last article. Hence, this vignette should not be pooh-poohed as mere balderdash deserving no thoughtful attention but it should be seen as a call for all of us to throw ourselves into the towel for pensive mood in order to think about how helpful we can be to ourselves. This ultimately, will prevent us from allowing a political blitzkrieg to alter our political equations so that we will not be left in the wake of a despondent and despairing populace and a dazed and disoriented progressive leadership.
Don’t we all need help? I think we all need help, no matter our status. Let me elucidate this claim with my recent encounter with a supposed bum. I was in a car with a man when the man parked to wipe off his car. As we alight form the car, we saw a presumed desolate fellow. He was indeed, a sponger. It was written boldly on his face that he had no home, clothes and money. There are times when one feels generous but there are times that one will just feel not to be bothered. “I hope he doesn’t ask us for money,” I muttered. Surprisingly, the presumed despicable young man did not. He came and sat on the curb in front of the Bus Stop but he did not look like someone who has enough money to take a bus. After a few minutes, he eventually spoke to us. “That is a very pretty car”, he said. He was actually putting on ragged clothes but he had an air of dignity around him. “Thanks”, we responded and continued wiping the car. He sat there quietly as we worked. The much expected appeal form him for money never came. After a prolonged silence, the owner of the car told me to ask him if he needed any help. I was sure that he would say “yes” as I held true to inner voice. “Do you need any help? I asked. He answered in five simple and profound words that I will never live to forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect wisdom from people of higher status and social class but wisdom can as well come from a bum. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. The five words ricocheted off his mind and hit me on my right palm. “Don’t we all need help?” he answered.
Yes I think we all need help. I need help. May be not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I need help. So colleagues, no matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded with problems you are, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. It might just be a compliment; you never know when you may see someone that needs just an ordinary compliment to make the person happy. Who knows may be the bum was just a homeless stranger wandering around the streets or he was sent by a power that is great and wise (God), to minister to souls that feel so comfortable in themselves. May be God said to the bum, “Go minister to that man wiping his car, the man needs help”. Can you see that we all need help? Dear colleagues, purse that exchange of banters over that that plenteous fricassee and ponder on what I have said. Give help, if you can. Someone else will also help you. Think over this gospel, I say unto you. We all need help. Please colleagues, this thinking must be done with historical hindsight and changing historical circumstances, particularly given the heavy erosion that has characterized the inner consciousness or our existence. We all need help. Don’t you?
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Don’t we all need help? I think we all need help, no matter our status. Let me elucidate this claim with my recent encounter with a supposed bum. I was in a car with a man when the man parked to wipe off his car. As we alight form the car, we saw a presumed desolate fellow. He was indeed, a sponger. It was written boldly on his face that he had no home, clothes and money. There are times when one feels generous but there are times that one will just feel not to be bothered. “I hope he doesn’t ask us for money,” I muttered. Surprisingly, the presumed despicable young man did not. He came and sat on the curb in front of the Bus Stop but he did not look like someone who has enough money to take a bus. After a few minutes, he eventually spoke to us. “That is a very pretty car”, he said. He was actually putting on ragged clothes but he had an air of dignity around him. “Thanks”, we responded and continued wiping the car. He sat there quietly as we worked. The much expected appeal form him for money never came. After a prolonged silence, the owner of the car told me to ask him if he needed any help. I was sure that he would say “yes” as I held true to inner voice. “Do you need any help? I asked. He answered in five simple and profound words that I will never live to forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect wisdom from people of higher status and social class but wisdom can as well come from a bum. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. The five words ricocheted off his mind and hit me on my right palm. “Don’t we all need help?” he answered.
Yes I think we all need help. I need help. May be not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I need help. So colleagues, no matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded with problems you are, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. It might just be a compliment; you never know when you may see someone that needs just an ordinary compliment to make the person happy. Who knows may be the bum was just a homeless stranger wandering around the streets or he was sent by a power that is great and wise (God), to minister to souls that feel so comfortable in themselves. May be God said to the bum, “Go minister to that man wiping his car, the man needs help”. Can you see that we all need help? Dear colleagues, purse that exchange of banters over that that plenteous fricassee and ponder on what I have said. Give help, if you can. Someone else will also help you. Think over this gospel, I say unto you. We all need help. Please colleagues, this thinking must be done with historical hindsight and changing historical circumstances, particularly given the heavy erosion that has characterized the inner consciousness or our existence. We all need help. Don’t you?
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
OBAMA and AFRICA'S ENEMIES
Within my biological make-up, emotions mixed with joy, I beamed a hopeful smile with tears cascading down my cheeks as I watched President-elect Barack Obama delivering his heroic speech during the Democratic Party Convention in Denva in august 2008 prior to the world’s most celebrated election, even though our own indefatigable Professor of Rigging, ah!... sorry, Professor Maurice Iwu tried unsuccessfully to poke hole in the said election. I wiped my tears and I embraced the gospel of “The Change We Need” being preached by Obama. With Obama at the helms of affairs of the world, I began to see myself as a new person who would contribute to the emergence of a happier Africa and a peaceful world at large. I could remember vividly when the results of the elections were announced, I spent about 30 minutes appreciating the God Almighty for making ‘The Change We Need’ possible. On November 5, 2008 , New York Times succinctly captured Obama’s victory at the polls in an emotional headline: “ Racial Barrier Falls as Obama Wins”. I muttered to myself that I could also make a change in our depraved generation full of individuals with unbecoming atavistic antecedents.
No doubt, Obama is my role model any day, any time but the events of the last couple of weeks have raised dust as to his sincerity in ‘The Change’ he preached. Please don’t call it political statement, hence you would misconstrue me. However, my faith in Obama remains unshaken. Some weeks ago, I read it in yahoo news that Obama has appointed Paul Volcker, Lawrence Summers and Tim Geithner as Economic Adviser, National Economic Council Director and Treasury Secretary respectively. As an ardent follower of Obama’s Presidency who has gotten unwavering inspirations from Obama’s Dreams of my Father and Audacity of Hope, I swiftly sought the profiles of Obama’s economic heavyweights who would help Obama neutralize the current global financial meltdown.
Geithner worked with George Bush as the President of New York Federal Reserve, hence a central figure in the current global credit crunch. Geithner served in Henry Kissinger’s consulting firm during the mid 1980s, joined the Reagan-Bush administration in 1988 and then worked for Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin in the Clinton ’s Treasury Department during the 1990s. The biggest error Geithner committed was the popular first round ineffectual Wall Street bail-outs in 2008, in which he bailed out J.P. Morgan in a day and surprisingly failed to foresee the catastrophic impact of the demise of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank on world’s financial dealings the next day. Geithner who claimed that credit market innovation should help to make markets more efficient and more resilient and better able to absorb stress surrendered to willful blindness when he said: “we cannot turn back the clock on innovation or reverse the complexity around risk management. We do not have the capacity to monitor risk outside the banking system. We cannot identify the likely sources of future stress to the system and act preemptively to diffuse them.” Then I ask, why did Obama give him such pressing job?
Lawrence Summers once gained infamy as a crusader of African genocide and environmental racism. In 2006, he lost the race to become Harvard President. His failure was attributed to his crude and controversial understanding about sexism. Summers wrote that women could not do Mathematics and Sciences. As environmental racist and World Bank Chief Economist, Summers wrote: “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. I have always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly under-polluted, their air quality is vastly inefficiently low.” What has Africa-Obama’s origin, done to this man?
Born in 1926, Volcker is one of the living Africa ’s economic enemies. Wall Street Journal described him as a Cigar-Chomping Banker (1979-1987) who jacked up interest rates and tipped the United State (US) into the deepest recession since the Great Depression. He was famous for what was known as Volcker Shock in the 1970s that brought a sharp rise in the world’s interest rates and a sustained appreciation of the dollar. Owing to the Volcker Shock, Africa was nearly squeezed to death. When fielding questions from journalists, Volcker said: “ Africa was not even on my radar screen.” Again I ask; what has Africa done to Volcker? President Jimmy Carter chose Volcker in 1979 to chair the Federal Reserve and he retired in 1987. Surprisingly, Volcker is back in White House through Obama’s invitation.
With these economic criminals and Africa’s enemies hovering around Obama, how can he realize his dream for his father’s people and ultimately, for his mother’s people? Americans need “The Change” they voted for. Hangover from the past is a breach of promise.
No doubt, Obama is my role model any day, any time but the events of the last couple of weeks have raised dust as to his sincerity in ‘The Change’ he preached. Please don’t call it political statement, hence you would misconstrue me. However, my faith in Obama remains unshaken. Some weeks ago, I read it in yahoo news that Obama has appointed Paul Volcker, Lawrence Summers and Tim Geithner as Economic Adviser, National Economic Council Director and Treasury Secretary respectively. As an ardent follower of Obama’s Presidency who has gotten unwavering inspirations from Obama’s Dreams of my Father and Audacity of Hope, I swiftly sought the profiles of Obama’s economic heavyweights who would help Obama neutralize the current global financial meltdown.
Geithner worked with George Bush as the President of New York Federal Reserve, hence a central figure in the current global credit crunch. Geithner served in Henry Kissinger’s consulting firm during the mid 1980s, joined the Reagan-Bush administration in 1988 and then worked for Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin in the Clinton ’s Treasury Department during the 1990s. The biggest error Geithner committed was the popular first round ineffectual Wall Street bail-outs in 2008, in which he bailed out J.P. Morgan in a day and surprisingly failed to foresee the catastrophic impact of the demise of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank on world’s financial dealings the next day. Geithner who claimed that credit market innovation should help to make markets more efficient and more resilient and better able to absorb stress surrendered to willful blindness when he said: “we cannot turn back the clock on innovation or reverse the complexity around risk management. We do not have the capacity to monitor risk outside the banking system. We cannot identify the likely sources of future stress to the system and act preemptively to diffuse them.” Then I ask, why did Obama give him such pressing job?
Lawrence Summers once gained infamy as a crusader of African genocide and environmental racism. In 2006, he lost the race to become Harvard President. His failure was attributed to his crude and controversial understanding about sexism. Summers wrote that women could not do Mathematics and Sciences. As environmental racist and World Bank Chief Economist, Summers wrote: “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. I have always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly under-polluted, their air quality is vastly inefficiently low.” What has Africa-Obama’s origin, done to this man?
Born in 1926, Volcker is one of the living Africa ’s economic enemies. Wall Street Journal described him as a Cigar-Chomping Banker (1979-1987) who jacked up interest rates and tipped the United State (US) into the deepest recession since the Great Depression. He was famous for what was known as Volcker Shock in the 1970s that brought a sharp rise in the world’s interest rates and a sustained appreciation of the dollar. Owing to the Volcker Shock, Africa was nearly squeezed to death. When fielding questions from journalists, Volcker said: “ Africa was not even on my radar screen.” Again I ask; what has Africa done to Volcker? President Jimmy Carter chose Volcker in 1979 to chair the Federal Reserve and he retired in 1987. Surprisingly, Volcker is back in White House through Obama’s invitation.
With these economic criminals and Africa’s enemies hovering around Obama, how can he realize his dream for his father’s people and ultimately, for his mother’s people? Americans need “The Change” they voted for. Hangover from the past is a breach of promise.
EDUCATION MINISTRY ON THE FREEWAY
At last, Education Ministry is taking the lead. I have seen the signs. I have deciphered the handwriting on the wall, many thanks to my dream. Just like 2pac’s hit track, Changes where the late Amaru said that things would never be the same, that is just the way it is. Hey! Please do not say 2Pac appeared to me in my dream! While still basking in the euphoria of the aura that came after my ability to fathom the undertone of retrogressive forward movement of the Education Ministry (you call it paradox?), I swiftly swung into an extempore writing, given no room for ominous omen to hijack my present mood. Many thanks to my telepathic understanding of the historical forces at play and my adaptive affinity garnished with my enigmatic pen. Never mind, I am only defining the premises that saw the emergence of this vignette. So let’s go back to business.
For those who can cultivate the courage to look convincingly without making recourse to magnifying glasses, they would observe that the Education Ministry is on the threshold of making history. What history? You seem to soliloquize. Then you will need to send your memory arbiter to a thoughtful journey. If you cannot identify the historical happenings, you will need to cultivate the courage to look convincingly. It becomes more spine-tingling when the Ministry is viewed from the perspective of the current state of understanding of the Minister of Education vis-a-vis the rebranding jamboree. Now the education sector is get an immensely paltry amount of allocation in the 2009 budget while millions have gone down the drain in the all fruitlessly inconsequential SMS-powered rebranding gigs in Abuja. Isn’t that historical?
Again, this year marks the end of the grace given to all our lecturers to get their PhDs which is the benchmark for teaching in Nigerian universities as propagated by the Ministry through the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2007. Lecturers are currently rushing to put their thesis together; those who are running experiments are boycotting experimental procedures in a bid to save time. Those who are being neglected by their supervisors are making recourse to trado-pastors and trado-alfas to get stuff that could help them win the hearts of their almighty supervisors (what if they were God?). Even those who started in 2007 when the directive was issued are in the race of putting finishing touches to their PhD programmes in 2009 (is two years too short for PhD programme?). To the Ministry, quality teaching and ingenuity become inconsequential in the face of flashy and mere PhD certificates which is utterly absent in the culture of our role models (developed nations). Hurray! All our lecturers will e PhD holders by the end of 2009. Isn’t that historical?
The Ministry is at present, muscle-flexing with virtually all educational civil associations (ASUU, SSANU, SSANIP, NUT, NASU etc.) as to which should bend for another. Isn’t that historical? Ok, let’s look at this critically. Among the big boys in Africa (of course Nigeria also prides itself as a big boy-yes, recall giant of Africa). But over the years, it has been only the Ministry of Education in Nigeria that has been synonymous with non-result based policies formulation. Take for an instance, the failed polytechnics and universities merger and truncated privatization of Unity schools. It then becomes ultimately essential to relate the failure of the past to bear on the morass of current policies particularly when talking about the future of the pre-university basic education system and unified entrance examination into tertiary institutions.
Trust the busy bodies, they have lampooned the current semi-innocent (if at all) Minister of Education for not prioritizing his dealings. Some critics said the Minister was not prepared for the task given to him and that he was only made the Minister as a compensation for losing the ruling’s party chairmanship. Anyway, these critics must understand that the Minister needs to learn too. He needs time to understand the happenings around Nigerian campuses and I guess, that is why he is currently busy attending convocation ceremonies alongside his entourage (even if uninvited). Alas! Our Minister is on tour and education is on the freeway to the valley down below!
For those who can cultivate the courage to look convincingly without making recourse to magnifying glasses, they would observe that the Education Ministry is on the threshold of making history. What history? You seem to soliloquize. Then you will need to send your memory arbiter to a thoughtful journey. If you cannot identify the historical happenings, you will need to cultivate the courage to look convincingly. It becomes more spine-tingling when the Ministry is viewed from the perspective of the current state of understanding of the Minister of Education vis-a-vis the rebranding jamboree. Now the education sector is get an immensely paltry amount of allocation in the 2009 budget while millions have gone down the drain in the all fruitlessly inconsequential SMS-powered rebranding gigs in Abuja. Isn’t that historical?
Again, this year marks the end of the grace given to all our lecturers to get their PhDs which is the benchmark for teaching in Nigerian universities as propagated by the Ministry through the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2007. Lecturers are currently rushing to put their thesis together; those who are running experiments are boycotting experimental procedures in a bid to save time. Those who are being neglected by their supervisors are making recourse to trado-pastors and trado-alfas to get stuff that could help them win the hearts of their almighty supervisors (what if they were God?). Even those who started in 2007 when the directive was issued are in the race of putting finishing touches to their PhD programmes in 2009 (is two years too short for PhD programme?). To the Ministry, quality teaching and ingenuity become inconsequential in the face of flashy and mere PhD certificates which is utterly absent in the culture of our role models (developed nations). Hurray! All our lecturers will e PhD holders by the end of 2009. Isn’t that historical?
The Ministry is at present, muscle-flexing with virtually all educational civil associations (ASUU, SSANU, SSANIP, NUT, NASU etc.) as to which should bend for another. Isn’t that historical? Ok, let’s look at this critically. Among the big boys in Africa (of course Nigeria also prides itself as a big boy-yes, recall giant of Africa). But over the years, it has been only the Ministry of Education in Nigeria that has been synonymous with non-result based policies formulation. Take for an instance, the failed polytechnics and universities merger and truncated privatization of Unity schools. It then becomes ultimately essential to relate the failure of the past to bear on the morass of current policies particularly when talking about the future of the pre-university basic education system and unified entrance examination into tertiary institutions.
Trust the busy bodies, they have lampooned the current semi-innocent (if at all) Minister of Education for not prioritizing his dealings. Some critics said the Minister was not prepared for the task given to him and that he was only made the Minister as a compensation for losing the ruling’s party chairmanship. Anyway, these critics must understand that the Minister needs to learn too. He needs time to understand the happenings around Nigerian campuses and I guess, that is why he is currently busy attending convocation ceremonies alongside his entourage (even if uninvited). Alas! Our Minister is on tour and education is on the freeway to the valley down below!
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