.

.

Thursday 11 December 2014

Dictionary

Open that book they call the dictionary
Open it, let me see
A man once told me, the Queen wrote the dictionary
Open it, let me see its royal masterpiece
The English language, I heard is the crème of languages
Open it, let me see
It’s a complete catalogue of words, innit?
Open it, let me see
I learnt, it’s all you need to learn the language
Open it, let me see
Or maybe not the entire language
Still open it, let me see
But then, I am illiterate at the English language
I guess the dictionary will also show me how to read and write it
Open it, let me see
I was told, I would understand it better if I read it upside down
I believe I must have heard this from FELA
Open it, let me see
But He was not a mastery of English
He was a genius, so were Newton, Edison and Einstein
That is by the way
Just open it, let me see
The dictionary will make you more civilized, they said
Please, open it let me see
You will be perfectly noble, a gentleman, a lady
Please! Please! Open it, let me see
It will make you analyse the world better
You must really open it, let me see
The dictionary will make you a better person
Wait! No! Okay! You can keep the dictionary
I am fine with my language.


Tuesday 7 October 2014

The Stunted Bright Light

The giant of Africa, the giant of Africa we are. First on the west, fastest in the west. A blessing for us, strategically positioned by nature in the corner, a corner filled with deposits. Deposits of overly abundant black gold, enough to feed us all ten times over with much more left but that gold is only one of our numerous assets, we have cocoa in the west, oil palm in the east and groundnut in the north. In other parts of the country, we have other resources scattered over; tin, coal, limestone, cassava, rice, lead, gold, marble, zinc, these are only a few. All these being present at the beginning, it seemed to be a nice bedrock, the perfect launching platform for development. It looked too good to be true, the future of Nigeria was not only bright, it was glowing.

Wait!! Wait!!... We are presently in that supposed future, aren’t we? Choi!!..... Or are we dreaming? It’s some 50 years after, and the environment doesn’t quite represent the possession of these endowments. Surely, we are awake. Something must have gone wrong along the line, something went wrong. It was from the beginning, it was not the colonialists, imperialists, Portuguese, English, Whiteman, Oyinbo, Onye Ocha or whatever name we may like to call them, they are not to blame, they passed the baton, it was our founding fathers, “the successors”, our first “ogas at the top” that have put Nigeria in this state of developmental thalidomide. But then, “it got spoilt” doesn’t mean “it can’t be fixed”, “it got spoilt” only means “it must be fixed” and presently, it hasn’t been fixed. Nigeria’s mates who also had similar potentials have harnessed theirs and are now living fine. Their founding fathers must have been so good to them.

Not really, they also had their hitches and hiccups, but they fixed them. Our problem in Nigeria is a simple problem,,,,, maybe not a simple problem, a bacteria-like problem. The number one anti-development agent; Corruption!!

Corruption is everywhere but it looks as though it achieved its full potential here in Nigeria. We, Nigerians are very hospitable, so we accepted it, took it in, harnessed it, revolutionized it, evolved with it and made it our part and parcel. Wait!! Wait!!... A “bacteria-like” problem, has it got so much that it can now be found in our genes? It’s starting to seem even our babies are born with it. Choi!!..... But let’s face the situation at hand, it wouldn’t be much of a loony thought to think 

Nigeria is a time-bomb waiting to explode. 

What do you think? 

Well it’s a logical thought, but I wouldn’t be too affirmative with it. 

As fateful as the country’s situation looks, I still believe in Nigeria, I am a part of it, so are you, so is the 23rd richest man in the world, so is that passionate teacher who wants the best for her students, so is Danladi, the enthusiastic cobbler who wants to mend every bad sole, and Mama Risi who makes the best Jollof rice and every other beautiful 165 million Nigerians. We can all be comfortable, it is possible, One day, e go better”.

To every success story, there is a turning point. The turning point which is now, a point in time with an abundance of both natural and human resources. I would like to believe that this generation can be responsible for making that purported brightly glowing future a reality. This generation, full of bright young minds that create bright ideas, possessing the tenacity to pursue their bright dreams. The hope I seem to have lost, I have regained. I believe in this generation and I challenge every one of us to ensure that the next generation and the one after that do not get to write on these same issues, but instead write about the prosperity that this great country will have achieved.

Thassall!!

.
.
.
This piece was part of an original series hosted on talesbycecile.wordpress.com It was a 30 day series that involved 30 different young writers writing about our motherland Nigeria. This particular one was #22, you could read it directly on the blog by clicking here There are 29 other interesting write-ups like this one, take a time out, endeavour to read all the other posts. Thank you

Wednesday 3 September 2014

The August Visitor

August came in unannounced, hardly surprising, he always came in unannounced. Verily on a scheme to affirm the metaphorical meaning of his name. But that’s not the awkward part, it’s how he always guessed when our parents were not around. Surely, he could time our dad, he was an 8-to-8 man; corporate worker, one who was always looking out for the family's needs, I loved dad, he was easy going and his movement was scheduled so he didn't pose much of a problem to August, but what amazes is how August avoids our mum. I like to call mum a “marauder” jokingly, not that she steals or something, but for the fact that she moves around a lot, shuttling between her workplace and home multiple times a day, at times staying back and not returning there. She owned a boutique not far from the house and she got many attendants at the place, so she could afford the movements. August did not live close, so his coming had got to involve some planning. Maybe he had a crystal ball in his house or some voodoo doll to control mum out whenever he was coming, she never saw him.

He would knock on the gate moments after mum had just left. At first, I had not liked his august visits, more like intrusions. But when I noticed the patterns, I liked him. I did not envy my sister, I was happy for her, this was a guy who would play 007 for her, and I could tell they were both in love. He was in ss3 and we were in ss2, their relationship was somewhat professional, they never had any romantic interactions in school. Virtually no one knew about them in the school but me. August was a hunk, he looked older and more matured than his mates, almost looking like a young teacher if not for his uniform. He always looked smart and was much organised, I was surprised how girls were not flocking around him, maybe they were too shy to approach him or they did, and he had told them a clear “NO”. Even my not-so-attractive-self had once fantasised about him but I waived off that feeling immediately because of my sister. They had been together for two years, they started right about when he was transferred to the school. August was about to graduate, his visits had got more frequent and his James Bonding was sharper, coming and leaving at half seconds. I saw nothing inconspicuous about it, he had earned my respect, for as long as he had visited, no very intimate relations had occurred between them, though they made out at times but nothing further. He had approached her about sex at the initial stages but she had told him a clear "NO" and he respected it. My sister tells me everything, we were very close.

August always came in with a smile, but on that day, he had a straight face on, nothing to it, as though he had just seen a shinigami, he must have had a bad day and he probably just came around to relieve himself by spending some time with his love. He came in, they hugged and went into her room, our room, there, they always hung out, locking me out of my own room, they would usually just talk, or listen to music and maybe watch a movie if they had the time. Music was playing from the room, I was hearing their chatter underneath. All of a sudden, amidst the music, they started shouting at each other, I was not alarmed. They had had disagreements in the past and August would not come for days, sometimes weeks. I wasn't ready to hear their noise, I went outside to water the flowers and trim the hedges, I had my headphones on, I could have sworn I heard my sister screaming from beneath them, but I was unfazed. About 10 minutes later I went back inside, August came out of the room, he was sweating, I took off my headphones, it was clearer now, it wasn't just a scream, I was hearing a loud cry from the room.


He couldn't have beaten her, right there, there and then, I knew it, he had raped her. He looked me dead in the eye, I was now looking at a shinigami and my not-so-attractive-self was not to be spared. He lunged at me, in a split second, my back was against the floor, the hunk I once fantasised about was right on top of me, just like my daydreams back then but it was no dream, it was a nightmare occurring while I was awake, before I could grasp the situation on ground, he had ripped through my skirt and pants, I screamed “NO”,  but it was just a bare mutter, his hand was over my mouth, I couldn't feel my neck, he was really strong, easily overpowered me, I could only but struggle, there I was, I could feel my hymen break, I could feel my twin sister's severed. I could feel myself broken, the tears rolled down, every thrust was like a blow on the breaking wheel, the longer he took, the more I wished to be guillotined. This was a mad August, after he was done, he stood up and walked out, he was without emotion, his two-year undercover mission had ended, we never saw him again, but we experienced him every time the month of august came around.

LET'S SAY NO TO RAPE...


Saturday 30 August 2014

Cogitatis Ergo Estis

For those who are soul searching
For those who are mind seeking
For those who are feeling the gravity of what life is about
Those who are worried about the outcome of the nearest future
Those who are about to lose hope, those who are about to lose it
Stay. Stay in this moment. Believe.
Your greatest fear will be turned on its head
And you blossom will be beyond suffice.
Just like proverbial saying "Where there is life, ...".
However you might like to see life, here's the thing
Make a pledge to arise... "Cogito ergo sum"
Cos
If you are, you breathe
If you breathe, you talk
If you talk, you ask
If you ask, you learn
If you learn, you experience
If you experience, you think
If you think, you grow
If you grow, you seek
If you seek, you find
If you find, you doubt
If you doubt,  you question
If you question, you understand
If you understand, you know
If you know, you want to know more
And if you want to know more, then you are alive.



Tuesday 12 August 2014

Oyingbo!

The Bhojsons building ever present though it does not look the same way I left it the last time. It got a paint job and it no longer bears the burden of carrying its name on its head, rather it wears it on its body like a tattoo. However it still stands tall, proudly unclad just staring at the expanse of land beneath it and so does the church which is in proximital radius and the post office which is about a mile away, and the shuttle buses, the ones going to the expressway and the one going to the island. The chatterings are still present, both the pronounced and indistinctive, this place has always been a hub.

20 years ago, the chattering was more, and louder. Development has come, infrastructural advancement, BRT lanes, Banks, restaurants but the same old feel of a market place is there. Market women here and there, traders all around the place. Countless wholesales counters and shop, this is indeed a depot of foodstuff. Practically, every food consumed in the Lagos metropolis must have passed through here, it is a traditional place with a traditional smell.

There goes a Yoruba proverb which says:
“Eni ti o le sebi alaaru loyingbo, ko le sebi adegboro loja oba”
This translates literally into
“If you cannot give haulage services manually at Oyingbo, then you cannot be in charge of being the sole foodstuff provider for the king”. Well, more like “Whoever is not ready to serve cannot become a boss”. This reaffirms its prestige, but the proverb basically means "NO PAIN NO GAIN"

Countless lives have crisscrossed at this juncture. People who have felt the pain People who have made the gain. Everybody gains after all, one way or the other. This place is a mirror of what the state is, the hustle and bustle of Lagos. Matter of fact, it mirrors the world itself, the world is marketplace.

I hail the heritage of this place. Oyingbo!


Grin

“The truth is bitter” is a popular phrase we know of, but nobody likes to hear it; the truth that is. It always sounds like a mortar shelling or bullet riddling. People also believe in the other sayings “Ignorance is bliss” and “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”. Apparently, neither the former nor the latter is true, Ignorance is not bliss and What you don’t know still hurts you, just that you don’t know how it hurts you.

What if I say a bottle of coke is equal to 20 cubes of sugar and its job is to get you closer to diabetes, but I think everybody knows this already.

What if I say the government; world government that is, is constantly looking for ways to hurt you.

Who runs the world? Definitely not the girls.

The Illuminati runs the world! I am not trying to scare you.

What if I say the Illuminati has nothing to do with the devil or religion or profanity and you are made to believe otherwise. The guys in the music industry are just making their money off this façade getting all the attention. From as little as your fast food and fluoride toothpaste to technology, money, market prices and oil, the illuminati controls everything.

40 years after the world war, the world population was balanced and was growing geometrically. They had to do something about it, don’t you think? Surely, the world was more peaceful then, they could not start another war. Poetically, the Odysseus of their time advised them, they took to the labs and prepared some pathogens perfect for population control. They dispatched the HIV first, then 30 years later, they dispatched Ebola, though they had announced both of them together. For what it’s worth, the “undead” virus may still be in their freezer, but I would not like to scare you further.

What if I say 9/11 was all planned by the host country themselves, I cannot give too much details on this.

What if I say for some reason unknown to me, since the dawn of civilization; the days of Alex the Great, every big gun has been trying to conquer Afghanistan as if to avert a prophecy of some sort. I would not know if the Afghans are good or bad but I know they have oil and the people fighting them are the people they do not sell oil to; USSR, Russia, U.S.A. But the Afghans are resilient, local enemies of Afghanistan used to say a prayer.

“May God deliver us from the venom of the cobra, the teeth of the tiger and the revenge of the Afghan”

Pablo Escobar and Muammar Gadhafi might have not been bad guys but victims of their individual causes just like Ojukwu.

What if I say the mainstream Nigerian music videos of today are more or less soft porn videos a pervert would easily masturbate to, just the lyrics are enough for the pleasure. Put me in a superior position and I’d ban them all and mandate the musicians to enrol for basic moral education. I’m sure you’ll do the same, but it could all be an attempt by the government to corrupt the next generation.

What if I say the whole subsidy issue, Farouk Lawan, Otedola, subsidy committee is a total film show and the ordinary people of Nigeria are their grateful audience.

What if I say that the girls were not abducted but instead relocated. It was more of a relaxed operation than a quick one. This is only my opinion, though they called it an act of terrorism, they say terrorism is a consequence of religion.

What if I say religion is more of a tool for propaganda than a tool for salvation. I am not supposed to be blasphemous, they say. So I should not say stuff like “The pope is gay” or “the forbidden tree is not a tree but actually sex”, but that’s none of my business.

I might appear to be spewing hatred, but it’s the truth and it’s food for the spirit.

What if you say I’m a blatant liar and I am just talking rubbish. If the shoe fits, I’ll wear it, but if it doesn’t. Then you have to swallow the truth, grin and bear it.


Sunday 1 June 2014

Hypocrisy

You perfected hypocrisy, never would tell a lie
Never would bite a back, never kissed and told
Never raised hell no matter the situation
How the hell did this happen, you fell
To the state of the world, the opium of society
Where being a saint is a liability
Where you are better off in the other party
Following the bandwagon, training with eragon
Darwinian Theory
Fund needed to fend, fend being the food
Much food being a fairytale
Fairytales can be funny, blatant euphoria
Penny wise, pound foolish
Not a single brass farthing
Life is not all bloomy and rosy
Its a radio not an mp3
You can't select your own playlist
This is not King Henry's castle
You can't eat your cake and have it
Don't try to be soundproof
You have to listen to this
Your inner sanctum
You now have a poker face
You don't have a tell
You are now Ice Cold
You laugh to unfunny jokes
You pretend to be happy
You anger is hanging by a thread
You must not be unleashed!




Sunday 27 April 2014

Sometimes in April

Sometimes in April
Coming off the ides, this is my best time of the year
The second quarter begins
The year is surely like a basketball game
This time of the year
A lot of things kick into full swing
Work, life, family
The economy gets scrutinized, there is a rebase
And we get deceived again
We are better off paying attention to other things
like nights getting shorter, the days getting longer
The solstice setting in
Some geography will do
Sometimes in April, it rains
Sometimes, it does not
While adults get busier and worked up
the primary school kids are on holidays
Wow! so great being a kid
I miss being a kid, perks of adulthood
And I used to wish to be an adult quickly
Sometimes in April, its my birthday
And a lot of my friends' birthdays
Ayoola, Kola, Lotanna, I could name a few
They are good guys
So much to celebrate then
Really not so much to celebrate now
other than being alive
Its just a day like every other day
Reality finally dawned on me, fair enough
The world now occurs to me in a different perspective
but I still keep my principles
White is White, Black is Black
Right is Right, Left is Left
Do your best, leave the rest
Play your part, every other thing will take care of itself
If the shoe fits, wear it
Believe in luck, make your own luck, don't be superstitious
I don't believe in zodiacs and horoscopes
I like the grouping and I will always represent my team
Aries, Taurus, Saints, Spurs, Blues...
Sometimes in April