RIGHT TO VICE

I have a colleague who indulges in a very serious health threatening vice, that's not the gist, the fact that he makes the vice seem like it's a right others must accord him is what gets to me. He says stuffs like "you know I must have my one hour of me time to indulge" and he expects it to be scheduled into his daily activities on a time that is not his, a time the employer has already paid for... He isn't the first person I've seen with this attitude, I've heard some folks talking about it being mandatory for everyone to have a vice and if perhaps you really don't have or would rather not divulge, they make it seem like a misnomer. I guess this quote we have come to accept is partly to be blamed "na something must kill man" so people now use their hands to look for "their poison" and what will kill them because apparently that way they have control. It's an extremely warped thinking process. Whatever happened to the natural instinct to survive and thrive? Or is it that people have just become too complacent and lazy to be themselves, I mean being an individual requires thought and awareness but just following the crowd, chanting, miming, mimicking, copying is way easier. Why else would you allow yourself to be browbeaten and bullied into doing things that are hazardous to your health,your faith, your beliefs just cause someone else who knows he's going down but doesn't want to go alone is trying to pull you down to his level, oh they know they're wrong but don't want to face the truth so they come up with attack as the best defense and all kinds of slogans and rights just to force it down your throat and they don't want to hear you don't like it because of course that will be termed a 'hate speech' which begs the question "if you have a right to be, do or like certain things, why shouldn't I also have the right not to like those things and you?" Or are rights meant for only you?

TWO FOR ONE

My friend said something in passing recently that is so poignant. Now he's so handsome almost to the point of beautiful and well built too( e dey enter iim head sometimes)Very annoying really. Anyway, at a point he was downright broke; a dude offered him a mouth watering deal, not just cash but his dream car and other incentives for just one time of sleeping with him. The one time was trial to see if he would like it. It was so tempting that even as he walked away on lead feet he was having a raging argument with himself and his other slay self was winning because it told him that "after all you know you're not that way but it's only once and no one will know it's really not a big deal. you can even relocate and be balling elsewhere and no one will ever be smarter" As a matter of fact any slight push from his would be lover would have sealed the deal but there was that other tiny voice of his other saner self that asked him " If it's not a big deal, why is he willing to pay so much and give you all those things for it?" A lot of folks don't know what they have because the true value of worth is not understood and that's why like little children you'll trade your one dirty one thousand naira note for two clean spanking brand new five naira notes.

"OUR BROTHER"

First semester of my second year in the university we had a class presentation and the topic was Politics and development. I had the privilege of speaking for my group. I used our school as a test case since it represented a microcosm of the larger society we were talking about. One of the things I told my class then was that when I arrived at the school the previous year, the road to the school was in a sorry state, but in the weeks leading up to our matriculation, red sand was poured on the road and it was "worked" enough to let our visitors' vehicles access the school, it was not tarred. After matriculation the work stopped. The company that had the contract to do the road belonged to a patron of our school who also happened to be an indigene of the village where our school was situated. Now, every year his contract is renewed in billions of Naira, he pours sand on the road then comes to school during matriculation and donates a million naira and we clap for him and fall over ourselves to praise such a nice generous saint of a man. The next year in which I was making this my presentation, the same thing that had occurred the previous year was repeated since it was close to matriculation time. I assured my classmates that it was almost certain the road won't be finished this time too at which my lecturer interrupted me and said I shouldn't make such predictions as his old rickety car could nottake any more beating.I told them that if the contract had been awarded to a non indigene or God forbid a person from another region, we would have been screaming our heads off that we are being marginalized, but, here was "our own brother" robbing us blind in broad daylight and yet,like bewitched sentimental fools, we were singing his praises to the heavens. Sentiments have been dependable failproof tool in the hands of politicians for all time. They whip it up anytime things don't go their way or anytime it suits them especially when they're bored just like In the movie -The Prince of Egypt- Pharoah said to Rameses his young son, "as a king, anytime you're bored start a war" That's what our politicians do. I ended by telling my class that I did not see any development coming to our school and that environment soon with the kind of sentimental politics we were practicing. A politics that turned a blind eye to evil, inefficiency, ineptitude, lack of standard and due process all because the culprit is "my brother". I visited my school penultimate year to get my transcript and there was no road to get there, we had to pass through bushes and people's backyard. Oh, by the way the contract of the road of course still belonged to " Our brother"

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF AFRICA'S BIGGEST STREET PARTY : CALABAR CARNIVAL

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF CALABAR CARNIVAL

The essence and feel of the carnival needs to be experienced at least once by everyone.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF CALABAR CARNIVAL 2

CALABAR CARNIVAL :CLIMATE CHANGE.

The calabar carnival festival is here. Climate change is this year's theme. Calabar carnival is Africa's biggest street party. That somehow sounds decadent and frivolous doesn't it? But, the carnival is a lot of things rolled into one. It's an opportunity for people to relax, de-stress(I think that should be a word), learn about culture: dances, songs, art etc. It's an avenue for entrepreneurs to make that clean out sales they've longed for for the whole year because Christmas holiday comes with shopping and shopping is done well in a relaxed, music in the background, happy people everywhere, all kinds of foods and drinks environment like the Christmas village. Business is usually good as a trader who came from Lagos told me yesterday. The Christmas village is kind of like trade fair. It used to be at the cultural centre but a new place was built for it at Calabar Municipality. Here you find anything and everything all in one space, from exotic dishes down to artwork, games, joyrides down to the weirdest boutique and of course, there are also those one of a kind products, services and deals that you can only find at the Christmas village. My only disappointment is why any of the banks have not thought it wise to put an ATM there. I mean where there is holiday shopping, people are bound to spend more than they have and will always need extra cash. There are so many diverse activities lined up for the 31days of the carnival that one can be accused of having too much fun. From food festival, sports festivals, talent shows, beauty pageant, cultural parades, festival of carols, free A list shows: Shows that on a normal day will attract tables of N10 million and the likes are absolutely free. Imagine going to a show where the legend himself Tubaba( Tuface idibia), P square etc are performing live and it's all absolutely free. That is Calabar carnival. And the city of Calabar itself omg! Beautiful just beautiful. The people welcoming and gracious hosts. There's still a lot to be done though. I daresay that when Donald Duke as governor of Cross River state in 2004 started the carnival he had taller dreams than these. The speed of development of the dream of making Calabar The tourist attraction of Africa has kind of slowed. Nonetheless; I am glad that at least subsequent government have been able to look past their own immediate politics to see the bigger picture.