Unsung Heroines in my neighbourhood Meme

Happy Women's day everyone!!

So my girlfriend asked members of a group on Facebook to talk about what they love about being a woman.

Here's my take. Please don't laugh :)

 
I am also thinking that we should continue this in a sort of Meme for international Women's day/month. You can tell us what you love about being a woman or 
about a woman whose life/doings/resilience/achievements inspire/inspired you. It can be someone famous, it can be the little lady in your neighbourhood, it can be your grandaunt in the village. Tell us what it is about them that touches you and please if you can, one of these days please tell them.

Can a Woman Propose to a Man? (A Male POV)

Myne’s post inspired this conversation earlier today. I thought it was funny, enlightening and share-able

Ginger: Can women propose to a man from Myne's blog post

Prof: yup

Ginger: my answer to that...

Prof: I read it

Ginger: Ha, Myne. no be me and you oo. If na Oyibo i fit. But African man MBA.

Fa fa fa foul!! I totally see where Deronks above is coming from and can envisage it.

Let the man do the chasing please. let it be all his idea. In this I will play the culture card. It is not our culture.
Same reason why i could never approve of getting pregnant before marriage.

Till our marriage is signed sealed and delivered I aint brooding no baby.

I don't want to be remembered for pushing a man.

I can hint, and I can give ultimatums like ‘guy if you dont get your act together

before this year runs out, I am walking away’ ala Craig David...

Prof: Hmmmm, Interesting answer

But I don't totally agree.

Every r/ship is peculiar and it depends

Ginger: Well, me no want peculiar

Prof: laughssssssssss

It all depends

Ginger: which nonsense peculiar

most times, the woman already sees a marriage before the man

and they scheme and they nag and thay ask all the

'where is this relationship going 'questions

Prof: :)

Ginger: what is the manly man waiting for?

Prof: It still depends on the two people involved

Ginger: ka agbanye ya ring na aka? (for her to put a ring on it?)

ha

Prof: U are straying from the topic

Ginger: I'm not

I am rehashing a typical relationship

Prof: It's possible that Man A is the type a certain Woman X will never propose to

but could propose to Man B cos of the kind of person she thinks he is

E.g. How she thinks he'd handle it

Ginger: and why should a woman still propose after all the green light she has shown?

Prof: What's a proposal anyway? "Will U marry me (on bended knees)?

Technically, yes

Ginger: She can stand straight don’t worry

Prof: But a babe can propose in so many other ways

Ginger: ok. agreed different relationships/diff peculiarities

Prof: It all depends

Ginger: etc

you should know your partner etc etc

There are few men shaa that are receptive to it

I have just told you that I will find it easier to do it to an Oyibo man

Prof: See ur life?

Ginger: even to toast an Oyibo man

Prof: Na colonial mentality go kill you :P

Ginger: yeaah. like it is acceptable there.

in Nigeria...it isnt

even if i come onto a Nigerian guy who understands, what of his friends, his family

Prof: That means he'd go spreading the news?

Ginger: its not the type of giggly story you are happy to share...oh Ginger proposed to me yesterday

Prof: Then he is not a man

Ginger: Dont we spread the news when a man proposes?

Prof: Laughsss

U are women

That's d difference

Ginger: in the spirit of equality and fairness should we hide it when a woman proposes?

Prof: Laughssssssssssssssssssssss!!!

Ginger, leave me o

Equality & fairness!

LOL!

Ginger: going to copy and paste this bit of the convo on Myne's page

ewu gambia

Prof: LOL!

Ginger: but really na

Prof: Approved

Go ahead

Zuworess

Ginger: So you have seen all those engagement/wedding websites, haven’t you?

Prof: Post everything not just the part where u seemed to be winning o

Ginger: When the question 'how did he propose?’ is asked

Prof: LOL

Ginger: should we hide the fact that ‘she’ proposed?

Prof: Forget the website and the whole Hollywood entrenched thinking

Ginger: ahh ahh

Prof: If dem no come get website nko?

Must they have a website?

Ginger: which one is hollywood entrenched?

Why shouldn’t they if they had always wanted to?

Prof: Hollywood entrenched=pop culture= website/Man proposes kneeling down etc etc. Did U not see the couple in Sex & The City? Each marriage/relationship is unique & two people involved should make their own rules as long as it fits them. They don't have to play for people to cheer. Just saying, not that I personally would want a woman to propose to me (and that is the crux of the matter)

Ginger: I agree, proposals don’t have to be something elaborate.

Prof: Just saying there's nothing wrong or UnAfrican abt it

Ginger: ok.

Ginger: In fact here goes. Prof will you marry me?

Prof: No, it doesn't have to

On chat?

LOL

Ginger: lol

Prof: Call me and say it

:P

Ginger: all na proposal na

Prof: LOL!

Post ds on your blog o

Ginger: if a man proposes to me online it is binding

Prof: Really?

Ginger: yes ke

even though i will yab him for the rest of our marital life

Prof: I'd have to chew that. Never thot of it b4. U might be right

Ginger: okay that’s a no then.

No probs

Prof: Afterall, we spend 70% of our lives these days online

Hey

wait

I was talking about eschewing the online mode not d proposal itself

YES!!!

The answer is yes

Ginger: Sorry

I've moved on

Prof: Laughssssssssssssssssssss

Zuwo!

Ginger: Ewu meeee

Prof: U just smashed my heart!

Ginger: akuko

Prof: Nonsense

Ginger: see, if you were in the spirit

you would have said yes before all that pre-meditation

Prof: Oh, I am not a spirit

:)

We should run the application again

Ginger: dream on, dream away…

Ginger: so why dont you want a woman to propose? And I have got other questions..

Prof: LOL!

Ginger: does he still get her a ring?

Ginger: who asks for whose hand in marriage with the parents? Who pays dowry?

Prof: Now, proposing in d 1st place by d woman was to find out sth

‘If d guy is ready to be with her for life’

Just like it serves that same purpose when the guy pops the question

In this case

Our man is a bit "unconventional" or shy or sth

Or maybe just waiting to be proposed to

U know d way babes wait

:P

So, the girl pops the question

Prof: He says yes

Ginger: okay.

Prof: and then he wakes up

Ginger: lol

Prof: or he smiles and says, "I thot U were never gonna ask"

Ginger: lolsssssssssssssss

Prof: "What too U so long, baby?"

Ginger: I'll just clonk his head

Prof: Laughsssssssssssssss

Ginger: anu mpam

Prof: LOL!!!

Ginger: he is waiting for all my eggs to die ee kwa?

Prof: LOL

So he now says, Ok we need to call your parents/go to d village

Thanks for bringing me to this point

for understanding me

in my own unique way

:P

Ginger: lol

speechless

Prof: and then everything continues as before

Ginger: I haven’t forgotten the first question though

Prof: Ring gets bought,

everything gets done the "conventional" way

Ginger: thanks for the enlightenment Prof

Ginger: Interestingly some real life proposals i read, played out just like you explained

Prof: A proposal= a question

Really?

LOL!

Ginger: Yep

Various stories of women proposing

and they said their men still proposed in their own time in the end

http://www.pricescope.com/forum/proposal-ideas/women-proposing-to-men-stories-t41619.html

Prof: U see?

Ginger: So maybe women proposing is just not taken as seriously by the man

maybe it hastens things a tad bit..but everything is still at his own timing

Prof: I’m back. Checked out the link. got engrossed. Wow!

Ginger: I know. Yay to the ladies.

Ginger: Here’s another interesting link http://apracticalwedding.com/2010/04/women-proposing-tomen/

Prof: I do agree with your last statement. It's sad isn't it, the way men get to dictate the pace of everything? 

Its Oscar night

So the Oscars are around again and as usual, I haven’t gotten round all the nominated movies yet. Tell me something new J

One thing I can say off my head though is…the offerings are pretty ordinary. I am yet to be wowed by a plot or cinematography.

I haven’t been inspired enough to cheer for the good fella - at least not like I cheered myself hoarse for Jake Sully & Neytiri in Avatar or The King’s Speech. None has made me doubt my smartness (or ability to understand convoluted stories) like Inception did, Thrilled me like Black swan, nor given me equal doses of sexy, family and comedy like ‘The kids are alright’.

‘Charming’ a word as fuzzy and inane like ‘nice’ is my favourite adjective to describe most of 2012’s offerings – ‘Hugo’, ‘Extremely close and incredibly loud’, ‘The Artist’, ‘The Descendants’, ‘Midnight in Paris’. I haven’t gotten round to Moneyballs maybe it will the balls (pun intended) so far lacking in the Oscar nominations.

Lastly I noticed that most of the movies paid tribute to the past in some way or the other, like producers/directors were told that the Oscar theme for 2012 was Nostalgia. Lol.

Okay let me give you a review of the nominations.

Nominees:

The Artist (2011):
I really really liked the Artist and hope it wins. The storyline is quite simple. A popular silent movie actor at the height of his career meets a young wannabe and falls in love. Unfortunately the days of silent movies were about to be over. Talk was in. and as her star rose, his fell. A fire, a rescue will love conquer all. What makes the Artist different was the throwback to them days of black and white movies and the use of no talk!!!
I didn’t believe how much we have been spoilt by color/HD/audio surround. I had to pay extra attention to that movie cause the colorlessness was doing me in. At a point I was craving like a drug addict wants his fix to hear their voices. To fit a voice to the characters. The score did help tremendously to set the mood.
Jean Dujardin totally deserves to win best actor too. Without talk he took us through the whole gamut of joy, pain, sadness, anger. And he didn’t have to over dramatise aka Nollywood. Side eye.
Oh and it’s high time animals begin to get an Oscar award too. Uggie won my heart!
The Descendants (2011):
The determinedly single George Clooney starred in this movie as a husband forced to deal with his dying wife’s affair. It dealt with the politics of a land sale (save the trees/save the planet) and showed us how absent fathers deal with their daughters – they don’t. they look to the elder to take care of the younger and continually look askance when the 8 yr old uses swear words. All in all it was a great movie for seeing adultery from a loving husband’s POV.
I got a bit emotional at the scene where the betrayed wife met the ‘home destroyer’. All in all a charming movie but I doubt if it will win best picture nomination. George Clooney is my next best choice for best Actor nomination
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): Scott Rudin
A charming movie with a most uncharming lead actor..pffft. I wanted to turn him over on my laps and give his ass a whooping so many times. I read a comment section on IMDB where a man who claims that two of his sons have Aspergers syndrome defended his ‘wonderful’ charm as normal.
Uhmm Ok. If you say so. What do I know….the nearest I’ve been to someone with Asperger’s was in the movie ‘My name is Khan’.
The plot – we are taken on an incredible search for the matching lock to a key in the possession of a 10yr old boy who recently lost his father in the WTC on 9/11. He is convinced that the key he found atop his father’s wardrobe will lead him to last message/gift/note from his Dad and maybe when he finds it he will be free of the sadness and guilt over his father’s death.
His roughshod treatment of those who loved him best – his family was quite difficult to watch. My most memorable scenes were with his psychologically-dumb granddad Max Von Sydow (I’m rooting for him for Best supporting Male Actor!!) and the final 15 minutes when the Mom(Sandra Bullock) makes that wonderful revelation. I’d wanted to hug her so many times. How does a widow deal with a son like that at a time when you need bonding the most??
The Help (2011):
I reviewed The help here. The performances were stellar and I hope Viola Davis wins Best Female actress. I was thrilled when the cast got the Globe award. Indeed, it was one movie where everyone did their bit and the synergy was truly greater than the individual person’s input. I can’t decide between Octavia and Jessica Chastain for supporting actress. Actually I can – Octavia it is.
Hugo (2011/II):

Hugo is the story about an orphan boy who lived by stealth in a train station in Paris. He had inherited a passion for fixing mechanical things especially an automaton (robot)..a job both of them started before the father died. Hugo desperately believed that there was a message for him from the automaton from his father but he can only get the message when the automaton is fixed.

Despite hindrances like a one-legged station guard and a grumpy toy fixer, with the help of Chloe (the toy fixers granddaughter), he found the message he sought.

This movie received a lot of critic acclaim…mostly cause of its award winning director Martin Scorcese (imho). I watched it cause of my favourite young actress Chloe Moretz (Hit girl) I am thankful they haven’t pigeon holed her in any genre. Asa Butterfield the lead was ‘ahem’ suitably winsome and blue eyed. Did you notice the too much camera focus on his eyes pfft.

The story was cutesy enough and my best scenes were the horrifying dream he had, and the romantic goings on of the people who worked in the train station. I also enjoyed the brief history on film making we received. Was it really true that the first movie produced was the video of a train moving across the cinema screen? And here we are in 2012 watching movies like Unstoppable, Transformers CGI etc without blinking an eyelid.

Having said that, I can understand why it got an Oscar nod even if it might not win....it was an ode to film making. It reminds us again to appreciate those who were/are dedicated to the industry and made it grow. They were there not just for the money but cause they wish to be remembered for 'truly entertaining' their audience. bringing some magic into their dull lives………..and you know the old fuddy duddies who vote will appreciate it.

Best cinematography and directing maybe..

Midnight in Paris (2011):

Midnight in Paris started with an assault on my ears and eyes – a idyllic score and 10 mins of a slide show of Paris. Then there was Owen Wilson the lead actor talking like he had pebbles under his tongue ala Woody Allen (Imitation is the best form of flattery they say), annoying! Also Woody Allen’s aptitude for verbose dialogues made it easy for me to listen to this movie while I did other work. Lol.

A successful Hollywood movie writer turned struggling novel writer travels with his fiancée Inez (can we push that spoilt lil’ bitch into the Seine pls) and in-laws to Paris to seek inspiration for his new book. Gil falls in love with Paris in the ‘20s (he sorta of time travelled) – the literati of the 20s – Matisse, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald, Hemmingway and especially ….. a lady from the 20s, only to find out that she longs for the 17^th century cos she thought they were more romantic. Game set match.

Owen finally realizes that indulging in the past makes you unavailable for the present – lesson for everybody!! Let nostalgia be for table conversations and blog posts. Heck I can’t imagine a word without 3D Films, the internet, smartphones, ultrasonographs, flat-screens and social media. Imagine if there was twitter then he could have taken pictures on his phone uploaded it and tweeted ‘having a chat with Hemmingway and Stein woot woot’.

I half-wished I was clever and bourgeois enough to understand the inside jokes about the great men and women of the 20s who made cameo appearances – Matisse, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway. Ah well. Maybe in 50yrs when they make a parody of George Bush, Kim Kardashian, I’ll be explaining the inside jokes to my granddaughter.

I think this movie got a lot of hype because of its producer/director Woody Allen. Yes I admire his diligence but I don’t normally seek out his movies to watch. Midnight in Paris scored a 7.8/10 on Imdb. Really? I struggled to give it a 5.5/10.

Moneyball, The Tree of Life,  War Horse - Yet to watch

I've been Google Plused :/

One of the times I wish i had a Twitter account so i can rant in short sentences. 

1. Why is Google forcing us to use Google+. Google friend Connect for blogging and Facebook were perfectly alright for me..till blogging starts paying I can't afford to spend more time on social media than I do right now.

2. I don't get the circles thing joo. Well I do sort of (I understand sets and subsets from those Maths days). Some people are strictly friends, some can be friends and following, Some friend and family, Some friend, following and family. Just that its tiresome. Feel like making friends all over again.
Google+ can never become another Facebook or Twitter. Yeah I said it and I am ready to swallow my words with a glass of bitter lemon if it does.

3. Google+ interface is weird or should i say not attractive or maybe Zuckerberg has got us all Faceblued. Google you can't afford to be slow with your changes like you are on Blogger. See, it took you almost 3 yrs to introduce threaded comments. Enough said.

Notwithstanding, I still love Google. Imagine if we all had to pay for the awesome services they give for free. Eg. Gmail -  I use Outlook on my laptop and with Gmail which pulls mail (sort of what a blackberry does) so i can work on my mail online or offline. Yahoo requires you to subscribe and pay for that service.

Google docs - I used the free Survey software to do my thesis. Thankfully a friend recommended it before i spent 28 pounds for the same service on Survey Monkey. Moreover they offer you some large gigabyte of space to store your documents..all for free.

Picasa - Stores all my pics 
Blogger - Blogger just keeps getting better and better. True. They really listen 

So here I am saying Thank you Google. You are the Pied piper, I am the mouse. where you go, I follow :)


Meanwhile Where are you all? Can you write your handle on Google+ so I can follow or befriend, or familia-rise, whatever you want.

Update it seems it's not yet compulsory to use Google + but i heard the Google connect thingy is closing and when i clicked on someone's blogger profile it took me straight to Google+. I have since realised hers was a random case but yeah I am on Google plus now anyways.

Fame and other drugs

Girl meets Boy. They fall in love. They get married.

All is hunky dory at the beginning.

Then Boy’s career nose dives

As Girl’s career soars

Girl is generous with her love and fame

Boy is generous with his smack and crack

She used to say ‘no’

But familiarity breeds temptation

And her demons – career, sexuality, media, marriage demanded a sacrifice

She succumbs.

Begins to enjoy the false calm

One day she wakes up to realize she can’t live without it –

Hello Drug addiction.

Defined as, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite the known harmful effects upon functioning in the context of family, health, school, work, and recreational activities.  

 I’d been meaning to write a post about addiction and there’s no better time than now as we mourn the loss of my all time favorite female singer Whitney Houston. I can just picture those lips quaver as they open wide to belt out a tune.

Michael and Whitney are the only singers I have even gone on my knees to pray for. They were the icons of my childhood. When I listen to X factor hopefuls that is the only criterion I judge them with…can I recognize that voice from a thousand others? Are you a Whitney/Mariah/Michael? Sigh. 

I kept hoping she’d rise from the ashes of addiction. I kept waiting for that comeback hit. I truly believed she could do it.

My opinion resonates with many about the cause of death – A bad Brown decision made in 1997. But then there are those who insist that we should stop blaming Bobby. That she always had a choice, after all they’ve been divorced since 2007.

Well, they are equally right – I don’t blame Bobby Brown really. He is who he is. It was the choice she made to love him and loose herself that breaks my heart.

Doug Sellman of the National Addiction Center (US) says that the most important thing to know about addiction may be that addiction is "fundamentally about compulsive behavior". Secondly, such habits originate outside of consciousness. The compulsive sequence of behaviors are so practiced that they can be extremely difficult to avoid initiating, and even harder to interrupt.

I think that makes a lot of sense. It explains why relapses occur. You see, going cold-turkey might rid the body system of the drugs and eliminate physical dependence but the compulsive behavior, basic instincts are harder to kill. 

We don’t really talk much about substance abuse in Nigeria yet it is so pervasive (as usual we pretend it doesn’t happen; just like we think 14yr olds are not sexually active). A public health issue that’s silently destroying youth and homes. Marijuana is the drug of choice and though it is illegal to possess it in Nigeria, I can wager that 60% of our law enforcement officers (police) ON DUTY will not pass a urine test ..just saying.

“Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.² As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Think of the irrational shootings carried out by police - Are those actions of a ‘normal’ functioning person?

Area boys? - most of the petty thieving and  violence going on is just to fund their drug use.

The rich ones are not left out. Bright futures that have been buried in the ashes of Igbo/marijuana/dope.  I know friends who are battling sibling-drug addiction in their families. A friend said jewelry and electronics are not safe in her house anymore..cause if her brother is broke and in need of a fix, better be sure he is going to steal and sell whatever he can lay his hands on.

Back in the , of Ibro, a friend at University who came from a wealthy home. He used to be this sharp dresser, fine dude. By his final year, he was a shadow of himself. Ibro walked around campus with uncombed hair, flip flops and wrinkled shirts. From this gentle smooth talker he became loud and confrontational. I don’t know what happened to him case our paths diverged at this point. He frightened me. I’m not sure he graduated.

Drug addiction also hits uncomfortably close to home. I have close kin battling with addiction. This made me a bit too familiar with marijuana. I could easily identify the sweet/sour smell of marijuana from a mix of smells by the time I was 14. It used to shock male friends, they prolly thought I was doping. Lol. Nah, I could never be tempted. I have seen firsthand the havoc it causes.

 I remember finding out that an ex bf smoked cannabis. I came across a drawer filled with the dry leaves in his apartment!!! Not funny.

However, he argued that “he’s been smoking marijuana for relaxation since he was 14 and was not dependent on it. If it was that bad, he wouldn’t have graduated first class nor hold an executive position in a top notch firm’.

Me: Ha..and you have a drawer-full of leaves to ensure you don’t ever run out at midnight. Dependence pls!!

By the time we broke up I could even tell when he was under influence from the way he professed love to me. smh

He quit his job over 7 years ago and has been sorta-loafing about since then as self employed. I’m not knocking his independence I am just convinced that his ‘failure to launch’ is tied to drugs. Cos yeah, he smokes full time now.

Interestingly cannabis isn’t as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Only 9% of users become addicted but this number increases to 17% for those who start young and up to 50% among daily users.

Adverse effects: A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.

If you’ve ever seen drug abuse up close and personal, watched movies like Sugarhouse, Trainspotting, Blow, or celebrities – Elvis, Marilyn, Dorothy Dandridge, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan then you’d applaud countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia’s for their death penalty rule for drug traffickers.

The difference between the murderer with a gun and the one who lures the innocent into drug taking is aesthetics. A Gunshot is instant and leaves a bloody mess while Drugs have a long term collateral damage.

Addiction isn’t incurable, but the addict can’t do it by himself. God, unwavering family support, empathy but not tolerance, resilient good health, change of environment and the addict’s resolve are integral to the long long journey to recovery.

Adieu Whitney and thank you for the greatest love songs!

Do you think drug use can actually be managed like ?

Love makes the world a better place

Hey people. Getting your love groove on huh? To all the loved up bloggers hmmm...may you be loved and cherished in return.

For my single folks...Jesus loves you so does Ginger. now pass it forward :p

Sharing with you one of my favorite musical videos from 'Freshly ground' a South Afrikan group. I love their use of colour as a metaphor for differences.

Anyways, have a love-filled day. 

Sigh. Going to have a Val-ala-phone day :(

Pee-pee drama

A friend of mine constantly moans about her 7 month old son’s package. I am always in giggles whenever she is changing his diapers or giving him a birth, cause she seizes the poor appendage and cries ‘Lord, how do you want this boy to impregnate his wife in future? I want grandchildren oo.

Then she later conciliates with ‘ Size doesn’t matter my boy. Don’t you fret’ like the boy knows there’s  a problem. In fact while she is going on and on, he is fondling his pinch of a penis and gurgling happily (why do little baby boys like playing with their pee pee?)

Anyways I thought she exaggerated (what do I know?!). But after the last weekend, I am worried too.

In case you are wondering, that blue thingy is a pee-pee teepee -
supposed to save mommy/daddy from getting peed on during diaper changes..smh

A friend and his 4 yr old son came visiting while I was bathing baby boy (mom was out and I love getting my hands on him any chance I get). Lil Johnny came to my side and watched as I massaged in Vaseline lotion on his trunk. He looked and looked, then with a puzzled frown asked ‘Aunty what is that? Pointing to my adopted son’s package!

Ehh how do you answer to this?! I didn’t want to say ‘penis’ cause I wasn’t sure what ‘politically correct’ nonbiological word the parents have taught him. Nor did I want to introduce him to a new word and spend the next 30 minutes answering curious penial questions.

So I threw back the answer at him ‘Come on Johnny. Baby is a boy. Isnt your own the same? He said, “No, it doesn’t look like mine, mine is bigger and longer”.

I burst into laughter.  

Nonsense!

Enemies!

I retold the conversation to Lil pee wee’s mom. Poor gal. Now she is even more worried. 

Who knows if penile elongation creams work? It should be more effective when the male is young shouldn’t it? Lol!

So just wondering..do you moms/dads out there worry about your son’s package/peepee?

What are the politically correct names for little boy’s penis?

Lastly, why do we need politically correct terms when a perfectly respectable biological term 'penis' exists?

Dream Interpreter needed

I didn’t realise how recent news from Nigeria had eaten into my psyche till I had two vividly graphic and violent dreams two consecutive nights last week.

When you think of a creek/fishing community..what scenery comes to mind? Lush Green vegetation, fish, fresh water reflecting the trees, fishing vessels, hamlets and small time fish industries right?

That’s not what you find in Bodo creek, Ogoniland.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, I came across a video review by Amnesty International about Bodo creek, Bayelsa since the 2008 Oil Spill by SHELL.

Photograph courtesy George Esiri/EPA/Commondreams.org

Shell’s spill has turned Bodo into a black and desolate wasteland and as usual the stakeholders (ward heads, local government councilors, governor, senators except the community directly involved) look away and pretend it isn’t their business. Where is Atedo Peterside who is lauding the good-work of their son - our President? I am sure the Bodo community share his joy in their elected son who has refused to put pressure on Shell to clear up their mess and compensate the 69,000 people who have lost their livelihood, water source and food. BP oil spill (5 million gallons) was cleaned up in months but in Bodo Creek, 4 years after nothing has been done.

Moreover it seems there is a new spill now. This report says that between December 20th and 21^st 2011, oil spewed from a ruptured fuel line connecting the Bonga platform to a waiting tanker. Before workers noticed the spill (how irresponsible), Shell said that up to 40,000 barrels (1.68 million gallons) had leaked, reportedly making it the worst offshore accident in Nigeria since 1988.

Can you calculate the crude oil waste and the ecological damage? Read more here and here. This is the video where Saraki threatens to use the Senate might to see that Shell cleans up. Yes he sounds very serious, I can see Shell quaking in their boots. Another wait and see?

                                                                                                                                                                                          

On to the dreams...

Wednesday:

I was an onlooker watching two fishermen vie for speed supremacy on the creek waters. A sort of creek rage (akin to road rage) led to one of them ramming into the other and damaging the boat’s body. Then entered some militant looking men, who wade across to the victorious boat and drag the boatman out. The gorge out his arm using a knife, scooped the oily black water and poured it into the bloody hole. Graphic much! Then I woke up.

Thursday:

I was in some camp (which looked exactly like my dormitory in secondary school) when we came under attack from Boko Haram (the terrorist group throwing bombs in Nigeria). They hadn’t entered the dorm yet. My mom was in the next room asking everyone to come together and pray our last prayers that our deaths will be quick. I told her that I refuse to give up my life so easily. My bff and I considered going across to ask an elderly man occupying the room across the courtyard to pretend we were his wives but I said it would be dangerous for my fair friend who didn’t look Hausa. Then we decided to take our fate into our hands and fight. All of a sudden machine guns materialized n our laps.

I woke up so pepped with energy cause in my dreams we were making mincemeat of the terrorists Rambo styleeee…lol. Alas it was all a dream.

Occupy Nigeria: we're not done yet

I followed the unfolding events of the fuel subsidy strike this past 10 days mostly on TV. I watched aghast as a protester was manhandled then shot in front of other protesters in broad daylight (RIP). I listened to pro subsidy debates on the government sponsored media NTA and I wondered if the debaters were aliens from some neighbouring WA country.

I saw my respected friends doctors, bankers, take off their suits, don Tee shirts and walk on the streets protesting our corrupt government, Nigerians became mathematicians again challenging GEJ’s fuel prices/subsidy calculations in a manner which would have impressed Chike Obi,  I saw courage which I thought had almost died, I heard young promising youth tell the nation that they were willing to die. I watched protesters cry, moan, pray, dance, laugh in unity for the first time in a long while. And it was beautiful.

Nigerians are finally waking up.

I was hopeful that we would get ‘satisfactory results’. Then NLC happened and the rug was swept from under our feet.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress said they acted to save lives, after receiving information that the security forces had been ordered to use all means to end protests.

Really? They got a reduction to N97 per litre and a pat on the back and they sold the future of 160m Nigerians. I’m pained.

The unions also told journalists in Nigeria's capital Abuja that they applauded the government's recent promise to EXPLORE CORRUPTION in the country's oil sector. They described the six-day strike as "a success".

"We are sure that no government or institution will take Nigerians for granted again," said Abdulwaheed Omar, the NLC president.

Rightfully said but with all due respect Mr. Omar, you missed the point. ‘Explore corruption’ is the government’s polite euphemism for "Shut up retard" and you did….shut up I mean.

Occupy Nigeria is not just about the fuel hike as President Goodluck would like to believe. It is about lying thieving politicians blatantly stealing Nigeria blind.

Occupy Nigeria was not inspired by the rallying call of NLC but by young Nigerians who were fed up of same old, same old. Nigerians who would normally wait out a strike watching movies in the comfort of their homes. The NLC had the crème of workers and youth ON THE STREETS for the first time. Don’t the understand what power they had? How can they blow such an opportunity?!

But it’s not over.

Seeing Gbenga Sesan, Omohyele Sowore of Sahara reporters interviewed on Al Jazeera etc has shown me that in this social media age, where governments try to control news emerging from their Countries, media houses in search of truth now  seek for credibility from bloggers and activists. Our senators salaries, GEJ’s home maintenance budget would probably never have seen the light of day in our dailies if bloggers/twitter users hadn’t made it trend. That information was the tipping point for many who joined the protest. (And of course the new reality of sweating in a ride through Lagos traffic - Sorry @tilola - because car air conditioning is now a luxury).

In this year 2012, we owe it to ourselves and our children to make Nigeria the country we want it to be. Yes, our blogs are personal spaces themed on fun things like fashion, food, relationships etc. but I think it is high time we see our blogs to be much much more. For the sake of Nigeria, let us be more concerned about what goes on in our country. Let us not be scared of making our collective voices heard.

A shoutout to Adura Ojo of Naijalines for her rallying call to Nigerian bloggers during the protest. And to Prism who kept up with almost daily updates.

I applaud all those who stepped out of their blog comfort zones to blog about Nigeria and engage on other social media sites but most especially to those who walked the talk.

Protests may have been silenced for now but it is not over yet. I leave you with Fela Durotoye’s words “The dream of a New Nigeria as a most desirable society remains firm in our hearts. We are stronger than this. We will not be broken. We are the New Nigeria and we will not stop until we Deliver the Future.  

Protests: What was done well and what could have been done better?