As We Enter 2011

here are the top ten things I still like to keep in mind because year in year out,

they never change.

1.

The best things in life are still free

2.

No one else holds the key to ur destiny. It is only you, and God.

3. 

Full responsiblity for ur actions doesnt just mean, I know i did it, iM SORRY. It is also,

I did it, what can I do to make it better?

4.

Nothing in this world is given. We have to work at everything.

5.

Popularity is not a substitute for respect.

6. 

Success is not an accident. You only get where u wholeheartedly believe you can.

7.

Every failure is a lesson. That maybe you didnt work hard enough, or believe enough, or sacrifice enough. Or that maybe, it was just not meant to be.

8.

That everyone you meet has a role to play in ur life. Looking down on anyone is not an option.

9. 

Success is more than money, or grades, or popularity. That success is peace of mind. The assurance that

no matter what happens

Life is good. 

10.

Nothing can be done without God. He remains the Alpha, and Omega. 

Sometimes, I let go of these things, and lose focus. But always, I am brought back to them. As I am now.  

Happy 2011 everyone. 

Lost Angels: 5 years of Broken Dreams.

I tried to do a real post yesterday but I couldnt manage it. Too much emotion..I had to do a dedication instead. Truth is, all the posts and articles I have read have been emotionally charged. Real loss and grief never truly goes away. It just lies under the surface waiting to be unearthed, and every year we are forced to relive the gruesome and needless death of those 60 young men and women.
They were sons, daughters, friends, brothers and sisters. I can remember calling Kechi's mom over and over again, during those agonizing moments when we did not know whether she had made it out or not. Few minutes before, a friend Amarachi had called me, sobbing as she asked me to 'pleease, pray for Kechi'. That was how I tuned into TV to watch the most heartbreaking tragedy I have ever witnessed. What I saw then wasnt angels dying. I saw friends. Zikora and Chidinma Okafor had been on that flight. Their dad was a good man, and they had been our neighbours for a long time. He had lived for them. They had been his pride. But they were gone. Forever.
More than the pride of their parents, they had been our friends. We had gone off to boarding school at relatively the same time, and even though we kinda becamse quasi-strangers, due to the fact they only came back one a year, our families had known each other too well. The shadow of their loss hung around for a long time. It hasnt fully gone away. Im not sure it ever will.
Ifeanyi Ubah had been a little whizkid. Energetic, fun and yet decidedly studious. He was far brighter than his brother Chibueze, who is my close friend. And if u know Chibueze, then that is saying a lot. He had big dreams and that spark of genius. But he was also just a fun kid. I wonder what he wouldve been now. But one can only wonder..we can never really know. We were talking about it yesterday and someone suggested a seance. Maybe we will do that. Maybe it will help us know.
The only silver lining in my experience with this tragedy has been Kechi. From childhood we had been close. We fought over puss in boots storybook in the back row of Primary 5 room 211. We went to kiddies xmas stuffs every december, and she kept going even till 2003, long after all our mates had stopped. She just had the gentle, upbeat, childlike personality. And she was extremely bright. So when Amarachi called me on Dec 10th 2005, asking me to pray for Kechi, I prayed with everything in me. And it seemed even God was not ready for her to leave. She made it through the crash, 7 long months of coma, during which her mom stayed at her side, and we stayed on the phone; years of several skin grafting procedures, in S.A. then in Texas. And whenever I think about her, this tragedy leaves a little room on my face for a smile. Becuase she is alive, well, and on her way to those dreams we dreamt as kids.
The rest of those kids had dreams too. That will never materialize. And knowing Nigeria, Im left to wonder, will they be remembered? Will their death have been in vain, forgotten under the daily tragedy that defines life in Nigeria? Or will we someday see a society where trageides like this are less likely to happen??
I believe the future will tell. Que serai, serai. But we have a part to play. 60 dreamz to live.

#LJC60

This is not the day 

for Eulogies.

Today in 2005

Sixty angels took flight

And I prayed vehemently for Kechi's life.

Five years on

It still seems like yesterday

Kechi lives, but the scars remain, 

few on her body

But many more on her mind.

And while we all remember, some remember more than most.

And in all honestly

None of us will ever really forget. 

We Still Far Behind....

Despite all the advances Africa has been making to make people understand that we are not just about the negative media portrayal, sometimes, there is a real reason for alarm. ish like this shouldnt have a place in 2010



Africa needs to wake up mehn and stop compounding issues. I mean, its bad enough that the whole world prefers light skinned girls, should we now throw away one of the things going for us (i.e. proud full breasts that give a brother standing ovation) joor oh

Homophobia-Make the Change

If you know me, then you know I used to be a homophobe. I knew a couple of queer people in boarding school and being at a stage when we usually ganged up, or walked in groups, it was relatively easy to absorb prejudices against gay people. and against
As I grew as a person though, and matured into thinking for myself, I started evaluating these attitudes I had, to understand why I held them. Why didnt I like to be around gays, even though I had nothing against them? And I found out...nothing.
There was no reason whatsoever.

The prejudice i had against them was just that: a prejudice. Does the bible condemn it? Maybe, maybe not. Did scripture condemn adultery, yea. Did Christ condemn the adulterous woman? No. Do we today condemn adulterous people? Nope. Judge them, maybe. And while I cannot claim to understand them, gay people, are first and foremost, people. Not a subset, like society wants us to believe. There is no such thing as a subset of people. We are all fallen, reaching back to the vision of perfection : gay, straight, trans, all races, all classes, all religions.
If we want to criticise people on moral grounds, be equally moral for all gender expressions and sexual orientations. This is one area where Africa, is unfortunately, still too clingy towards its past. People justify their bias by saying , homosexuality is not in our culture. Well it is now! C'mon son! Neither was cinema, clubbing, facebook, flying in planes, Christianity, Islam, democratic politics and gin and juice but they're all part of it now. So will you be the wife of Lot that will stare back at visions lost? or will you welcome a new African culture, a blend of the past, present and near future?  All Im saying is, times have changed. Arent you all the ones going on about change? If Greece had held on to 'culture and tradition' they would have died as city-states. If America held on to tradition, black people would still be slaves. Our modern age would never have arisen gaddamit! We cannot hold on to a culture that glorifies dehumanisation, or continue to live in denial of the reality of our times. There are parts of our culture that deserve being held on to, our arts, our history, our language, our dress, our sense of worth and value and work ethic, our spirit of tolerance. People are all too quick to sweep these under the carpet, but when it comes to homosexuality, we suddenly become African ambassadors. Never mind the fact that some of these people have done more to keep and promote African culture than we have.

I guess all Im saying is, we need to join the rest of the world in the new age. Lets bring our African flair into it, and let us not, in the new global culture be known as the continent of homophobes. Let people see the hospitality, tolerance and communal bond we are known for. Change is inevitable. Maybe we were a dogmatic society in the past. But new information and new realities demand a new orientation.Instead of finding justification to hate in your religion, find justification to love.  Thats what humans are about. Now its your turn. Make the change. For love's sake.

Why This Boy Disgrace Fela Like This??

I mean did you see that?!! I cant even say nothing. In between fits of laughter, I managed to be annoyed at this as well. And the other judge guy took it really personal. "This is obscenity!" (someone want to bet hes ghey, lol i kid! i kid!)
 And the fat judge was just like "now thats having fun" over and over again. Ask me, he didnt know what else to say. Some things just freeze ur brain in autopse.
This naked boy got the dress down he deserved finally! I mean, he had the nerve, the neeerrrrrrve, to even  remotely link Fela to his psycho-display. Extreme hand-fallage. He should have just said he was doing a traditional costume display and pretend not to speak English like these guys:



. That would at least give him an excuse to get away with whatever he does. I mean see how they said yes to these folks. Tell me he didnt do far better. You see, its all about the packaging. Go take lessons, my friend. Stop insulting the greats like Fela. Its not cool.

Haikus At Nite

Hearts dont, when they break

break even

-Jagged edges

Uneven, the piece

of heart break

cuts and bleeds

Broken piece of heart

cuts deeply

to bleed sweet peace

Tears, blood and peace

melt evenly

to glue broken hearts.

The Top Ijebu Idiosyncracies -- #Ijebuism

DISCLAIMER: the views present here make a hefty generalisation and in no way constitutes a prejudice against people of Ijebu descent :D It is a spin off of a tt and so majority of them are other people's views. If u find it offensive, you can like to go somewhere else. Its strictly for laffs. 

So apparently, Ijebu people (in case you dont know, Ijebu is a community close to Lagos state) have a reputation of being miserly. Now, I dont know how true that is, seeing that am an Ibo boy. But stereotypes rule the world so people shaa went in on the trending topic #ijebuism to give expressions to the most beautiful mizer attitudes people display. Im only going to pick my top twenty funniest.
So here they are, in no particular order...the things #Ijebuism causes are:

1. Getting high on cough syrup. (weed is not just as cheap as it used to be abi?)
  
2. Building your house with one window facing the neighbours living room so you can watch TV from there.

3. Mixing Tony Montana deodorant with water to use as deodorant.

4. Writing your name as 'Homorlorlah' and when you pronounce it , you still pronounce it as 'homorlorlah' (okay, that wasnt miserly but apparently ijebu people are the kings of h-factor) so ijebu people like to hEAT hEBA!

5. Going alone on your honeymoon because a trip for two is too expensive (chei, iDead)

6. Chewing agbalumo skin until it changes to chewing gum.

7. Pouring water inside beaten egg before frying. (also applies to dusting the sugar off your doughnut so you can use it to soak garri later)

8. Cutting agege bread into a U shape so it looks like a croissant

9. Washing sanitary pad so you can use it again (wince!). and before yu guys walk away self righteously, some of yall do the same with condoms =)

10. Bathing with your clothes on so u can wash them at the same time.

11. Having a Polo shirt where the horse is holding the stick and chasing the guy.

12. Using one beat for all the tracks in your album. (What do you say 9ice?) or rapping into the spinning fan so it will sound like autotune :D

13. As you outgrow them,u cut ur trousers into 3 quaters, then shorts, then booty shorts, then pants. (why u no make am g-string too?) HABA!!

14. Pouring Zobo into a Nuvo bottle. (if you dont know what nuvo is you need to #slapYourself

15. Uve graduated but you still hold ur UniLag card just to watch movie for cheap (I totally know someone who did this, but I shaa no go talk)

16. Pricing school fees.

17. Lapping ur babe at the cinema

18. Asking people to remain the liquid for you when they're taking cereal so u wont have to buy milk.

19. Using aluminium plate for TV antennae.. (I kid you not, this happens)

20. Having two TVs on top of each other becos one shows pictures and the other one gives sound.

Like I said, there are countless others, to sample all of them just go here . Thats it folks. If ur my friend and have ijebu blood, i mean no harm. Like i said, its all for laffs. abi ur doing ijebu with your laff too?

Naija Police Met their Match

You heard the incident a while back that a popular actress was harrassed by the nigerian police? well it seems from every indication, she harassed them right back lol



can you see that not everyone walking je-jely for road is to be messed around with?? I respect lol, and i imagine the cops did too.

This Church Naming Mess

Blog world, there is nothing my eyes shall not see upon this earth. Im literally laughing the jockeys outta myself over this. Ive seen a similar list before but never in this scale, and believe me NONE of them were made up. Now PRESENTING..churches that humans like me and you named: 

• Jesus of God Mission
• God's Mennonite Church
• Guided Missiles Church (see their bus below, anyone wanna guess they're affiliated to NATO?)

• Jesus in the Now Global Church
• Healing Has Begun Ministry
• God's Own Ministry
•       The True Assemblies of God Church (don't want to think of what this implies of the other Assemblies of god we know) :D
  
  
  ·         Jehova Sharp Sharp (Festac)
  
  
  ·         Huricane Miracle Ministry
  
  
   ·         Healing Tsunami Ministry
  
  
  ·         Satan in Trouble Ministry
  
  
  ·         Fire for Fire Ministry
  
  
  ·         FIST OF FURY  (Jet Li would totally go there)
  
  
  ·         The Yoke Must Broke Ministry
  
  
  ·         Jesus Heal Ministry
  
  
  ·         Face to face ministry
  
  
  ·         Angels on Fire Chapel of Peace
  
  
  ·         Liquid Fire Ministries (Suleja, Niger State)
  
  
  ·         By fire By Fire Ministry
  
  
  ·         HOLYFIRE OVERFLOW MINISTRIES
  
  
  ·         David Killed Goliath Ministry (Kaduna)
  
  
  ·         House of Jehova's Padawans (TransAmadi, PH)
  
  
  ·         JESUS IN HIS MIGHTINESS GLOBAL MINISTRY
  
  
  ·         OPM - Other people's money (the idea being that other people's money will work for you, capeesh?) Lmao
  
  
  ·         God in action ministries
  
  
  ·         Moving mountain gospel church
  
  
  ·         MY BROTHER IS A CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD (I swear, who does these things?)
  
  
  ·         Fellowship of the Wings - Ajah (Lamgasa)
  
  
  ·         Power Foundation Ministries, Aba. === The pastor's maiden crusade was titled: "Your Money is Looking For You"  (talk about killer salesmanship)
  
  
  ·         HOLY GHOST ON FIRE MINISTRY (Abuja)
  
  
  ·         HIGH TENSION MINISTRY
  
  
  ·         JESUS NEVER bleep UP MINISTRY (Benin) === for those of you who don't get the meaning, replace the word bleep in this one with the err... the "F" word :D
  
  
  ·         Devil go hear am Jesus Ministry
  
  
  ·         Accredited Church of God ===> wondering who gave them accreditation? I am too
  
  
  ·         Chukwudi & Son evangelical ministry, Aba === (Igbo man no dey carry last!) :D
  
  
  ·         Power pass power church of the mountain ministry incorporated
  
  
  ·         Ministry Of The Naked Wire - Bayelsa State
  
  
  ·         LABORATORY CHURCH OF GOD

·         Go and tell Ahab that Elijah is here ministries - (Should we call him with the 'dead people network' or what?)

·         God is Real Ministry.

Motto: "Jesus no get muscle but he get power" 

·         Fire burn ministries

·         JESUS THE LANDLORD, WE THE RELAXING PEW MINISTRY - Portharcourt

·         Happy Go Lucky Church of God Almighty In Jesus Name Amen - Abeokuta

·         Old time religion ministry

·         Strong Hand of God ministry

·         Best Spot In The Land of God Church - Apapa. (Apparently if you go here, you'll get all the best real estate in heaven when ur dead)

·         Trigger happy ministry.

Motto- always firing the devil

·         KASABUBU CHURCH OF GOD 

·         Jesus knows his children ministry 

·         SEVEN THUNDERS OF JESUS (I didnt know before now that Jesus

 had thunders, n there were seven. did you?)

·         Perfect Christianity Ministry

·         Elshaddai Shall Not Die Ministries

hold on, look at the bottom of the banner..it says powered by..VIAGRA. #iDied

 ·         Run For Your Life Ministry === my favorite!

Lmao..its still a miracle to me that people will actually give names like this. But whatever helps them sleep well at night, not so?

Ciao

Why Do You Write?

Writers, business people, artistes and inventors all talk about this word..creativity. For me, all I am right now is a student and aspiring writer so I think about the creativity that produces works of art: poems, stories, articles. What is my creative process and how does it work? What gives me inspiration? 

Its funny I have been doing a lot of writing all my life but I have never paid mind to how my process works. It was only after a long dry spell ended and I could feel inspiration flowing in my veins again did I stop to wonder, what is the secret? I think I'd look back and realise at some point that this is the period when I transitioned from a casual scribbler to someone who actually takes his writing seriously. Because if I understand my creative process I can recreate it at will, not so? And consistency is really what I need right now. 

So I decided to answer the question "Why do I write?"

I am a resident in a world of ideas. Ideas inflame me and power me more than anything. And when I write, I take those ideas and arrange them with words into images that can fix themselves in the minds of others. So in essence, I write to force a part of me in others. Its bullying of the most sublime type, but that is what all writing is.   In writing, my unique vision of the world can grow into other people's experiences and for however briefly, live with them. And for me as an individual, its a way to etch whatever journey my imaginations make permanently in ink so that it will live with me, forever.

I write to tell a story, the story of the world both seen and unseen. The pictures I have in my head ask for expression and I find words that paint them right and try to put them to best use. 

But more than anything else, I write because I am a writer. That is one thing I will always be, whether 'good' writer or 'bad' I will always be a writer. Because when you really know who you are in your bones, you realize somethings only lead to one goal. Thats when it dawns on me that the question, why do I write doesnt really have an answer. Why do woodchucks chuck wood? Why do tigers have stripes? Its simply how they are. And so I am simply how I am. And if the most important thing in life is to know who you are, then I guess  I have achieved something in life. 

I might go through many places in my life. Law school, further studies in Politics and Business. But the whole time, my pen will keep moving, driven by the ideas in my head and the pictures that greet my eyes.

Now, its your turn. Why do you write?

Give Thanks

let the Indians do what they will, I shall be thankful today.

with a fat turkey oiled up and ready,

what else do you want me to say

Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!! We know the origins of the holiday, and its fine. Its beginnings may not exactly be perfect but at least we got a day that is devoted to expressions of gratitude. Savor it, and make use of it. Give thanks.

To everyone,

Im thankful for the love I get, deserved and not, but mostly undeserved.

Am thankful for the times my good intentions dont often turn out to good actions.

Im thankful for memories made, and laughters shared, and for those that held my hand when I felt like lead.

To God,

for life.

for a chance to make something out of my life.

for a mind that works, eyes that see the world in their own unique way.

for all that I am, and all I will be.

What are you thankful for?

To That American Who wants to Know How To Be My Friend

The first thing you do is to forget that Im African

Second, you must never forget that Im African

You should be able to dig "African Queen"

but dont always play it whenever I come around

And if you decide to play Beethoven-dont tell me his life story

I listen to old dead European musicians too

Dont apologize to me when TV shows

depict Africa as a savage land with naked Kings on threadbare thrones

Its your ignorance

I know where Im from.

And when an African shows up as we walk along

accent and all

Dont ask me if I know him

from home

Do you know that guy that sells Chipotle on 42nd street?

And if you really think Africans make better lovers, 

dont tell me

I start thinking of charging call fees.

All Im saying is, if you want to be my friend

Dont make a labour of it.

Im just a regular guy

I happen to come from Africa. 

Why Naija Babes Gotta Be So Serious All the Time??

Lol I actually dont mean all Naija babes, or even majority of them. From my experience, naija babes are fun loving enough..so the actions Im about to recount dont apply to them. I just used the generalisation for a lil emphasis.
Anyhow, a girl am close to just ostracised me. Yea, no talking, no dealing with me until further notice. Am now public enemy number one. And what was my sin? Oh, I had the audacity to put the lyrics of a love song on my status. Lemme expantiate...
My stat was simple.. "I saw her an angel, with the dust of stars in her eyes". It was a song. That I loved. Nothing more to it. I didnt see an angel. Im not looking for one. But I digress. So one girl commented that the stat was so sweet, and how did she lose a man like me. The girl is a close friend, but we're not romantically involved, just flirting here and there. so i regarded it as the harmless normal thing and told her sure, I was still here and still loved her.
Another close friend was like..anh, she knows the status is about her, and I was like yea, but I will make a new one specially for her. You know, all in the fun of the status and stuff.
Then the girl that I started this story with, the 'ostracist' lol, read the comments and hit me up asking why I was making statuses about other people, and flirting with them and all that while she was there for me. Now, said girl is not my girlfriend, we had been UNOFFICIALLY involved but that was a while back and from my understanding she had a budding relationship with some other guy. So to me, she was just joking too and I was like sure, that I was finding new love and all. And she was going on and on about the kind of person I was, that I knew fully well that I was special to her and all that. At a point I was like, this is still jokes right? i mean you're not really serious are you..just to be sure. And that was when she was inflamed, ordered me to stop talkin to her and hung up. Then she didnt pick my call and later on when we met she seriously did not talk to me. At which point, I was like "whoaaa". I explained that this was a simply lyric but she was either a very good actress or she was really pissed cos she said something: "it would have been okay with any other girl if it wasnt an akata:" referring to the girl that said the stat was about her. At which point I was like, why am I going through this..its all jokes. She walked out without still talking to me. Later on she texted that I should follow akata girls. I can swear on heavens blood that this girl is not my girlfriend, we had something at some point but ther was no indication from her end that it meant more. So now am like...what did I do??
Lesson learned: nothing is ever really, unserious with a babe. Whether you guys are official or not. And till now, I think this is all funny. Except that she still aint talkin to me...can you bliv that?

Life Lessons from a Video Game

Hey blog world. For those of you that know me, you know Im a video game freak. For those that don't well, now you know. I had my first video game when I was nine and SEGA was the heaven of video games. At the time, I had an 8 bit contra and I remember the embarrasment when my friends chose to go to another boy's house instead of mine because he has a 16 bit sega, and I had contra. Even as young as I was, I hated not being the ish. So from then, there was no new game that I didnt own, I went on from Sega, to Nintendo 64 and hand held Gamboy to PS and PS2. Now am grown, and dont care as much about cool points, but as far as gaming is concerned, I still stay on top of it.
Anyway, my friend and I were going at it on the xbox today when he scored a freekick from a long range. Now, if ur familiar with soccer, you know thats a pretty rare occurence, I dont care how good you are. So I sat back and waited while dude replayed the freekick over and over, slowly following the flight of the ball as it sank into the net. He would pull the ball back to point it left the kick taker's foot, and then gently relive the goal. I understood. It was his moment.
And it hit me that in a way that is what we do when we get a taste of success. In our minds, we relive that moment, over and over...seeing the events that led up to it. Its our way of saying 'this is the ideal'. It burns into our consciousness and lights us up. Think back at when you got admitted into college, or when you landed that first major award, or contract, or whatever it is that signifies success in your field. In your mind, you linger in that moment. And what happens is, you take that blueprint and follow it wherever you go. Personally, I wouldnt replay that goal. Its still rare for me to score, but Ive done it enough times for it to lose its charm. That shows that you dont linger in that moment, for that moments sake. You relive it so that when the time comes, when the goals are bigger, and the stakes higher, you can amplify and recreate that success. And that is what the replay does. Its a rehearsal, for bigger arrivals. So when next you hear that nothing can be learnt from playing games, think again.

The Inspiration To Write-The Alchemist

Writing is a beauty, and in its depth the pen becomes not just a tool to transmit thoughts and feelings but a channel through which new worlds are birthed. I used to write a lot before, but recently I found myself writing less and less. I had been caught in a web. School, extracurriculars, and blogging had taken me out of my writing. Yea, I blamed blogging too. Because my blogging did not require the full extent of my creativity. I wasnt blogging, I was keeping an online journal at a time when my life was pretty much monotonous. And so inside me, the stories suffered for lack of a telling tongue. 
Recently, all that has changed. Its amazing, becuase these days, inspiration has been flowing like seven seas in my mind and Ive been putting pen on paper so often that my head is beginning to swim in distant lands, and to commune with ideas like Im talking to people. 
I have one book to thank, partly, for this renaissance. The Alchemist, by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. The allegorical tales of a shepherd boy that lived for his dreams, for signs, and the language of the Soul were the sparks that lit my fire again. In his words "...no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams." It was what I needed to hear. Hell, its what I still hearing even as I write. 
Right now, I have once more begun to flourish with stories and poems that reach the heart. Im writing new stuff, not revamping the old like Ive been doing for a while. 
In every generation, there comes a book that changes the lives of its readers. The Alchemist is such a book. Believe me, it is. Go out and read it. You'll be glad you did. And I will be too. And after you have read it, go into the world and chase that dream. Listen to your heart's language, the language of the soul. Same language that God speaks, cos I believe soul consciousness is God consciousness. And if you know the mind of God, there is nothing you cannot achieve. 
Leave fear, leave worries, just go ye into the world and achieve your dream. Mine is to write. And Im inspred. #Leigo

Standardized Pidgin: Good or Bad?

  Before Nokia, and then vodka, it was language that connected people. And in many ways, it still does. Especially when u consider that more people speak English these days than anyone can care to count. So when I read this article on naijablog about how they're making plans to standardize pidgin English, Im quite interested.
What will be the advantages of making up rules of grammar, and wiriting a dictionary and standardizing spelling and pronunciation? What are the reasons behind this drive to even turn the pidgin into a more standard language, to be used as language of learning as they have prosposed? Will Nigerians be better or worse off for it?
The reasons they gave for wanting to standardise the language is that more and more Nigerian students are failing at standard English. And that more and more Nigerians are expressing themselves in pidgin. So if we were to endorse pidgin as an official language, then Nigerians will inevitably excel in their linguistic education. Anyone spot the fallacy?
In the first place, its not the fault of the English language that our students are failing it. Its the fault of our educational system. And teaching pidgin in our school will not of itself guarantee that students will perform better at it. Its a case of the bad barber blaming the hair. 
Another thing is, which variation of pidgin will they standardize? Pidgin is not homogeneous in Nigeria, and one of the beauties of the lingua is its fluidity and adaptability to every environment. Warri pidgin is not the same as Lagos pidgin, in word choices, inflection, delivery and style. chop no be lem, as they say. Both 'chop' and 'lem' btw refer to eating. All the same, I feel that forcing pidgin into the typical western orthographic structure will be a clipping of its 600+ years old wings. It may cast the language in a mold it was not built for. 
Most of our native languages have already been forced into that cast and, I dont know about other languages, but they did a pretty messed up job with mine. Igbo written is not quite representative of how its meant to be spoken and somehow it seems too mechanical reading a novel in Igbo. It doesnt have the same flow as natural  Igbo speech. And Im afraid this is what they will succeed in doing to pidgin too. 
And lets say they even succeed and pidgin becomes a standard written language, and everyone learns it instead of the standard English language. Will that necessarily help us? The world is accessible to us as Nigerians because we speak English. If, instead of improving our mastery of English, we withdraw to our comfort zone and embrace pidgin. will we not be shutting ourselves out of an increasingly English speaking world? Will our writers, musicians, filmmakers, and scholars still reach the world if they communicate in pidgin? It is well and good for us to learn a language that holds us together, no matter tribe and class. But if we will only put effort into educating our young, English will not only do that, but connect us to the world. For that is the sole aim of language. Connecting people.

When Kanye West Was A Gospel Rapper

I dont even need to ask people what they've heard about Kanye West being a Mason and Luciferan and all that. Thats not my argument. I do sincerely in all honesty bliv that he has issues though, since I definitely evaluate a man by his words and actions. So what do I say to a man who sings lyrics like these "I love the devil 3X"  and "we love Jesus but we done learned a lot from Satan. and then goes on to say "Satan, satan, satan". I say the man definitely is clear in his beliefs and he should be proud of it. (In case u wanna check out the lyrics, its in his "The Devil In New Colours" track featuring the model Selita as d phoenix.)
What I discovered today though, is that Kanye West actually had an early start with one christian track, "Jesus Walks." The song blew up pretty hard and helped launch him. Here are some lyrics "God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down/ Jesus Walks with me."  "I ain't here to argue about his facial features, But here to convert atheists into believers
I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way I need Jesus".

Apparently, (just my hypothesis) a few things happened. 1. He realised quickly that Jesus doesnt bring in the money or sign the record deal. 2. He got tired of waiting on Jesus and found out that Satan answers faster, and gives u quicker fixes. 3. If u rap about Jesus, people watch for u to fuck up, if u rap about Satan, people EXPECT you to fuck up, and let you get away with it. thats what sinners do already, no? 4. He became a Mason and converted to Luciferanism. 

Or maybe he is just a smart, though arrogant guy figuring out a way to live his life. Either way, he is so far gone from the man that rapped about "if I talked about my God so i wont get played?"

I dont blame him though, cos even as a Christian, I have thought so many questionable thoughts that Im wondering if Im not Illuminati myself. And anyone that has been to Truth Don Die will certainly declare all of us ILLUMINATI.  All Im saying is, a person's beliefs and convinctions change, and so long as he raps EXACTLY what he feels, and is making a success out of it, then dont sweat it. Get off his wrinkly unshaved dick. #OkBye

Na Which kAIN Yawa Be thiss???

I was bitching about Ghanaian people and their borderline porn movies. Who would have guessed I would one day see this 



The sneer I use to tell my Ghanaian friend "we're not desperate and trashy like u guys" "we have some decency" and all that has been plastered on my face into a grimace. The worst is seeing the two guys kissing. Its icky...a lot. Makes me positively wanna puke, and anyone that thinks I owe them an apology for that should go and kiss Majela's butt. 
My respect for Nollywood has taken a major nosedive. I dont know if its just me, but I think this path they are following Ghana on may cost them the respect among other African countries and around the world that they have built so far. Theres such a thing as trying too hard. I think thats what they're doing now.

My American Life vs. My Nigerian Life

If ur close to me in any way, you'll probably have heard me say time and time again "America aint shit". And not that Im hating on this country, which is amazing, when u think about the geographical, racial and cultural diversity they have to keep running together in some type of orderly manner. All Im saying is, compared to my life in Nigeria, am really not having the best of times. Lemme give u details.

1. In Nigeria, Im almost never broke. I mean, there are always days when I wasnt too bouyant or my wallet could be seeing better days. But my account was almost always kinda healthy since I paid for little, and could always walk up to my dad for a lil 'hand-out'. Here, my dad could care less, unless its something important, the pocket money I receive has to do. And Im ALWAYS paying for something. Somehow, the thing adds up to me almost always thinking how long before the money on me runs out. Not a good thing. 

2. In Nigeria, my days and my time were mine to work with. I loved the pace (which was slow) and the way it seems my life actually was in my control. In America, it seems am always racing against some time machine or deadline or something. And even though I love the fast pace sometimes, I wonder if I wont go the way all America goes and have a heart attack when Im barely fifty. And Im not even working yet.

3. In Nigeria, the girls had substance. I admit they were also much harder to get, much more demanding and a tad boring. Just a teeny tad. Compensating for all that, Nigerian girls are more mature, strong, and smart enough to talk and be deep friends with whether yu guys are having sex or not. In America, the ones that you can talk with, dont want sex. The ones that want sex cant hold a decent conversation. The ones that can do both comfortably...are gay. 

4. Back home, I didnt have much but I actually felt richer than I do now. It seems no matter how much money you have in America, its never enough.

5. In Nigeria, school was harder. This is one area I think being in America is the most awesome thing to happen to me. I loooove the way they teach, I love doing tests online and the confidence that I know am seeing a fat A when that paper returns. And to think that if I happen to go back home, I still get the preferential treatment. Talk about winning both ways.

6. I can do what I want in America. I actually have the full understanding that my life is what I make of it. In Nigeria, my parents, esp my father and my annoying sisters ran my life. TOTALLY, including how many times I could legally gas before I started paying the fine of 100 naira per fart.

7. I was hardly the type to party in Naij. I mean we went to friends places, or high school parties or in our house in the village. but I never went to a club for one time in my life back home. Here in America, the party animal in me came out and blossomed. And Im loving it arrrghh!! (so gimme that) lol

8. In Nigeria I spoke fluent English and Ibo. I still speak fluent Ibo. My English on the other hand is an atrocity right now. I catch myself speaking ebonics at the wrongest moments, like in totally all the wrong moments. Insert>> interview, presentation, what not.

9. I used to be a romantic. America has so opened my eyes, though I like to believe that somewhere inside, that romantic is still chilling. 

10. In Nigeria, I never thought anything about people's opinions. Now, I still dont give a shit about what people think. Yea, I never cursed in Nigeria. but language aside, that is one area nothing has changed about me. Ask my sisters back home. Or ask my friends here now. El doesnt listen to any damn body but his own. 

So thats it. Theres a lot more things different about here and home. But I would never change one for the other cos they're awesome in their different ways. And Im glad to be in both. At different times, anyways. Peace out yall. Lemme hear ur thoughts.

My Dark Days-I wish I could Cry

So today it finally hits me. The denial is gone, my mind has processed it and finally the grief I tot I had mastered, has let loose. For the second time, death has intruded into my reality and the scales have dropped from my eyes. People die. And when they do, people cry. 
I wish I culd cry. I wish the swirl of emotions would find expression in tears that wash away the heaviness and set me free to mourn and get over it. When my mum died, I never cried. I sunk myself into exams, travel preparations, running checklists over and over in my mind so that I wouldnt confront the thoughts that placed their heavy grip on my chest. I did eventually let it out, after I had gotten my visa and had no other thoughts to push them back with. I collapsed on my bedroom floor, international passport in hand, two months after my mum's funeral and finally cried for her. I remember when people looked at my dry eyes during her funeral and remarked "hes a strong man, lionheart," and stuff like that. If only they knew.
Once again I find myself writing, blogging, doing homework that I would normally ignore, anything to take my mind off the fact that Dr. Tony-Adams Aburime, the most convivial, endearing and annoyingly pleasant guy I knew, a father figure, mentor and boss has left this world. And most suddenly too. I saw him on thursday. He was fine. On monday, he was dead. Its a dark, dark  day in my life right now. 
I summoned the courage to write this because letting it out may be what I need to put it behind me. And as I write, my thoughts dance around death. One prayer I ask, that God in heaven should keep my dad safe, and let him stay alive for far longer than ever. I love that man to death, and hes the only one I have. Let nothing happen to him anytime soon.
As for Doc, you've finally seen what its like on the other side. I hope its everything you wanted it to be, and more. R.I.P. and may my days be filled with brightness once again. Cos even though misery loves company, I like to grieve alone. 

The Zetgeist Utopia--Bag of Dreams, or Tower of Innovation?

As far as Idealism goes, I must admit I am a sucker for them. It is so beautiful when we use our imagination to recreate our world, and this is the main thing the Zeitgeist Movement does. Projections of idealism are touching, but the truth is that their views are largely utopic.
To see what they are about, take a look at this and read up on what they are proposing. Umm...it sounds good and shit. And is really a brilliant bit of inspiration. But is this workable?
Maybe, maybe not. Im not quite convinced it can be done.Human society has evolved in a variety of ways for millenia, and the further into the future, the more developed we seem to get (except for those awkward Dark Ages), generally speaking. So of course, in time, there will be a time when technology will eliminate waste, and there will be a surplus of abundance. But that doesnt necessarily mean there wont be any state, or money or profit. There may be at a point, enough abundance in the world that poverty will become a relative term, instead of denoting scarcity. But the fundamental human characteristic is "individual" even when he is part of a whole, the human sees himself as a seperate unit with his own desires and motivations. So I dont see a time when every one will work for a common good, and there will be no military or crime or shit. Woow, but, nope.

What people dont realise is that all crime doesnt necessarily stem from economic scarcity, which is something capitalism has been accused of (sometimes its true, artificial scarcity makes big bucks..and sometimes, things are just scarce, period).  But what about the fact that sometimes, people just do things for the pleasure. In this their future, lovey dovey utopia...what if one day, Mr. A sees the super sexy wife of Mr. B and seduces her. Mr. B. finds out and strangles/shoots Mr. A. No amount of lovey doveyness is going to convince Mr. B that his wife is the property of all. So this their utopia wont b so crimeless, unless a state apparatus is put in place.
I could go on and on about this..but its really 3 am, and I really dont feel like continuing. Suffice it to say that Cain dint kill Abel so he could eat his sheep.

Its just cool tho...to see that some people take the human condition seriously. It touches my heart. For real. And thats why im gonna have to keep my verdict and let yall decide. Is this a workable thing?

Catch a Racist Being Racist

Its one of the most mouthed words everywhere u go.. "race, race, race this, minority that, " blah blah blah. so ur gotta realise that some day, ur gonna need to call someone out because they said something, or did something that is racist. Thats just reality. Now first thing to be aware of is that there is a monumental difference between what a person DOES and who a person IS. Now, a person may do something racist, and you can say "Hey, what u said or did was racist" or the thing I like to call the  'what you did' conversation. Thats a conversation you wanna have. The "what you are" conversation, you dont want to have. When you see what a person does and then try to use it to come to conclusions as to the kind of person he is, you have left the realm of the concrete and entered into speculation about his motivations, intentions and thoughts. This is an area we cannot prove anything. And the danger is not that when you call him/her a racist that you may be wrong, The fear is actually that you may be right. Cos if you are right, and that person is racist, you have made it all too easy for him to save his skin by denying that he had the motives you accuse him for. Thats why you see politicians like Joe Wilson trying to divert media attention from what they did to who they are. You see defenses like "I have know this man for fifty years he has never been racist." and "He is an upright, American with no racial bias ". And when you try to bring the argument back to the actual facts, its already too late cos the 'what you are' conversation has drawn all the attention.  So focus on the 'what you did' conversation. There the racist has few chances of slipping away. After all, when a thief steals my wallet, I dont chase after him to see whether he thinks he is a thief on the inside, all I care is my stolen wallet. Thats how u shuld fce a racist. Hold him accountable for what he did. That gives him no wiggle room. Okay? lol, peace out. 

Nas n Marley: Genius Music

Heres my best track from the Distant Relatives album by these two insanely good men. There are few songs that I have loved as I love this song right now. Its for those of us who know where we are from, and are conscious of the bias that follows us around when we tell people we're African. Kicking back and closing my eyes to this song was the high point of my day. Btw, Damien killed it on this.