Meet My Busy Mind.: September 2017

Scoring milestones: The 100th Post

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

"When I was a child, my father seized every opportunity he could find to emphasise the importance of keeping one's self gainfully busy. His favourite phrase seemed to be 'an idle mind is the devil's workshop'"

This was the opening paragraph to the very first post on this blog.

That was four years ago. Since then, various other posts have been published, leading up to this one you read: the 100^th post.

(Yaaay!)

You may probably wonder about the fanfare for a “common” 100^th post … and whether when the 1000^th post is scored, the crown of her majesty the Queen of England will be collected in avid celebration.

(Looking you bad ‘side-eye’)

Let me confess… I was not one of those really “bloggy-savvy” folks, who began writing on a blog, with the intent and vision to build a mansion, and own a cruise-boat from its proceeds.

(Not like it is a bad thing. Just that Aunty Linny has collected all the money from blogging within the e-shores of Nigeria)

I had suddenly found myself with a great amount of free time, and turned to the one thing I had always enjoyed from childhood, but had neglected in the course of metamorphosing into adulthood:

Writing.

So (like all things great), I started small. Penning sporadic posts here and there whenever I felt like, and having trickles of readership…

(Someone reading the immediate preceding sentence would conclude that I have now hammered, and this site constantly crashes under the weight of the gargantuan traffic)

El Oh El!

I still get the ‘trickles’, sometimes. Most other times however, the traffic is largely encouraging, and the once ‘small’ project to keep the mind off-shelf as the devil’s workshop has blossomed into something genuinely beautiful. I look upon its face from time to time, like a human offspring.

And smile. 😊

In the time between that very first post and this post, we have: considered how to clog the wheels of age, ‘oohd’’ and ‘ahhd’’ over Adele’s inarguable reign as a pop star, annoyed misogynists with equality-craving rants, shown the evil that boarding schools sometimes proliferate in the name of discipline, fought with the Nigerian government (severally), mourned the death of Taiwo and the horror of depression, laughed/cried over Bima’s various hustles to climb over the walls of the Nigerian border, struggled with twisted interpretations of religions and culture for selfish purposes, cursed domestic violence, threatened that the world will end if Mr. Trump won the 2016 United States General Elections, fought with the Nigerian Government (some more), and unabashedly gossiped about the lives of the rich and famous.

Irrespective of the subject-matter, there is (almost) always an angle explored; a lesson learnt.

(Some posts are just largely amebo. Like this post)

In the time since the first post, writing on this platform stopped being an item of levity for me, and metamorphosed into a genuine passion; opening the windows of my mind to horizons I never dreamt of, and showing me doors I doubt I would have otherwise had access to.

There ~~were~~ are the days that I have been more than tempted to shut it all down, and walk away. Pretend it never existed. And go right back to oblivious existence.

Sometimes, due to personal pressure. Other times: just because.

But I remember getting inspiring personal messages, from followers/readers, looking forward to my next post, and sharing how the blog has helped them in some way or the other.

For this, I am happy.

The most beautiful thing however is that since that very first post, I have found my voice; and I like its sound to the ears in my head.

I have settled into my (writing) skin.

What is more?

This has transcended virtual reality, and become an asset even in the real world. Writing has helped provide that innate assuredness and calm, needed to provide succor and comfort amidst the craziness of this mad, mad world.

And it is for this, that I celebrate the 100^th post.

(Now you see?)

But I have not walked this path alone; behind the scenes is a merry little bunch of an AMAZING team, who together, continue to make this happen.

And then, there YOU are! Sliding in constantly, drinking-in each post, dropping comments, and following the community upstairs.

For you, I am thankful also.

This celebration is not mine alone. It is for you and I. It is for us all.

(Today ought to have been declared a Public Holiday shaaa..)

So just walk into any wine-shop closest to you, order the most expensive champagne in there, inform them that “Hey… it’s MMBM’s 100^th post today!”, pop the cork, swig 20 gulps off the bottle, and simply walk away.

Bottle in hand. Other hand on waist.

***

Please don’t come back to narrate how hard you were beaten, for not making payment.

Cheers!! 😉

Meg.

P.s.: Would you like to gift us with a 100^th post present? Simply click on the Follow and G+ buttons.

Voila!

Photo Credits (in order of appearance)

www.hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/blog/ (Photo by Lauren Brown)

www.unsplash.com (Photo by Matthieu Joannon)

10 Comments

Nigeria

IPOB, the Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Government: Things I wish I could tell all sides

Thursday, September 21, 2017

I have not witnessed war.

(Thankfully)

I have only heard first-hand harrowing accounts, and watched equally traumatic depictions.

In my lifetime, I think I may have come close to witnessing war twice. The first was 1993, with the annulment of what is still considered the freest & fairest elections Nigeria has ever had.

Tensions were so high, that a lot of us children living in the Western-Nigerian region would freshly recall being suddenly whisked away right in the middle of classes to the airports by fearful parents and loaded into overflowing lorries, in a bid to ‘flee’ impending hostilities.

The second time I think I have come close to witnessing war was last week.

On the one hand was the Nigerian Government – represented by its Army – rolling in tankers of militia into the Eastern Region of Nigeria, exciting the already excitable members of the separatist movement, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), invading private homes in search of the self-pronounced leader of IPOB, exerting show of force via its “Operation Python Dance”, calculated to forcibly quell protests in the region; and the pictures/videos which garnered international outcry, of captured members of IPOB, being forced to lay in mud/muddied waters and drink same, while being beaten.

On the other hand were members of IPOB – occupying the streets of some towns in the Eastern region of Nigeria in furtherance of their stated desire for a sovereign State of Biafra; refusing to back-down for the security forces; brazenly clashing with the security forces, with sticks, stones, and bare-hands; (allegedly) stopping-and-searching moving vehicles for citizens of other regions, thereby increasing the risk of reprisals against citizens of the Eastern regions residing in other regions, and incurring general disdain from all quarters.

In the middle of all these were the rest of us; some of who believe in the urgent need for a genuine national discourse culminating into restructuring of the country or (possibly) a peaceful independence of the separate State of Biafra, but who are not members of/do not support the activities IPOB; some of who neither believe in Biafra nor understand the need for secession, but also do not support the actions of the Nigerian Army against IPOB; some of who neither support Biafra, nor the Nigerian Army, but are in themselves disenchanted with the present Nigerian State; some of whom solidly believe the Nigerian Army should crush every whimper of secession under its might of force; and some of who are totally oblivious to IPOB or Biafra and/or the activities of the Nigerian army, their very living preoccupied with finding the next meal, and absence of the luxury of access to news reports.

There was also social media. Stoking the embers of war; almost fanning the flame into a raging, full-scale inferno.

Everybody became a ~~Writer~~ Reporter. Even persons who had no idea if the shores of Nigeria were in Asia or North America shared “situation reports” on the ongoing battles between both sides, most of which “reports” circulated aimed to incite anger, hate and the already heightened mutual suspicions among the differing people of the Nigerian populace.

Thankfully, war was averted.

There is now some semblance of ‘peace’, which I am wary of, even as I wonder if this storm is merely gathering the clouds.

There are things I wish I could say to the main players in this particular episode of national unrest, so as to avoid further conflict: to IPOB, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Government.

IPOB:

1. Every individual is fundamentally blessed with the freedom of association and freedom of liberty. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights, and even the Nigerian Constitution recognises this. It is understandable therefore if you desire to exist independently.

2. However the concept of Biafra, both as an ideology and as a people predated you. Long after you're gone, it will remain. While you are at liberty to agitate for its actualisation, you are not the sole face of the struggle. While you speak for a lot of people; you do not speak for everyone. Be accommodating in letting others from the same region who do not see eye to eye with the substance and/or mode of your struggle own their views, without derogatory appellations.

Like ‘efulefu’.

3. Brute force did not work in 1967 – 1970. Violence is not likely to take you far, especially as the world has gone nuclear. Battles are seldom fought physically anymore. In any case, you do not have the resources and will not get them. Own your struggle, but change your tactic. Go intellectual. Get the world to hear your voice – articulately - and your work will be half done.

Otherwise, your voices will be drowned as mere tantrums. (Eventually)

4. Don’t isolate yourself. You see your brothers and sisters who share your desire but not your strategy, whom you have branded “efulefus”? You see the other Nigerians whom you sometimes deride? You need them. Who do you think would pen those beautiful letters to the United Nations, convincing them that the boys drinking mud is no Photoshop magic, if you all go killed? Except you intend to self-destruct, you need allies.

After all, no person is an Island.

5. Quebec, South Sudan, and the Republic of Ireland clamoured/have been clamouring for independence for a long time. The struggle for secession is no walk in the park. It is not beans. You need all the energy you can get, so do not waste it on fruitless street-fights. Your journey is far.

6. If Mandela had towed the path of hate-speech, it is not likely he would be widely revered as he is now. While your pain may push you to heightened emotions, do not succumb to hate-speech. After all, s/he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.

7. Boycotting elections while agitating for secession is akin to cutting of your arm, while waiting for treatment of a festering wound in it. Regardless of your disenchantment with existing institutions, you will require the machinery of the same institutions to ensure your voice is heard and your desire comes to fruition eventually. Otherwise, all of your agitations will be akin to running around in circles - like headless chickens.

Or rabbits.

The Nigerian Army.

1. Growing up, I heard of your prowess in surrounding countries, and how you were widely regarded. ECOMOG. Darfur. Even World War 2. While I have seen you make sacrifices in executing your duties, I have sometimes (sadly) doubted the veracity of these stories, in view of the prolonged battle with the rag-tag group of terrorists up North.

2. It is true that you do not have the liberty to protest (to avoid the risk of being court-martialed for ‘mutiny’) But I know that just like other Nigerians, governments in governments out have also failed you, and even placed your life at risk by failing to equip you with adequate arms to ensure your work is done, properly. Over the years, annual ‘Security Votes’, have been shrouded in obscurity, increasing the tendency to end up in private coffers, leaving the rest of us none the better for it.

3. Do you not see that we are all in THIS together – whatever this is? So that even as you carry out your mandate to protect lives, overzealous and excessive use of force on the ones you have sworn to protect is no symbol of strength,

4. “But we are just following orders” is not enough justification for human rights violation, in the guise of keeping the peace. This same rejoinder has been used, even by members of the Nazi Army who participated in horrendous crimes against humanity culminating in the Second World War. Sadly, their commander was not there to protect them as they each stood trial for crimes against humanity. Remember that (a) no reign lasts forever (b) humans relish having scape-goats, and (b) Posterity has a loooooong memory.

But what do I know?

The Nigerian Government

1. Nature abhors vacuum.

That IPOB has gained momentum and became a ‘moving train’ is not a vote of confidence on its leader. Rather, it is a vote of no confidence on successive Nigerian governments, who have failed to hearken to the plight of the people of Eastern Nigeria, and have failed to (genuinely) rehabilitate the region (post civil-war), ensure wide-spread development and invest hugely in the untapped human and business resources that it holds.

Look at the bigger picture.

2. Humans often want to be heard, which is how the IPOB leader became a ‘messiah” of sorts; channelling the inner frustrations of the people and providing a ‘voice’ to their disenchantment. So that while it is IPOB of Eastern Nigeria today, tomorrow, it could be a group from Benue State, protesting the failure of the government to protect their farmlands from the consistent savagery of cattle herdsmen; or a group from Western Nigeria, protesting continuous erosion of the educational standards of the public schools system and the plight of the indigent school-goers; or even a group from the North protesting periodic ethnic and religious cleansing by supremacists, unchecked by any form of government action taken against perpetrators over the years. Or even the whole of Nigerians, protesting against endemic and systemic corruption.

Listen to the people. And show them you heard.

3. There is such a thing as emotional intelligence. And tact. Not everything is ‘fire-fire’. (Which was how/why the IPOB leader gained undue recognition and was made a living ‘martyr’ in the first place).

Rather than make the citizens “the enemy”, how about approaching the agitations in the region with civility? For example: roll in caterpillars and construction materials, to commence serious and widespread infrastructural work in various parts of the region. Create employment schemes. Invest in the untapped clothes and shoe industry of Aba. And watch whether the ranks of IPOB will not be broken, and the voices of protesters silenced.

Or do you not know that progress is a greater weapon than aggression?

4. This is not the 1970s. The laws do not exist as mere decoration. Every person is subject to due process, inclusive of the government of the day. That a people do not support the government of the day does not equal an automatic death sentence, or a blanket clamp on their rights to expression.

That is the beauty and ‘burden’ of democracy, albeit fledgling – like ours.

5. Rather than command a face-off between the Army and the citizens, it would have cost less (especially in terms of human lives) if the government had sought a court order for the arrest of persons it perceives are causing disorder. The appropriate security agencies – the Nigerian Police – should have been used to enforce such order, and the Military should only have been brought in as a last resort, with very stringent orders to concentrate focus on executing the order, and with the utmost respect for human lives. The show-down witnessed was (at the very least) needless, and could have been avoided. The polity was heated, unnecessarily.

6. Lastly, for as long as there is no genuine national discourse on the events of 1966 -1970, stemming from both military coups of 1966, to the pogrom in Northern Nigeria, and the thirty-month long civil war that rocked the core of Nation’s unity, the present conflicts we face will continue to be handed down from generation to generation, and we as a people may never actually move from square-one. Every other measure taken will be merely dealing with the symptoms.

We must deal with the root cause via a genuine and frank national discourse, in order to lay to rest these ghosts of the past which rise from time to time, and engender hurt and mutual suspicions, which continue to threaten the fabric of our co-existence as a people.

***

(Is this enough, or too much??)

Paz,

Meg.

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Photo Credits: www.pulse.ng

3 Comments

Image vs. Substance: Icing or Cake?

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Daytime television is 'bae'.

It's baeism (or baefulsomeness) is too magnificent to be coincidental.

Otherwise, explain how we grind and break our backs all day, and come back to night time television, filled with (largely outdated) re-runs of series nobody watches, and movies from the '70s.

(That is, if Nepa does not take the light)

But just go on leave, and stay at home during the day.

Or fall ill.

It's as though there is a grand design to eternally appease the unemployed, and keep one "'ill' with the addictive shows programs reserved for daytime television. All the action is hoarded for the day tv watchers.

Every program is a hit: back-to-back.

Which is how I found myself stuck to the television, as the newly-elected President-in-Chief of the League of Couch Potatoes.

I watched almost every program, and almost started 'cramming' the names written in the closing credits.

I even got to start an episode of particular life-style programme I used to enjoy back in the day, which I had not seen in a while. Week in week out, the show hostess (or OAP,... or whatever moniker it is they go by these days) would pick someone who was adjudged with a 'bad' sense of dressing, and revamp her wardrobe.

(Dear witches of the African tropics, how about bringing this programme closer home?)

So let's call the subject of this week's wardrobe revamp 'Lady X' - LX for short. Granted; she was no Kate Middleton in her dressing.

But she dressed pretty alright, if you asked me. She had a techie job, and was full of calm, intelligent sass.

And she was smart as hell.

(Raar!)

Nevertheless, her best friend and her sister nominated her to the program. To improve her sense of style.

(An 'Intervention', if you may)

The normal narrative presented in the prior episodes of this programme, is the wimpy, non-confident woman, for whom this wardrobe intervention was a reality check, and a wake-up call.

Not LX. She was self assured, confident, hand in pockets, and had a charming personality.

(Did I mention she was smart?)

But slowly, the show coordinators etched away at her confidence. Telling her how unattractive she looked, due to her 'unfeminine' dressing, consisting of jeans and shirts.

(Duh?)

I watched her self-assuredness slowly cave in and give way to uncertainty. The last straw was when her daughter was roped in, and she was told by her sister that her daughter wanted to look up to her more, but could not. Because she was not 'dressy' enough.

And the show hostess (or OAP) affirmed to her that for the sake of her daughter, LX had to focus on beautifying and presenting the right image. Because image is EVERYTHING.

I put off the tv. I had had enough day time television.

I wished I could transport myself to where they were, hold the OAP firmly by the shoulders, look long and deep into her entertainment-clutter-centric soul, and calmly ask her to repeat after me:

Image is not EVERYTHING.

Image may be important; critical even. But it is not everything. Particularly not in the real world, where your daily grind has nothing to do with the spotlight of the famous.

Substance is EVERYTHING. Image may take you places. But, it is substance that will keep you at the top.

Sadly, it is this lie that has contributed to making the world a topsy-turvy place; the need to promote a certain "image", fuelling the desire for fast shot to the top, injustifiably expensive possessions, and propagating corrupt vices.

This is the lie we are selling to the next generation; that image is everything. Little wonder we are churning out masses of more uninformed, less developed people, who are more preoccupied with what people think of them, with little or no concern for who they really are.

Heaven know the young ones are already under enough pressure from the high expectations set by Instagram #SlayQueens, and the flamboyant lifestyles of 'money-kings'. The last thing we should be peddling is faux-reality of image being everything.

The likes of Hilary Clinton, Condolezza Rice, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams could not have made the strides they did in perpetuating this falsehood.

Image can only take you so far. Substance will take you the whole way.

So that even as we pay to shape our noses and obliques, and stage interventions to revamp our sense of style, it is more important to remember that it is what lies within that is paramount, and should get more attention. We do not want to raise girls and boys of image-compliant coconut-heads as the next generation.

Image is the icing on the cake. Substance IS the cake.

Paz,

Meg.

Photo-credits: www.daradaily.com