tansali paparazzi

                               i remember when i lost my sister, i was so heart broken. i never imagined in my wildest dream that  nnonye my beautiful sister, would die so suddenly without any slightest notice. nnonye was the beauty of the family, her beauty was used as a positive reference case in my home town. anyone who saw her, commented on her beauty &  i loved her so much.

                                            she was my elder sister & we were close, she was such an angel, she could give out every thing she had just to put a smile on the face of any broken individual. i remember when her husband made her cry & she called me to come over to her place, i got there  & when i saw those tears on her face i hated that man with a passion instantly,  but they eventually made up & i left for school.  

                                        she knew i loved her & admired her greatly, but i regret not saying those sweet words to her, i regret not telling her how much i loved her, how much i adored every step she took, how much i missed her when i left home for school. when she wanted me to stay with her in her husband's house  & i refused vehemently, i regret not telling her that it was because i couldn't bear to see her in pain when her in-laws treated her the way they did,  i couldn't let her know that though i was happy she found love i still wished she was not taken away in marriage by the husband. i regret not telling her how beautiful she looked even when she cried.

                                           there is this my favourite proverb that says "you should appreciate a beautiful flower as it blossoms, because the sun might smite it & it loses it's valour" and another one "i remember when i took your car on the road & wrecked it, i thought you'd be livid & come down hard on me, but you didn't. i remember when we went to the beach & you didn't want to go because you said it was going to rain, we went & it rained. i was sure you'd rub it in & say, ' i told you so!' but you didn't. then there was the time i spilled blueberry  juice down the front of your new white tux, i knew you'd be upset & blame me, but you didn't & i remember that formal evening,  i was mistaken & told you it was casual, you wore blue jeans & you felt like a fish out of water when we got there, i was sure you'd storm out in anger &  leave me standing there, but you didn't. 

                                        "when i made up my mind to tell you how much i loved you & appreciated you for all those things you've done for me when i returned home from where i went to, for a peace keeping mission, but when i came back, i didn't meet you & never saw you again, i never had the opportunity to tell you how much i loved & appreciated you &  i miss you now &  forever". 

                                          there is always time to speak, but it's a limited time & when it's over,  it's gone forever. don't spend your future regretting & carrying inside you the unspoken words someone needed to hear. pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul & healing to the bones. wait no longer speak the word, few things are as powerful as the right words spoken at the right time, by the same token words withheld when their season of opportunity is gone, are a heavy burden to live with.hold those words no longer, speak it into those ears that deserve to hear it, now that you have the opportunity.

                             this is in memory of my late beautiful sister NNONYE. i miss you, mum misses you, the whole family miss you, you left & took your beautiful smiles with you.

                             REST IN PEACE, NNONYE.

 

                                             

                                             she walked into the street, with the full blare of the street lights directly on her, she walks on without a care in the world, as passers-by glare at her trying in vain to get an eye contact,  as she walks by. an old model santana car beeps for her attention, she throws a glance at the man on the wheel & walks on, she prefers to eat from the pot than the plate, before she got to the end of the street, a bora 2008 model car stopped beside her, she walks up to the car, bent towards the wound down glass & peered into the car, she gazes into the eyes of a handsome looking young man, she bargained with the man,  got into the car & the man zoomed off.

                                         amina, is an hausa beauty who got married at 13 years old to a man of 50 years. she was the third wife  of mallam husseini, who her parents bethrothed her to when she was a child of 2 years. amina stayed in that marriage for 10 years, giving birth to 4 kids, within that period. mallam husseini loved her the most of all the other wives, because she was the youngest & prettiest of them all, this elicited some jealousy from the other wives who tried to surpress, dominate & maltreat amina especially whenever their husband went on a long journey, which was often. 

                                          when amina was 23 years old she ran away from her matrimonial home & went into a brothel, she stayed there for some months then relocated to kaduna where she practiced her new found trade more effortlessly. she got tired of kaduna, then relocated over to the big city abuja. amina continued wallowing in the fantasies of the flesh & making her dough & livelihood through that.

                                           ngozi was a student of gssl high school, she had the best upbringing, her parents provided enough for her & her kid brothers, they were just three kids & she was the only girl & the eldest. on the 3rd of february, 1998, her parents travelled to their home town, to witness the wedding ceremony of her mother's younger sister, on their way back to the city, the parents had a fatal accident & died at the spot. ngozi was inconsolable & distraught, eventually, she pulled herself together for the sake of her kid brothers.

                                        ngozi was 18 years old when her parents died & she became both mother & father to her two kid brothers, her uncle tried to see her through her final year in high school & that was the best he could do for her, he told her. she got a job at age 20 & tried to make ends meet to send her kid brothers to school, she was able to save some money, got a room apartment & moved in with her brothers, since her uncle's wife was not pleased with the arrangement of she & her kid brothers staying with them.

                                     when she couldn't cope with the bills alone, both paying for the house rent, feeding three mouths & training her kid brothers in school, she combined both the  office job with walking the streets in the night, to make ends meet. she would go to work in the morning, when she comes back in the evening, she feeds her brothers, assists them with their home work, rests a little, then hits the streets.

                                  philomina was a girl of 15 years old who ran away from home, because her step mother was always hitting her & leaving ugly marks on her body, philo had tried to talk to the father about the ill treatment but it all fell on deaf ears, with the father doing nothing to control the ugly situation. she ran away & went into a brothel, where she still is presently.

                              well, who is the innocent one that can cast the first stone? many times we come across such cases in our society & we are always the first to crucify & condemn these innocent souls,  who thought they have no other choice but to walk the streets, to survive. in what way do we show love & care to these ones? is it right for us to always cast the first stone without trying to find out, what the situations are that could have pushed these ones into the cold, lonely night, as queens of the night?

                                let's show some care to these ones, some of these ones are truly stranded, they can't help themselves, let's try in our own little way & show some care, instead of condemning them, condemn the act & not the individual, they have feelings too & they are human. don't condemn them.

                               PLEASE,  SHOW SOME LOVE.  

                                            

                                            

                       today, nigeria marks her 49th birthday.  we nigerians are happy as we celebrate, but which way is the country going? is the country getting better or is it stagnant? is it the same way the colonial masters left it 49 years ago? what new innovation have we, as nigerians created since independence, that can boost our economy, empower the youths  &  enrich this continent? the giant of africa, what legacy can we hold onto, to move forward with & create positive pathways for the betterment of the masses?  what are the hopes of the youths, the children, the future hope of the nation? 

                     today i remember the heros past, those who fought ceaselessly to gain this celebrated independence, are the present leaders trying to emulate them? or are they only interested in their personal pockets? converting the nation's wealth &  resources into their  personal useage?

                   i remember the man that created the symbol that represents this great country NIGERIA, the flag; green white green. i remember how he saw the entry to create a symbol to represent this country, the nigerian national flag, when he was a student at norwich technical college england & when he saw the entry he decided to put in his own, he got the zeal to contribute to the independence of his father's land, he prepared his entry & sent it to lagos where it was eventually seen & picked in 1958 as the best & the flag was used to celebrate the nigerian  independence on the 1st of october 1960 & has been in use ever since.                       

                       as at 1999, when i went for an excursion in  geography class in my senior high to owu in abeokuta, ogun state nigeria, where the man is from, my classmates & i met the man, who was living in penury at that time. this great man's name is MICHEAL TAIWO AKINKUNMI. he was not recognised by the government, he created the great symbol that spoke volumes any where it appears in the world, yet the man behind this great symbol was treated shabbily by this nation.

                       presently, i can't say if this man is still alive, but the government could try & trace him or  his family & give this great man a national award, this man deserves to be honoured by the federal government. the man was a hero & should be appreciated, the government could still award some scolarships to the man's children or do something worthwhile to the man's family to leave a legacy in that family for the great deed the man did for his father's land NIGERIA.

                       so as we celebrate let us all remember those heros past who contributed immensely & fought tirelessly for the freedom of our  independence which we celebrate today & send a prayer to them wherever they may be.

                     HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY NIGERIA!

 Last week, the Chinese community in Nigeria celebrated 60 years of Independence amidst glowing tribute and commendations to their Leaders and Heroes and Heroines, both past and present. While ruminating on Nigerian 49th Independence Day celebration which was just a week away as at the time China celebrated theirs, I cannot but wonder the gap between both countries both in numbers and economic terms.

Numerically, Nigeria is 11 years behind China in terms of Independence from Colonial Masters while sociopolitical, economical and technologically speaking, Nigeria is a long call behind China. While this paper is not particularly interested in making technical comparisons between these two countries, it is an important area of research for the purpose of knowledge acquisition and development of a path way for an all round National growth.

It is a general saying that “THE YOUTHS ARE THE FUTURE OF THE NATION”. I however have serious doubt in my mind if the Government at all levels including the elites and community leaders consider this popular saying beyond its letters. The kids and children of today are expected to move form Primary education level to the Junior and Secondary education and up the ladder to the University and other higher schools of learning. Students (at all levels) are the YOUTHS described in the above quote as THE FUTURE OF THE NATION. It is however disheartening that the Government has decided to put the nation’s future in abeyance. Hence the need to find an answer to the question of whether or not there is hope for a better Nigeria even after 49 years of Independence.

Primary and secondary school students throughout the Federation are expected to resume back to school within the last two weeks. However, this is not the case in most states of the Federation as a result of the refusal of States Government to implement the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS). The Lagos State Chapter of the Union last week reiterated its resolve to continue the ongoing strike till the state government issues a circular that will give a specific time for the implementation of the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS).

While those children whose parents can afford private primary and secondary schools fees are able to continue their studies unhindered, the children of the poor are left to roam about because the Government no longer sees it important to provide basic education which primary and secondary education offers. I ask again; at 49, is there any hope for a better Nigeria. With my understanding of the Education aspect of the Millennium Development Goals, all children who are of primary school age are to be enrolled in primary schools by 2015. Like I queried in my last post, it is yet to be seen; how serious the Government is in the achievement of the MDGs.

The University and Polytechnic students have been at home since the last three month as a result of Government refusal to grant the demands of such organized labour as the ASUU, SSANU, ASUP, NASU and such other academic pressure groups or labour unions. Despite this and its attendance effect, the Government has not only shown its nonchalant attitude to issues of National importance but has also succeeded in confirming my opinion that it is an insensitive government.

Their children are attending Universities in Europe and America including Private Universities within the country hence Government officials and the elites of our society are more than comfortable with the stalemate in the Education sector. The elites will rather donate towards Nigeria qualification for the 2010 world cup in South Africa than donate towards the upgrading of facilities in Nigerian Universities and Colleges.
I sincerely echo the sentiments of Professor Akin Oyebode (a Law lecturer at the University Of Lagos) that there is really nothing to celebrate even as Nigerians mark the 49th Independence Day celebration. What do we have to show for our 49 years of Independence? Policy failures, bad leadership, political and economic sabotage, electoral failures, successive government of deceits and pretence, poverty stricken society, increasing level of illiteracy and unemployment, energy failures, academic decadence, etc.

If will fail to adequately fund education then rather than building the Nation we are destroying it future. There will be no hope for a better Nigeria except we take the issue of education very seriously. The government needs to wake up from its slumber.
The Yar’Adua administration has failed to deliver in virtually all sectors of the economy and it is just honourable that he resigns his position as President and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

I still believe in the future of this country but this might continue to be a believe rather than a reality except school children are allowed to go back to school and our Universities and Polytechnics are re-opened for academic activities. We have the resources to achieve this.

While I await Yar’Adua’s address to the Nation and planning to team up with other civil society members to protest against bad leadership in this country, I am not ruling out the possibility of a better Nigeria.
I will be the happiest man on earth if Yar’Adua will order the Federal Ministry of Education to go back to the Negotiation table with ASUU towards a final settlement of the FG/ASUU logjam while State Governors give not too distant and specific date for the implementation of the Teachers Salary Structure. Will this be part of todays’ address? Your guess is as good as mine.

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Happy Independence Day Celebration.