Friend or Foe, be sure you know!!!

A few weeks ago, during CDS, I witnessed a scene. Before now, CDS was just a mandatory waste of my time. But this changed after the baton of leadership of the group was passed to me about a month ago. It's now my responsibility to ensure that my group members don't feel this way anymore. But this isn't my gist for today. As I passed the attendance register around ( one of the responsibilities I inherited as the president of the group), I saw a fellow Corp member and colleague approach us. I could literally feel her anger. She was very furious and the energy she exuded was almost palpable.  She was mad at our employers over our outstanding salaries and she wanted us to see an 'oga at the top' to get a reasonable explanation for their actions( or inaction). So, it came as no surprise when she let out her steam as we were discussing with one of the council officials. I had no problem with her expressing her mind; but it should be to the right person(s). This wasn't so, as she poured out her mind and recounted our rights to the only man that seemed to be sympathetic towards our cause. She shot the only comrade from the enemy's line we had in the leg. Chai! What a loss. As expected, he also flared up and spared no words in expressing his surprise and displeasure at our seeming ingratitude and told us that henceforth, we were OYO (on your own). ( By now, a pocket of crowd had gathered; trust Nigerians). After trying to play the peace-maker( which wasn't appreciated and hence yielded no result) , I carried my 'kaya' ( luggage) and left the scene. I realised that what I just saw was common. We all have battles to be fought as we grow; and in these battles we have friends and foes; those that are for us or against us. It is our responsibility to identify correctly who is who and fight only the enemies, lest we attack our backup or destroy our armoury, thus rendering ourselves more vulnerable for defeat. My colleagues and I intended to get our 3months arrears paid; instead we might have stalled it further till God knows when! NB: I learnt the two parties sorted their differences afterwards sha; and last week, we got paid for one out of the 3 months! Yeah it helped to pay part of the debts that had accumulated over time. Lesson learnt: " friend or foe, be sure you know!"

Reality check!!!

A lot of us have congratulated the INEC boss for the success of the just concluded Ekiti state election. If this election is to be taken as a projection of the 2015 general election, then the umpires of election tribunal will have little work to do next year. 

If this widely celebrated success was due to the heavy presence of security personnels, then we might just want to wake up to reality.

Here's a glimpse  of the quantity of security outfits ( man power et al) that were on ground for the Ekiti election:

25 sniffer dogs and horses, Nothing less than 12000 police men, 200 counter terrorism specialist and 200 crime prevention officers, one bomb detector robot, 3 helicopters, 50 vehicles including armoured personnel carriers, ambulances, patrol vans. 

We also had Officers of the Nigerian Army,the Department of State Security and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps massively deployed. There were also several paramilitary agencies on duty, as well as voluntary security organisations and professional bodies and groups, which served as election observers.

Here are my concerns:

Will we need as much security in each state to ensure a similar success?

If yes, do we have that quantity of manpower readily available  in Nigeria? Or shall we request for foreign aides?  

Will every state have 3 helicopters hovering in the air too on the D-day? 

Will 5 commissioners of police be deployed to every state too?

Do we have enough man power for this?

These obviously can't be the case. If it were so then I wonder why our Chibok sisters are still missing with such a great armoury of security personnels at our disposal.

It has been said by the Inspector General of police that the same strategy will be used in Osun state. That's the logical thing to do now, abi? 

If we have all it takes to deploy this magnitude of resources to all the state's at the same time, then i'll say, "please carry go".

But if we can't repeat this in all the state's simultaneously come 2015 , then we should begin to think of a way forward.

Here's what I think:

 Osun state election could serve as another litmus test. This time with a strategy that can be replicated in majority of the states come 2015.

Many will argue that this might jeopardise the fairness of the election, but it might also secure a successful 2015 election and the future of elections in Nigeria. 

Another option will be to spread the elections over a period of time so that the whole Nation won't vote at once! Eg, different geo political zones at different times. 

That way, we can have this battalion of warriors  in every state going to the polls.

Prof Jega has given us a free and fair election in Ekiti, and he received an applause for this ; he will receive a standing ovation and national accolade if he can do it again in Osun and again in the whole Nation.

Enchanted Hallowed Chambers

When adults begin to act like children, then there might be a cause for alarm. 

If adults take up the ways of kids,  it won't be out of place to seek for wisdom in the mouth of babes.

The recent free for all fight amongst the Edo state law makers ( law breakers would be more befitting though) has made me wonder if there's a form of spell in the hallowed chambers that turn parents into toddlers.

Last year, it was Rivers state; where we all say the mace ( I learnt later that it was a fake one) turn to a weapon for skull cracking in the hands of a law breaker ( oops, I meant law maker.).

Few years ago, we witnessed several episodes of brawl at the Federal chambers ranging from exchange of words and fists to throwing of chairs and culminating in tearing of garments like barbarians.

Is it that once an argument ensues, our representatives can't restrain themselves? or that they do not understand what the word ' honourable' means? 

Honourable is what they are called right?  

I often put myself in the shoes of their children and wonder how i'll regard my father or mother after such a public show of shame.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FQpi-wvtn3I

"Your father! My father!, is it your father's house?"  Haba, even toddlers have stepped up their compendium of insults! No one refers to his opponents lineage as a form of insult in this day and age. Or so I thought.

If my hypothesis about a spell in the hallowed chamber is true, then I would advise that aspiring honourables should fully kit themselves with their full armour! Lest they also be bound by these spells and one day behave like their predecessors in this shameful act and then loose their public credibility.

Bromhidrosis! weapon of mass destruction!!

As I headed for Bwari a day after the Emab blast, cramped at the back of a commercial cab as is the custom, I observed the demeanor of other commuters. And realised that life goes on. Except for a few new police check points, nothing could tell you that a Bomb blast occurred yesterday. As some other passengers alighted at their destination, a few joined us towards Bwari. That's when this 'bros' boarded our cab. I didn't take any particular note of him until he stretched his hand towards my head rest. It wasn't the hand that got my attention; it was the odour that emanated from his armpit! Chai! O boy, I thought of taking cover! But my only cover was to let more air into the vehicle. As we neared our destination, all the other passengers dozed off! And I wondered, ' na weapon of mass destruction be this?', could the odour from the probable bush in his axilla have sedated these people? I hitched my nose nearer to the window to reduce the flow that got to my nostrils. I will attempt to let us all know how to deal with body odour( I am sure we all know someone somewhere struggling with this embarrassing challenge) Body odour is medically called Bromhidrosis. I'll spare you the technicalities of how our body has 2 types of sweat glands ( eccrine and apocrine) and how the latter produces ' sweat' that has a higher concentration of protein. Believe it or not, we all have bacteria all over our skins! That's their natural habitat! These bacteria act on the protein in sweat and the resultant effect is that unpleasant smell. Some people have battled this enemy well, but for those that haven't, here are some tips: Most important thing is to be clean and stay clean! Bathe as often as you can, use antiseptic soaps, wash your clothes regularly! Stay clean! Use of anti perspirants and deodorants have also been advised. Some people have suggested use of vinegar, lemon juice, tomato baths etc! A few people may need to consult their doctors for drugs like Botox, a smaller percentage may need surgery. NB: please avoid overeating raw garlic! Ehw! That smell! It announces your presence a mile away! The cheapest remedy in my opinion is to stay clean! Clean is cheap and smells better too! Back to my gist, as the guy alighted from the cab, I breathed a sigh of relief! The other passengers surprisingly woke from their slumber ( except one). And that got me thinking: 'Does body odour have sedative properties?

No tears left!

As I heard the news of another bomb blast in Abuja, I ran into the toilet as I felt my bowels rumble! I made calls frantically to family and friends. My outgoing calls were interrupted by incoming calls, as I mentally made a note of cancelling my attendance at the rehearsal in Kubwa on Friday. I tuned to Channels TV and confirmed the breaking news:" scores feared dead as bomb rocks Emab plaza in Wuse hours after another one in Mubi Adamawa state! "I shivered. Tears didn't come this time around. My brain was beginning to see bomb blasts as no reason for tears! How did my brain become accustomed to such news, that it refused to trigger my lacrimal glands to secrete some tears? When did things become so bad? When did we get to this point where bomb blasts are now a daily part of our discussions? How did we degenerate to a National state of emergency? I remember reading about bombs and explosions in history books in primary school and back then, I never thought that one day in Nigeria, news about bomb blasts would be a daily occurrence. My nieces and nephews are familiar with words like terrorist, blasts, explosions, insurgency, casualties and the likes! One would wonder if they are being raised in a war-torn country.  How long will this go on before something is done? How long? At this rate, bomb craters on our roads will become as familiar as pot-holes; loss of lives, as normal as power failure. Yet again, dreams have been destroyed, relationships severed, hopes shattered, hearts broken! The number of orphans, widows and widowers have increased in our population. Another set of unreasonable committees will be set up ' to look into the matter'; another series of speeches and visits to victims! From experience, that's where they'll stop! Nothing more! Yet, majority of Nigerians tonight will sit comfortably and watch the Nigeria/Argentina match. A loss or a draw will be more painful to some than the loss of lives of fellow countrymen. I am certain that some of today's victims had plans of seeing the match too. They didn't think they would lose their lives before 5pm! Please don't wait till you become a victim before we speak out! We demand our rights from this government! We have a right to be secured in our own country! Or don't we?