Your Nigeria?

I am not a football fan but the kind of negative vibes the Super Eagles got even before they qualified for this match was disheartening. Even when we qualified we were still negative, I heard things like “we will not go past the first match” but we did didn’t we? In the office, in the bus, in the church and everywhere I turned all I kept hearing was “we will just go and disgrace us”, this statement is even better ; I did hear “they will disgrace us”. We were distancing ourselves from the Super Eagles but lo and behold Amodu led us to third place. You would think that tongues would stop wagging but no…”how can we be third place?” “the Super Eagles are such a disgrace”… and I think to myself, these are the same people that “prophesied” that we would not make it through the first match.

Funny enough it isn’t only in football that we display “unpatriotism”, we display it at everything we do in this Country. We are so negative minded that I wonder how we will ever make progress. All we do is complain and criticize; we never see anything good in one another and that is why as far as Chinaeze Okiche is concerned, we will not progress.

Recently on an episode of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, Frank asked the male guest the former name of Enyimba United and you know what he said on National Television? “I’m not big on our local football, I prefer the international scene” and trust Frank to serve it back to him on a hot plate. The international scene was local before it became international isn’t it?

I hate to make comparisons but I must say that you will hardly spot an American publicly being unpatriotic in words or action. Yeah! I know what you’re thinking… America is highly developed and everything is working well for them. Is it really or is it what they want you to see? Even if it is all rosy it wasn’t all rosy, as the saying goes “Rome was not built in a day”.

Our President is sick and without reference to the constitution, people were heard saying “let him resign”; “let him die” blah blah blah. He wasn’t around to swear in the new Chief Justice and although it is clearly written in the constitution that in the absence of the President, the outgoing Chief Justice can swear in the new one but jobless and idle Nigerians kept making ignorant comments.

Rebranding Nigeria will not start with the government, it will not start with the highly placed in the society and even if it does, if you and I are not carried along we will not succeed. Like Michael Jackson said, we have to start with the man in the mirror; look at yourself and change your way of thinking, have faith in your fellow Nigerians no matter the circumstances. I am not saying that if we see anything bad we should not say it but we should do it with love; we should critique and not criticize. Let us support one another because we will never be rebranded if we don’t work together.

While I agree that the President has been away for too long, and his seat is empty, he did not choose to be sick and because it has never happened in our history so to speak, there isn’t provision for it in the Constitution. However, the Senate is working on it. While we wait for the Senate to decide what next, let us pray for Yar’adua and put yourself in his shoes. Some people asked why he addressed us on BBC; even I asked that question but on second thought, if it was aired on NTA, we would have doubted the authenticity wouldn’t we? It was on BBC and some of us still doubt, how much more NTA that is government owned?

From the President’s ill health to Mutallab’s suicide bombing to the Jos crisis. It will not get better if we do not try. There will always be bad eggs in our midst but be the best you can and support your fellow Countryman and always remember that it could be worse. Christian, Islam, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa… we are all one Nigeria aren’t we? Football used to be our uniting force but today, I’m not so sure.

America is not perfect but in their imperfection they are there for one another. We all saw what happened when Obama became president…tears were flowing from both whites and blacks. Does that mean that thereare no longer racists there? No. Does that mean that Obama does not have critics? No again.

Let us learn

Let us change our modus operandi

And maybe, just maybe the America that has delisted us will come back crawling and begging.

I

Remember 2009

So it’s what? How many hours to 2010? The excitement is on the low side probably because of the fuel scarcity, the countless job losses, the financial crunch and all but yeah we are still thankful that we can see today. It’s the spirit of Christmas, a time for celebrating the birth of our Messiah even though most of us tend to forget the reason for the season…

2010 is just around the corner and I can’t help but want to feel your pulse on the year 2009. For some of us, it was happy – we got married, we had a kid or kids, we aced that exam, we fell in love, we got our dream jobs, or we were just fulfilled, some of us renewed our relationship with God and our friends etcetera. For some of us still – we got lazy in our relationships, we failed our exams, we fell out of love, we lost a loved one to death…especially in this season, we got retrenched; especially those of us that worked in banks, some of us got divorced, and sadly, some of us just stopped living.

Yes! 2009 had its ups and downs, joys and tears, highs and lows but if you can read this, it means that there is hope, it means that 2010 offers us a chance to be better at what we did in 2009, it means that God is giving us a second chance to love, to live, to explore, to forgive and forget, to let go of the betrayals, the hurt, the pain and just let it go.

For me, 2009 was a good year because I discovered more about myself, i discovered some new things about me – good and bad, I learned how to deal with my weaknesses and work with my strengths, I learned quite a number of things ranging from how to manage people better to how to appreciate each moment especially moments spent with my family. I did finally get my groove on the salsa dance floor, I went out more often, made some new friends, saw more movies, made the effort to be more patient. I ain’t perfect yet but I’m getting there…err…that is if there’s anything like perfection

In no particular order, I’ll go over what I learned this year:
• Obama winning the Nobel peace prize taught me that when it is your time to shine, you will, regardless of whether people feel you deserve it at the time or not.
• Lady Gaga meeting the Queen taught me that even the raunchiest of celebrities know how to behave when they meet royalty. By Jove that red dress was garish…surprising to spot lady Gaga in a proper dress that covered all her goods however garish.

• My colleague lost his dad a few days to Christmas and my best friend lost her younger brother to a car accident. Funny that she also lost her mom in 2008. With these deaths, I learned that death does take us by surprise and even when we think we have space especially if you’ve lost one in such a short while, another can still occur…I have not lost a parent neither have I lost a brother but I’ve lost friends, uncles and people generally and one thing is certain, it is painful. And while grieving, we tend to question God but we should never forget that he sees the big picture, we only see the blueprint which is why we need him always. He knows why and while we may ask “Dear Lord, why me?” Let us also remember that He is God and sits on the throne. He is the giver and taker of all things from success to love to joy to grief to hurt to life and death.


Michael Jackson’s death reminded me that no matter your status in life is, you ain’t above it. Suffice it to say that big or small, death will come; it’s just a matter of time. It also taught me that no one has it all…we all lack something and sometimes a smile or a compliment will make a difference. Leave judgement to God, if he will wait until we die, who are you to judge?

• I also learned that no one is above any sin and the moment you start to think that you are above a particular sin, temptation will strike. So guard your hearts diligently and in all humility ask God for His grace because for every temptation that comes your way, there is a way out. However, seeing that way out might just be the issue because you will try so hard too justify your actions even when you know they are wrong.

• Kevin winning big brother taught me that good inter-personal skills will always open doors for you in the long run. Respect your fellow human beings. Who knows? Africa or the world might just be watching. Better still, God is definitely watching.

• Children have also taught me the effect of an innocent smile…that always has an effect on me. Makes me want a child of my own daily.

• Yaradua’s illness taught me that leaders will always fall ill but it’s how the followers handle it that matters. The Country must still go on innit?

• Gani Fawehinmi's death taught  me that it pays to be good because when you die, people will say great things about you and will genuinely mourn you.
• 
  • Tiger Woods' scandal, just as Bill Clinton’s years ago reminds me that these role models are only human. If you can succumb to temptation, why not them? I am not justifying his action but this is what happens when we choose to imitate man. Man will always disappoint you or have you never disappointed anyone? Why not make the He that was like you in all but sin your role model and avoid disappointments? It’s okay to have a human mentor but please do not expect too much of them. No one is perfect, not even you.
  
  • I also learned that friends will disappoint you after all, I have disappointed some.
  
  • Men of God will also disappoint you but if you decide to leave a church because a man of God disappointed you, it is not a good enough reason because if you do a deep soul searching, you will realize that the church is bigger than that man of God who let you down. But if you have soul searched and discovered that you are not getting what it is you want from a church especially if the truth is not being preached, then you should leave.
  
  • Rebranding Nigeria has to begin with you and I. movies like “District 9” will continue to be made but if you want to make a change, begin with yourself. Some of us started by painting Mushin, others started by being more in tune with the needy in the society, However you choose to do it, let it affect a Nigerian positively.

• Farouq Mutallab’s actions has smeared our name again… Nigeria!!!

As the curtains fall on 2009, the memories will only be in our hearts, photographs and in shared memories with our friends, families and all those that were a part of it. As the stage opens to 2010, let us remember that no one is perfect but most people are good; people cannot and should not be judged only by their worst or weakest moments; harsh judgements can make hypocrites of you and I. A lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best and sometimes the only response to pain. Everyone has a story of dreams and nightmares, hope and heartache, love and loss, courage and fear, sacrifice and selfishness and in the midst of all these, if you have a friend who listens and encourages you, you should be thankful because each of us have our individual battles.

There will always be choices, passages, moments that make a difference for a life time. So before you make that life changing decision, think again.

2009! A year that will never be again.
Happy 2010 and remember that the years go by too quickly to waste them in silent prisons of hate. As Chaz B always says, “Show love just because…”
Once again, Happy 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!