15
apparently, governor babatunde fashola of lagos state is hiring at his place. amongst new applicants for menial jobs such as cleaners include university degree holders and those who have recently completed their NYSC programs.
but i guess to governor fashola, the planting of trees trumps discussion of the current state of the nigerian university educational system and the future of its youth.
6
sometime ago, i wrote on the recent rise of the polio epidemic in the north and its inextricable link to the 1996 Pfizer drug company scandal. as a result of the unethical practices undertaken by Pfizer during that time period, many northerners to this day remain wary of immunization campaigns, and understandably so.
the mysterious aftermath of the Pfizer scandal and the very real possibility that some communities are still perceived to be susceptible to be used as human guinea pigs (please see Naapali's comment on that post) has caused many parents of Plateau state to refuse the polio vaccine for their children. the health minister of the state, Dr. Angela Miri in response has called for punitive measures against parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated stating that the behavior of such parents is "very shameful and uncalled for."
while i acknowledge that the vaccination of children against the life-crippling polio is critical to its ultimate eradication, i have to disagree agree with the approach of health officials in Plateau state. The abuse of northerners in the name of medicine was a very real event and so far no measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat of 1996 meningitis trials.
i think health officials would further their cause by first acknowledging the legitimate fears of the Plateau state parents. i am very sure that the parents of Plateau state are looking out for the best interest of their families in light of a system that fails to protect them from internal and external medical/scientific exploitation. in acknowledging those fears, the government should then proceed to address them - possibly educating the public on how to avoid being "419'ed" by multi-national drug companies and the like. then, as was done in the past, work with religious and community figures in convincing parents of the need to vaccinate their children.
Of course I came up with this while eating dinner, so it is not the most well-thought out course of action. but i think simply punishing Plateau state parents because in their perceived best interests for their children refuse vaccines serves as a temporary bandage on an ever-festering wound.
7
...is not just for black people and women anymore.
in all honesty, did anyone think the VP pick for the Democrats would be another "change" candidate? Seems that some of the major qualifications for the veepstakes included being male, white, and significantly older than the average American.
...before I receive any hate mail, I post this in jest.
19
i know, i've been avoiding the blogosphere for a while, but with good reason - reasons that i don't care to explain here. I apologize for the continued silence. I have a backlog of possible blog topics, so please excuse me if rehash something you've discussed weeks past.
few weeks ago, we all of the Nigerian diaspora within the United States shivered at the news of the cold-hearted Minnesota murder that silenced Mrs. Anthonia Iheme, 28, by her husband, Mr. Michael C. Iheme. Shortly after the murder, Mr. Iheme dialed 911 stating that he has "killed the woman that messed [his] life up." Bail has been sent at $1 million dollars and Mrs. Anthonia leaves behind and four-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
unfortunately, the Iheme murder is part of a growing trend of spousal homicide, particularly of women, amongst Nigerian immigrants in the United States. First let me point out that Nigerians are not the only perpetrators of such acts - remember, the number one killer of pregnant women in the United States is homicide - usually by their husbands or significant others. However, incidents such as this, this, and this within recent memory should warrant some introspection amongst our people everywhere, particularly the United States.
earlier this week, I shared the details of this story with my hair dresser, a recent Nigerian immigrant. Of course, she like all others with a pulse, found this story to be horrifying. She wondered what the woman did to warrant such punishment.
problem....
why should the first concern be about what the woman did or did not do to warrant...what?...murder?
anyway, since she was much older than I, of course, I asked for her insight as to why such things happen and why they have been happening in the Nigerian community in the US. She gave the usual battery of complaints that life in the US to too stressful and increased expectations on men cause them to go mad and some murder their wives.
I proposed that the problem was not that life in America was unbearably hard (if so, I would gather that most Nigerians would have murdered their wives long before they reached the US....but that is a topic for another day). Rather, it starts with this notion that sometimes Nigerian culture (whatever that means...), does its people a disservice by placing undue power in the hands of one to control the fate of another in a lesser position of power. Such manifests itself in marriages, especially when there is quite the age gap between partners. (Not all of such unions are horrible, and some relationships I admire the most are those between couples of differing ages).
there exists this idea, that upon marriage, ownership of the woman is relinquished from the father and transferred to the spouse. With this ownership, comes the idea that one has the mandate to treat the newly acquired property as they please - particularly when it comes to issues of domestic abuse. America is a culture that openly threatens this ideal and pushes perpetrators and victims of wife battery into the dark until something more serious occurs. Yes in this case, Anthonia went to the police on a previous occasion, but I wonder how long it took for her to get to this point or how serious she was in maintaining the restraining order against Mr. Iheme.
i'm sure you're like "...not another domestic violence post...." But I've witnessed such themes repeat themselves in other relationships as well - master/househelp abuse and child abuse, such as this case where a man placed pepper in a child's eyes and genitals.
I noticed my hairdressers' chants of "you're right, my sister" started to die down into silence as I continued on my rant. I think in my excitement, I started to talk too much and challenge some long-held assumptions of who has which place in Nigerian society.
18
yesterday, i read this incredibly interesting article on theRoot regarding Rev. Jesse Jackson's desire to castrate (yes, castrate) Barack Obama for not paying more attention to the needs of African Americans in the US. I would encourage you to take a few minutes to read the article. But in case you're short of few minutes, the author, Jack White, sees an Obama presidency as a major victory for members of the African diasposra, not only in the US, but globally. White contends that just like the rest of America, blacks especially, do not know what to do with an African American presidency. In essence, they have spent so much time fighting for a cause,that they, including Jesse Jackson, have no idea how to handle victory. (Or rather, Jackson, like the honourable Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a victim of the "Jealous Negro Syndrome.")
I (and I am sure the author of the article, too) realizes that an Obama presidency is not the end all of race relations issues - but it is definitely a huge move forward for blacks in America and the rest of the United States. But when we finally do get to that blessed day where "...little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls..." - what will we do with it? Before answering that, what does that blessed day even look like?
As I was going over the comments from my last post, StandTall reminded me of the sort of jaded-ness that Nigerians at home and abroad have of October 1. Its been almost 48 years since that October 1st victory and it we have not yet been able to handle its aftermath. Its seems like our forefathers failed to adequately prepare for this victory. Its the same type of mistake that Bush made of the Iraq invasion and the mistake that we sometimes make in our own personal lives when we spend years struggling towards a goal and fail to plan the next step. What does our own victory look like and how do we prepare for it?
I definitely think that Nigeria is on the road (very slowly, though) to improving itself in several different arenas - politics, health, business, etc.
We have a achieved democracy (or some version thereof)...now what?
We have passed a National Health Bill...now what?
Constant electricity is slated to come in 2011...then what?
If these are some of the victories we have achieved or are looking forward to, what's next on the agenda? What does our Nigeria's victory look like and how do we prepare for it?
Sometimes I wonder if the fact that we don't know what our victory looks like hints at our deeper personal and national expectations.
12
question: if you had a friend, who was responsible for all sorts of tragedies on others - discrimination, murder, indifference, theft, genocide - and whose parents raped and denigrated your mother, stole and continue to rob her naked....
would you honor their birthday invitation?
that is how I've been feeling most of today, July 5th, after yesterday's July 4th - the United States' Independence day - the day we celebrate the nation's birth. Yesterday, my immediate family and I had a small celebration - the standard fare - a small cookout followed by watching fireworks from our rooftop interspersed with random television reruns. It wasn't as big as how we usually celebrate this day: several invited and uninvited guest to be followed by hours and hours of cleanup. Meaning that today, I was alert enough to think of yesterday's events and why, indeed, I really celebrated on the 4th.
To say that I have not, nor the world has not gained much from the US since its independence would be a huge lie. But I can't help but witness the bad that comes with the good. Especially as of late with the Iraqi crisis - a modern take on the brutality of Western colonialism - I have become disillusioned with patriotism as portrayed in the US. That is a patriotism that remains unswervingly pro-American without respect for the sovereignty and dignity of other nations.
As the nations continues to gorge holidays meats and desserts and pop the last of its firecrackers, I can't help but wonder what other nations, those under our thumb - particularly Iraq - must feel about the birth of the United States of America and its subsequent rise to global dominance. Independence Day no longer excites me as it used to. Actually, its quite sobering...
Empathy is a painful thing.
11
I've been tagged....since....by both Loomnie and Standtall. I'm trying to attempt to blog at least once a week, maybe twice - so I think I am doing well so far....maybe. So as for six quirky...or maybe not so quirky...things...
1. I like to dance....alot. I'm not so good at it, but I enjoy it incredibly. I can't stand most of the R&B/hip-hop out there because of the lyrics (except for the Southern-style crunk, because I don't understand most of what they're saying anyway - and it's strictly meant for dancing). Why is this quirky? Two reasons A. Because most people I come in contact with think otherwise. I'm quite shy - but when it comes to dancing, I get a little ahead of myself. B. "Old school" music is what gets me jumping - put together tracks from Osadebe, de Coque, Oriental Brothers, Bright - and I'm so there. I enjoy the occasional soukous, but oldies are the goodies.
2. I've spent the past ten years of my life looking for a good planner (calendar, agenda book etc.). And haven't found it. I don't think I'll ever find one that will carry me for more than two months. I get bored very quickly and I am easily titillated by the search for a new planner/calendar (when I probably have more that enough in my possession).
3. Sleep is like my drug. There is no problem a 2-hour nap cannot assuage. I just feel sooooo much better after a good nap. Also, I never understood how some people find it difficult to fall a sleep - either because of stress, worries, or being uncomfortable. I have found that some of my best naps have taken place on the floor of the school library hours before a final exam or assignment. Pillows and blankets, purely optional.
4. When I was younger (around age 5-6), I used to think that some Caucasian women with a flat bum (behind, butt, ikebe, etc.) used to purposely wear cardboard paper in their undies. For the longest time, I itched to ask my first-grade teacher why on earth she would put cardboard in her pants. Fortunately, I was a good child and avoided the potential spanking I would receive at school and at home (I spent some of my elementary, that is primary, school years in rural North Carolina, where they still spanked unruly kids...this was in the early nineties....I think they have since abandoned corporal punishment in all North Carolinian public schools...correct me if I'm wrong....and of course, whenever my brothers and I got in trouble at school, we would receive even worse measure at home....but I think my parents' probably would have laughed over the situation....though privately and most likely after I received my beating....)
5. I get cold very easily - which is strange, because I have spent the majority of my life in a cold climate. I hate air conditioners because they are always too cold. I think the wind messes up perfectly warm days. I am the only one not looking for shade, even amongst my fellow Nigerians in Nigeria - and for the few times I was in Naija during the dry season, I felt so much at ease. I'm not terribly afraid of getting darker or sweating. I am usually the one wearing a jacket in the classroom or wearing long-sleeves in the summer (sometimes, summer fashion is sometimes lovelier than than of winter wear...sometimes). I think I seriously need to get this checked out.
6. I'd do anything for some roasted corn and ube (pear), right now, anything....uhhh, almost....well, it depends...email me - and we can figure out the details of the exchange. lol.
I tag the following people (who've probably been tagged like twice before)....Trae_Z, theAfroBeat, SolomonSydelle, Oracle, BacktoNaija, and Pink-Satin.
The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules in your blog
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours – six, not more.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them