Decades: Chunks of Time

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The Month of November was made magical by the sermons I heard at church. It was as if the pastors used a set of binoculars to scan through the crowd in church, then focus on me, and then tuned into what I needed to hear the most.

Nigeria 's social platforms recently got bombarded with a plea to help an ailing acting and broadcasting veteran, Sadiq Abubakar Daba. When I began seeing the various messages on Twitter , Facebook , news paper sites, and even WhatsApp , I began to wonder if it was true. I spent a while checking it out and realized, yes, the details are accurate (so far o). The need: 20 million naira The concept: 20, 000 people send N1,000 to Mr. Daba's account. This would raise the money faster than waiting for some politicians and rich people to get in touch with the 'angel in their hearts' and spare some money for him. Details: Send N1,000 to UBA account for Sadiq Abubakar Daba, 1005382276 So far, it seems to be working. As at November 17, 2017, about 1.5 Million naira had been raised and more were still coming in, particularly with the aid of activists like Dr. Joe Odumakin , and Mr. Soni Irabor. Let us all come together to help this great man. N1,000.00 is not m

I just got an SMS from Vicky, about Mobile Money provided by MTN. As a typical Nigerian, the first point of call on the mobile money site for me was the Tariffs section. According to the tariff page , to deposit, register, buy airtime, check balance and pay bills is free. To withdraw by an unregistered customer is free as well as the accounts subscription, and SMS traffic generated by transactions. But after that, the charges start piling up: Mini Statement = NGN10. Registered customer's withdrawal of NGN3,000 and less will cost NGN50. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 will cost NGN100. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN6,001 and NGN9,000 will cost NGN150. Registered customer's withdrawal of above NGN9,000 will cost NGN200. To send to a Registered customer, it will cost you NGN50. To send NGN3,000 or less to an unregistered customer will cost you NGN120. To send between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 to an unregistered cus

As I write, a revolution is ongoing in Nigeria. The Youth have finally woken up and realized that they cannot depend on the current 'elders' to secure their future. The youth have finally seen that they cannot just sit on their hands. But while we are all pointing fingers at the Senators, House of Rep members and the President's cabinet, we need to also look into ourselves. Are we also not corrupt? Are we clean? Are we sure it is not a case of the pot calling the kettle black? For those of us that might say, 'I am not corrupt', we need to really do a reality check. Corruption should be eradicated at ALL levels, from the nursery school child to the oldest Nigerian citizen. Here is a brief checklist - not exhaustive but it should clue you in:  - If you sell anything [from garri, to marykay, to land, to flash drives], and you make more than 50% profit margin[profit not selling cost o], YOU ARE CORRUPT.  - If you help someone to get a job, and you expect a p

This is my first post this year and to my readers I apologize. I apologize because it took a threat from one of you to come here. Its been hectic - Getting adjusted to 'After-The-Wedding' life and new working environment and all that. Although someone will say that working from home isn't a new environment but believe me, it is. I spent Primary 5 and 6 and all of my Secondary school education as a Boarding student. My Mum usually had to resort to threats to get me to come home when I was in the University, so for me it is a new environment. The daily routine is ...different because I spend more time working unconsciously. Normal working hours are 8 to 5, but I find myself working longer because I never really leave work. I didnt really see it in this light until my mother came visiting. "What is your husband having for breakfast?" she would ask, to which I would just point to the fridge. "What will your husband eat when he returns?" my Mum would as

Since friday I decided not to comment on what was going on in the banking industry here in Nigeria, partly because I was three busy, and partly because I really do not 'vent' about politics. Yes, I vent about the upcoming wedding, the office, and other things but not really about politics. But this one, I have to vent . I read a post on 234Next about the banks crisis and the moves that CBN has made to try to change things, and it was alright. The information was shocking but still Nigerian. Then I read the comments. I encourage everyone to click the link above and read the comments thoroughly. It appears that there are some Nigerians who don't realize that every decision-making office in Nigeria is rapidly being filled with underqualified [or in some cases, unqualified] Katsina and Kaduna state people. I started with 'it appears' cos I do not want to believe it is true. I encourage everyone to read through THISDAY newspaper, yesterday's edition. Meanwhile this

Well, firstly, MERRY CHRISTMAS IN ARREARS!There, I know its late but better late than never, you know.I went to my mother's hometown, to attend my mum's cousin's housewarming party. They are wealthy, and I don't even mean Nigerian wealthy. I mean really wealthy but not filthy rich yet (the husband's 50th birthday party was aired all through Nigeria). So, they just finished their second house in their hometown, after building two mansions in Lagos. Its tastefully furnished and well - planned, something we have all come to expect from them. Now my cousins are really exotic - the girl barely stayed in Nigeria to finish her university education - she left in yr 2, went to London and made her mark, did her masters, and is now working for a reputable oil and gas company in ireland. She's got twin brothers, who are so similar and dissimilar at the same time. One schooled and now works in the US, while the other stayed home for his education, did [horrible] NYSC, and tr

I decided that the answer to that question is national service some weeks ago. Now I have changed my mind. It is National delay. After posting us (four corpers) for three weeks [an old secretary tells us to 'come back' with four working days interval, each time] the Railway Technical School, under the auspices of The Railway Corporation, Nigeria, decided that they did not need us. So, I have been rejected from my place of primary assignment. Just when I had decided that I could try my hand at teaching (six footers with baritone voices), and take some certification exams as well, I am told that the Nigerian Railway Corporation cannot afford to pay four corpers five thousand naira, and so we have been rejected. Nigeria we serve! Now I am looking for a job - seriously searching for a job. I am thankful

I just watched a segment of 'So you think you can dance', and I got teary - eyed. There is this contestant that seemed, well, he sort of had no neck. The great part is that he made it to the final four.  The greatest part is that the whole crowd was touched by his performance - they were on their feet by the time he finished break - dancing to Christina Aguilera's 'aint no other man'. Even some of the judges were on their feet, and clapping. One of the judges was so wowwed that he has promised to put the young man in an upcoming movie. I was touched by his performance. I was touched by his courage to attend the audition. I was touched by his determination to do something for himself, and not feed off everybody's pity. I was touched by the crowd's response, a honest and encouraging one. I was moved by the whole thing - the fact that the youth of America can do, and be, without having to be typecast into the usual jobs - doctor, lawyer, architect, e

At one point in my trip, the bus was told to slow down for workers ahead. We got close and it turned out to be NYSC people, clearing the road and packing sand into ditches (NYSC means National Youth Service Corps. It is a year long program that every graduate has to partake in, in Nigeria. Without the certificate that it has been completed, 99% of companies and 100% of the governmental ministries will NOT employ you). Some of them were a bit excited but I was not thrilled, honestly. These ones were the lucky ones, the ones that didn't get posted to danger zones like Port Harcourt (which, from the last I knew, was declared (or about to be declared) a state of emergency), Zamfara (a truly Islamic state), or the Eastern remotest villages where the rudimentary comforts of life that we have taken for granted are not available (like pipe - born water, and electricity). Come to think of it, every state has far - to - reach obscure villages that lack these things, and the danger of being p

I was a virgin until recently. A virgin flyer that is (what was running through your mind?). I had never travelled by air prior to the 12th of August, 2007. This was due solely to the fact that I was an obedient child, and we were forbidden to fly because of the terrible state of most of the aircrafts in Nigeria (before). But since the multiple plane crashes, things have indeed gotten better in the airport system, only that my father didn't want to hear that. NO FLYING. Period. Then I got my chance, last week, when my Mum flew to Kaduna, and Dad was stiff-lipped angry. (So angry he was silent for a while). She told me, and added directions on how to leave the airport when I arrived in Lagos, if I chose to fly. Of course I chose to fly! And it was a lovely experience. Compared to the 10 hour journey by road (My Dad doesnt just insist on you travelling by road, he also selects which bus you travel in. Very thorough man), it was a fantastically short journey for me. In less than one h

It looks like everyone that I knew ten years ago will be in Nigeria this August. It brings back the title of this blog: Chunks of time. Ten years have gone by - more likely flown by and everyone has become someone else. I wonder how we will all relate to each other. Some of us have kept the communication going all this while, but some have not. The question will always come up: "So what are you doing now? Where are you based?". Thank God I have an answer. It'll not be funny if I didn't. Ten years have gone by, what have you been doing with your life? Have you been living in the past? Or dreaming about the future? What plans have you brought to fruition? Are you what you wanted to be ten years ago? All these questions keep going through my head. Weddings are events of joy and happiness. They are avenues that God created for us to see that love does exist. And they are constant reminders that no one, absolutely nobody, stays in the same spot. Everyone [should] moves for

Remember that old hit song that we were banned as kids, from even humming back in the day? "Lets talk about sex baby"? Well, I was thinking about things last night before I slept off and I realized that we, as an emerging, more educated older generation still have a lot of work to do concerning sex education of the younger ones. But the vital question is, How much do we ourselves, know ? Its amazing how low I scored in the Quizz on www.itsyoursexlife.com just now. There are so many things to learn about it, and some of us are so ignorant, that some teenagers in public schools in Lagos would feel on top of the world if they knew. We need to empower ourselves, not only to help ourselves, but to help the younger generation, who are browsing the Net at the tender age of 12 (Yes its tender here in Naija, and yes, give a child 100 naira and she'll be heading to a cyber cafe in the next five minutes). They are exposed to a lot of things like porn, and other terrible stuff. Do I

Turns out karma does exist. I had a case of the ex this morning. My ex calls from Holland and after all the 'hello's and 'how's the weather over there's, he surprises me by hashing up our history. See this guy and I had a relationship until he went for NYSC (that's Nigerian Youth Service Corps to those that do not know, and it is compulsory for every graduate). During the three weeks camp, I heard from reliable sources that he went haywire and decided to make sure those that donated condoms to the corpers didn't waste their money....now there is a chance he might read this so i will cut it short. NYSC Three weeks camp is another issue for another day - someone please remind me, ok? He broke up in the nastiest way - he just cut communication. Just like that. I cried twice over him, before brushing away the tears and moving on. Now we are good friends - online. And he calls me today to apologize for all the wrong he did me, saying that the person he became dur

I am tired of these pranksters. The latest trick is to plan with other people to convince you to drop some money. Its annoying. Imagine this scenario: you enter a general cab car, containing other passengers, and before you get to the next bus stop, someone opts to alight, requesting that the driver assist in dropping his luggage in the boot. The driver begins questioning the contents of the passenger's bag, insisting that it contains a lot of dollars and he would report to the police if the person does not confess. Sounds like a good l Samaritan who wants to know if the money is stolen, right? Wrong! If you fall into their trap, you are doomed. The sequence always starts from there, then they talk about sharing the money, or the culprit 'settling' them so they keep quiet. Then before you know it, you are also dropping some money and that's where the duping is. Someone - a friend of a friend, dropped thirty thousand naira, and he never saw them again. I got picked up