simply oroque's view

you know how growing up there was something that always terrified you? (not the dark, you sissy)...i'm talking about some future thing that you just used to dread ever happening to you by chance. you know, like all those older cousins who had to write JAMB five times for no apparent reason and would leave you wondering how many times you would have to end up writing it too. i just realized, that at every stage in life, the human mind finds something new to be scared of...nay, more like worried for. i just sat on my couch over the weekend assessing my life. it occured to me that somehow, i had reached my short term goal of earning a proper salary, and i had acquired the sound system, car, phone and laptop of my dreams. i mean, i've got everything i always thought would make me "arrive"...so why was i still worried? and what was it that felt outstanding? then it hit me...i'll never be rid of something new to worry about. even if i had every single thing on earth...i...

i haven't wrriten in a while...clearly, the country has fallen into even lower depths of disrepair that its difficult to pick any single subject to write on. plus, the rains have made it even worse...and all the wedding bells tolling around me can't have helped my mood either. so yesterday i was on my way home and running through the radio stations (really boring programming these days, i tell you), when i kept bumping into the "children's day" ads of varying degrees. each time i hear something about children's day, i'd stop to listen, in the vain hope that someone somewhere actually realizes that the day was set aside for adults to slow down and pay attention to kids around them...not a day to make parents feel guilty enough to be extorted all in the name of "making the children happy". it was grinding to listen to the pathetic presenters announing one new party or the other where kids stand to win great prizes if their parents buy them somethin...

no prologue. "about 500 mentally challenged patients of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos took to the streets as their nurses and health care workers went on strike" yesterday. there are some things about nigeria thats leaves me agape. how much money can the nurses be fighting for that would be worth the anguish that family members of these mentally challenged people will face when they cannot locate them? can the allowances, increases and surpluses ever assuage a child whose mad mother is probably on her way to ibadan now and will never be found again? do we think of the consequences of our actions BEFORE we carry them out? President of the resident doctors association says: "there is no need for the relatives of the patients to panic as the situation would return to normal soon.". Really? You just said that? wow. No epilogue

i really do not have much to say today. and untrue to type, there's nothing to moan about...its not because nigeria has suddenly got it all right, but because i stumbled on the interview by a man i admire - pascal dozie. because of the pedestal i place him, i am proud to have any inkling of similarity with his mindset, positions, beliefs or philosophy but i won't fake it. so you can imagine my joy when he was quoted as saying (in reference to his wife of 40 years): "we became such good friends, we took marriage as a natural. what was important to me was finding somebody i could have physical and spiritual attraction to, somebody i could stay with without the need for a third party...love comes after marriage. if love came before marriage, there will be no divorce. love is not an emotional thing, it is a will thing". - Guardian May 14 2009, pg 13. it may have occured to you that i can write an entire thesis in human psychology from these simple words. they are powerful...

considering how stoical men of the nigerian army are potrayed, i was really surprised to read on page 65 of the Guardian of Wednaesday May 13 2009, a response from a certain Lt.Col Adegbenro to the many public queries (ably led by defence counsel to the accused soldiers, femi falana) on the incredulous life sentence handed down on the 27 soldiers who had the audacity to ask that the right thing be done. in a country rife with unbridled corruption, none of the many excuses given by this questionably knowledgeable gentleman sufficed to quell the many question marks that have arisen as a result of the sentence handed down by the military tribunal. short of boring you with the excerpts of his monologue, it went from insulting the intelligence of any member of the public that was sane enough to query the basis of the sentence (by calling them "sympathisers...poorly educated on military norms") - to calling the respected femi falana a man that has "carried am image of himself ...

for some reason, it took this site ages to open today. maybe blogger.com is experiencing the same kind of inertia that i have been feeling since friday. but anyways, there's something to moan about so here i am. so today i was reading the dailies when i stumbled upon the headline - "Swine Flu: 'We're Ready', says FG". Now, everyone knows i'm a strong believer in the nigerian government and the fact that they do give us reason to hope. but i couldn't bear the question in my heart alone and so i read out the phrase to my colleagues in the office. surprisingly (not to me), they asked the very question on my lips...'ready for what?'. To be fair to the Federal Government, they know how not to be too specific in their bragging. this often gives them space to manoveur when it eventually becomes clear that it was yet again another empty assurance. it brings back memories of the bird flu. all i heard at the time was that a farm in osogbo had been culled...

so it hit the papers today that the 27 soldiers (including 3 women) who dared to obstruct traffic in ondo state, to protest the non-payment of their entitlements after completing a horrifying war-time assignment, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court martial. for me, thats quite besides the point, because although soldiers are well aware of the strict nature of martial laws in this country, i don't think that makes them less human and less able to feel cheated or aggrieved. is it just me, or has anyone else stopped for a second to ask the simple question: why were they being owed in the first place?!!! i cannot imagine how we end up punishing the victim and watching the fat, lazy, corrupt boss walk freely around. how on earth can anyone hold on to the entitlements of war veterans and probably plug it into some fixed deposit account so that he can reap the interest after the 180 days period (or longer) and the country turns around to sentence these men to life imprison...

in discussing the contents of my blog so far with my colleagues, and avid readers, i have been accused of crossing the line between ethical criticism and flat out cynicism. its been said that i don't seem to see anything positive about this country, or with the daily life that we live as nigerians. to set the records straight, i have hope. so throughout yesterday, i scoured the papers looking for something positive to write about. there is all the buzz about the eyo festival happening tomorrow in lagos, nigeria. where the government is giving free transportation to everyone to come and see what indegenous lagos masquerades look like and do. i spent the whole day thinking about the tourism benefits of this carnival and of the PR importance of the festivities on the always stressed people of lagos. but my mind couldn't help but wonder how much more economic sense it would have made, for the government to offer this free transportation to lagosians on a weekday when they need to w...

i was reading the papers today(please allow me to sound a lil intelligent), and i stumbled on a piece on albinism in a certain african country where albinos are used for money rituals. the various uses to which albinos are put isn't quite the subject of today's blog. truth is, i often read albino stories with one mindset: albinos are again begging for acceptance - and i'm often right. it saddens me that in an age where prositution is permitted, and HIV is being spoken about on national television in all its dirty ramifications, society still finds it hard to treat albinos like there's nothing wrong with them. albinism, along with sickle cell aneamia and some forms of diabetes, is hereditary. meaning that these people who suffer from these ailments, really had no choice about whether they would like to have these ailments or not. quite the same way you couldn't have decided for yourself if you'd prefer being naomi campbell rather than the short stumpy mutt that y...

there are countless cycles in life...some good, some bad, some plain hopeless. being born and giving birth, being birthed and being buried, being slapped by your spouse and giving the silly rascal a hot slap right back without a flinching thought (okay, maybe thats not exactly a good analogy for cycles of life)...but you get the point. i have today found a cycle that doesn't fit into the regular cycles listed above and of course, its peculiar to Nigeria. okay, today has been a good day so i really can't get myself to write too much negativity so i'll keep it short. we've got a bunch of traffic management officers on one side, that harass everyone whether or not you commit a traffic offence (but thats another matter for another day)...and then we have oil tanker drivers on the other hand who feel that it is their God-given right to park their tankers at any damn spot (highways included) they very well please. so there lies the quandry. the traffic guys, always ask the ta...