Soludo-cious!

Our dear 'banking wizard', Prof. Charles Soludo, just got a crash course on the ultimate Nigerian psychology: we are never too star struck.

People are already saying he didn't 'consult widely', and that would be the reason this policy fell flat, but they forget he also did not consult widely on banks consolidation as well as last year's new naira notes and coins (!). But we left him well alone because in the first situation, there was a villian common to us all, the almighty banks, and we needed a hero - and there came SoLUDO to save the day! By the second time we decided to reward him with benefit of the doubt, BUT by the third time, our psychology also bolstered by a President who listens, we said to the 'wizard': 'enough already'!

Of course people still respect Soludo - with distinctions from BSc to PhD who wont?! But then he must learn the obligation of oiling that well of respect constantly and nothing dries that kinda oil faster than a 'know-it-all' attitude - ask Obasanjo, ask Obasanjo, ask Obasanjo!!

In the meantime, don't you just feel admiration for this our President - rushing to stand behind Soludo, before all the hawks wanting his head take advantage of this one mistake? As Yaddy (spoken through Segun Adeniyi, who, I must say again, is doing brilliantly well!) rightly said, it's not the man's competence that is in doubt. It's just a matter of ... mmm, attitude adjustment. Yar'adua just trips me!

Chude

P.s (An Eye on BBA): Can you believe that Lerato actually saved Meryl (!!) and put 'MY' Maureen on the Eviction Chopper?! Incredible! So it appears we are going to lose the 'wondrous' and 'fearful' sight of Jeff and his 'exercises' so soon... or is it just me?

It's back to the 'I'm Sorry' Days o!!

Yes o - so sorry people! It's been C-R-A-Z-Y as usual since I returned to Lagos - make no mistake o, I LOVE it. It's been breathless... with the meetings after meetiongs after meetings ... after meetings after meetings after meetings ... in fact, I just came back from one of those fun 'consultancy' meetings where brilliant minds meet and gossip, exchange ideas, be witty as hell to people who actually understand irony, and eat brilliant food in between their brains being picked! And looking forward to another session tomorrow!

I got all the low-down on BBA in the past week from the four delightful women whom I shared the meeting with (I was the only guy as usual - that seems to be one of the joys of my life! I should blog about that soon), which is good since I havent been able to watch since I came back! Oh have I mentioned that I have a crush on the delicious (thank you very much, I have a right to my tastes!) Maureen?!?!

There's been plenty of drama too - I hope to blog properly about all of that before the weekend ends...

Don't you just love Lagos! (Apart from the hold-ups, which I haven't experienced yet, thank God!)

Sorry about the exclamation marks everywhere - it's just how i'm feeling at the moment! Oh by the way, dont forget to join us for laspapi's The Jero Plays this sunday at the Terra Kulture...

How was your week?
Chude

I am posting something that was sent to me to post: try and read it guys

Subject: Please help save lives...

Hello,

Please help me save lives.

How?
By donating blood.

Why?
Because people are dying daily from unavailability of
blood. And it is not for want of our trying.

A high percentage of maternal deaths (i.e. death
during pregnancy and childbirth) is as a result of
bleeding that could easily have been treated by prompt
blood transfusion. Just last weekend, I had 2 very ill
women who needed blood, whose blood group was not
available in the hospital. It was only by the
vigilance of the head of haematology (blood services)
who called all over the state to get blood that these
women's lives were saved. I have hundreds more of such
stories of women who were not so lucky.

How can you help?
Please make a date to come and give blood. A healthy
adult can give a pint of blood (500ml or one third of
a big bottle of Eva water) every 6 months with no
problems whatsoever.

Also, please mobilise friends, family, employees,
colleagues, church members, mosque members, etc to
donate now AND REGULARLY. The muslim associations in
the Luth community are excellent and donate blood on a
regular basis.

Will it disturb your schedule and is it safe?
It takes less than 45 minutes and is also done on a
Saturday. The hours are Monday - Saturday 8am to 6pm,
Blood Bank Lagos University Teaching Hospital,
Idi-Araba, Lagos. If you can organise more than 10
people in your location, arrangements can be made for
people to come out to your office, etc.

I gave blood on Wednesday the 22nd and i went on to
continue working for the rest of the day. You need to
drink a lot of fluid after and refrain from strenous
exercise or activity. The only discomfort is the
slight pain from an initial finger prick (to ascertain
you have enough blood in you) and the needle that goes
into your to take the blood. I am sure you will agree
that the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience.

Sorry about the long email but please give your blood
and save lives. Because you can.

Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank
you.


Bosede


Dr Bosede B Afolabi
Consultant/Senior Lecturer
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
College of Medicine/Lagos University Teaching Hospital
Lagos, Nigeria.

Soludo-cious!

Our dear banking magician, Prof. Charles Soludo, just got a crash course on the Nigerian psychology: we are never too star struck.

People are talking about how he didnt 'consult widely' and that is why this policy fell flat, but they forget that he also did not consult widely on consolidation as well as last year's new naira notes. But we left him because in the first case, there was a villian common to us all, the almighty banks, and we needed a hero - and there came SoLUDO ... by the second time we decided to give him benefit of the doubt, and by the third time, equally armed with a President who listens, we said to him: 'enough already'!

Of course everyone still respects Soludo - with distinctions from BSc to PhD who wont?! But then he still needs to oil the well of respect constantly and nothing dries that kinda all faster than a 'know-it-all' attitude - ask Obasanjo, ask Obasanjo, ask Obasanjo!!

In the meantime, dont you just feel admiration for this our President - rushing to stand behind Prof. Soludo, before all the hawks wanting his head take advantage of this one mistake? As he rightly said, it's not the man's competence that is in doubt. Yar'adua just trips me!

Chude

p.s: Can you believe that Lerato saved Meryl (!!) and put Maureen on the Eviction Noose?! Incredible! So it appears we are going to lose the 'wondrous' and 'fearful' sight of Jeff and his 'exercises' so soon... or is it just me?

Whazzagwan!

It's funny - I am in Abuja, with my favourite 'aunty' and 'uncle' couple, trying to take life easy after the exams, not yet ready to face Lagos and it's hold-ups, watching Big Brother Africa like it's going out of season, reading everybody's blogs, dropping comments here and there, staying on the internet almost 24-7, waking and sleeping and lazing, but can't seem to find anything to blog about...

And I refuse to blog when I dont't really have anything to say!

Lest I forget, thanks for all the good wishes. Hope the week is treating you well?

*wink* (cos life IS beautiful!),
Chude

P.S: Oh by the way, I think the new CBN policy is wack. Hopefully I'll say why when my brain ceases to be lazy!

'Keep Trying To Save Africa. Please.'

In today's Thisday, there's my rejoinder to my friend, Uzo Iweala's article 'Stop Trying To Save Africa'.

It's not short, so I will just post an excerpt here:

Until our own people know as much as Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, or for that matter Madonna do about the specifics of our realities, they might just as well hold their peace and get up to speed. Even more to the point, if some of us go beyond ourselves, we would actually find out that people like Bono, through DATA and Edun and other such ideas, are doing exactly as we “ask”: promoting trade alongside aid.

If it has indeed become fashionable for the West and its celebrities and magazines to “save Africa”, then all we should feel is gratitude. Because the real tragedy is that while college students in America, no matter how misguided, spend their spare time doing whatever they can to draw attention to African causes, ‘real’ Africans who school and work in America and Europe do little or absolutely nothing, sitting pretty and advancing their careers and life, and then turning around to look Bono and Bob Geldof in the face and say “don’t insult my intelligence”.

What grandstanding!

As a matter of fact, it is my sincere hope that Africa continues to be more and more fashionable...

You can read the complete piece HERE.

And then, at the risk of being accused of doing a 'Yar'adua' - I think the President's Spokesperson, rising from the initial stumblings, has settled in quite well. Today, he explains in The Guardian the President's decision to over-turn himself and the beauty of accepting 'correction' HERE

Can I get a witness!!!

I’ve been called a 'winch' many times for my ability to keep things to myself until they are done or passed. It comes from being an only child. It comes as a shock usually because it’s such a contrast to my usual talkative tell-all self.

Well, for the past 8 days, even as I blogged and ‘facebooked’; I have been writing the most intensive exams of my life. An exam EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past six days – and have been under the most horrific stress that is possible; that I have ever gone through.

I have had just the most basic sleep, my room has been in disarray (I re-christened it the War Room), my back aches, my head aches, my mouth is almost dry … yet I am just… happy.

All over the world, they say the Bar Exams are feared. Well in Nigeria they must certainly are! Typically, I entered these exams with self-conscious fear and trepidation and a complete state of unprepared-ness (as usual), but they were … A BREEZE! I say this without any sense of arrogance or self-augmentation; it is simply a matter of fact. A matter of God’s grace. The Grace of God and His Grace alone!

People! Listen!! The race is truly not for the swift, no frigging way! It;s time and chance and God and God and God alone that happens to us all. I believe in God! Yes, I believe! I am a witness! And I went to church for the first time in three weeks now to sing and dance and shout and give my first-fruit to him, because it is his work and his work alone. The past 8 days have been His, for His Glory and for me to bask in.

I can’t believe it is over. Law school is over! And I can’t believe how beautifully it all ended. I will most likely tell the story on this same pages very soon. But for now I am just too too too too too over the top with happing, too too too too too intoxicated with joy, tooo hyper, tooo grateful to God. I am screaming as I write – everyone in the Abuja campus of the law school is screaming. There is such palpable joy. It is the most exhilarating sight! I am screaming the most. I have even lost my voice!

All I feel is the most wholesome, beautiful, filling, empowering JOY.

Father, I thank You. This is unmerited favour. And for it, there is none more unworthy than I. Indeed, there is none like You.

E ba mi yin oluwa logo o!!!!!!!!!

Presidential Retreat

Over the past few weeks, I have been accused, often times in jest-layered seriousness (but with that tinge of seriousness all the same) both on and off this blog of liking Yar'adua too much. Of collecting bribe (as if!) and other such.

Of course, I have no apologies. I have spent the last eeight years having the most pungent hatred against my President, and it is a refreshing, nay empowering change to be able to feel the exact opposite emotion for another occupier of that office. I like Yar'adua. And I like him fiercely.

But as with those I love, I do with my eyes wide open. Tough love is always the best. Which is why I am not certain how exactly to feel about the whole AG-EFCC wahala.

On the one hand, who wants a leader who feels that he is so wise that he can neither be wrong nor corrected (people lost their jobs and referrals for that under the Emperor!), yet on the other hand, it is a bit disconcerting to witness something eerily close to hastily made decisions being reversed hastily.

Nor is an ability to at least defend your stand that attractive. While we are on that subject, I still cannot get over the fact that he could not represent Bode Augusto as a Ministerial Nominee - a man who was easily the more brilliant of the pack of nominees. Under Obasanjo, people were disgusted when he presented people like Borishade more than thrice after rejection but only because there was no exceptional circumstance for such insistence, here Nigeria NEEDED Augusto's brilliance as sorely as an oasis in the sahara.

But Yar'adua let it go. Just like that. And then this - yet another decision that came from sound reasoning; yet he just beat a hasty retreat like an orphan.

Or would my confusion be because I supported the move to reign in the EFCC? Anyone who knows me well would know that the excesses bordering of destructive self-righteousness as well as transparent double-standards of the EFCC in the past 4 years were perhaps my greatest pet peeves. And by the time Obasanjo left with his moral baggage, he took with him a huge chunk of the respect I had built for Mallam Ribadu. For me, the rule of law is more sacrosanct than any quixotic anti-corruption saliva-spray, so Yar'adua deciding to bring that organ strictly in line with constitutional and other statutory safeguards for fair hearing and equality before the law won my heart.

Then the usual suspects like Gani Fawehinmi and Femi Falana didnt even take a day's break to look closely at the decision and began to cry their cliched fouls - then Segun Adeniyi and the Attorney-General began to speak from both sides of the mouth - and effectively the policy was withdrawn.

Knee-jerk responses are hardly the hallmark of enduring leadership. But yet again, if he had been slow to react, perhaps the cynics would go back to calling him 'baba go slow'?

It's really confusing.

I think it was easier when I just distrusted and consequently disrespected the former president - at least then it was easier to put it all up to bad faith. But with someone who shows such good faith as Yar'adua, what does one think?

Should We Take This Rubbish?!

So Ms. Iyanda asks a question:

"My question, are the youth and people of Nigeria so brow beaten and/or brain washed that they will accept this? Where are the voices of reason?"

You can read the story that led to that question HERE

And so I ask, added to the UTTER IGNORANT RUBBING that the pseudo-University called Covenant is imposing on the psyche of a generation trying to find a more enduring moral compass, is my generation going to take all this sh*t and just swallow it?!

Chude

P.s: Pls if anyone does see any comment on their blogs either today and perhaps yesterday, please disregard; someone has accessed my account (I think), and so I have changed the password.

What Manner of Man?

"Ironically, a flawed electoral process appears to have brought to power a man of integrity. "

The US State Dept, Aug 1, 2007

Mirrors my thoughts exactly.

I suspect President Umaru Yar'adua may turn out to be just what the doctor recommended.

I certainly hope so. The man makes me feel SO good as a Nigerian. SO good. For once, I actually feel a certain fondness for my President - a certain faith in him...