Chude!

welcome to the future

2008-09-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCGfNYJlQTI

My Loss.

2008-05-16T02:40:00.000-07:00

Mystories just post a comment on my last post and it just occurred to me I hadnt told my blog readers ... I lost my dear father on thursday, the 8th of May, 2008.

At times like this, I find myself without words - so I leave it like that.

I have been shown more than enough love in the past few days and for that I am grateful.

Chude.

Fair is Fair...

2008-04-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

Fair is Fair
By Geoff Garin
Friday, April 25, 2008; Page A23

What's wrong with this picture? Our campaign runs a TV ad Monday saying that the presidency is the toughest job in the world and giving examples of challenges presidents have faced and challenges the next president will face -- including terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mounting economic dislocation, and soaring gas prices. The ad makes no reference -- verbal, visual or otherwise -- to our opponent; it simply asks voters to think about who they believe is best able to stand the heat. And we are accused, by some in the media, of running a fear-mongering, negative ad.

The day before this ad went on the air, David Axelrod, Barack Obama's chief strategist, appeared with me on "Meet the Press." He was asked whether Hillary Clinton would bring "the changes necessary" to Washington, and his answer was "no." This was in keeping with the direct, personal character attacks that the Obama campaign has leveled against Clinton from the beginning of this race -- including mailings in Pennsylvania that describe her as "the master of a broken system."

So let me get this straight.

On the one hand, it's perfectly decent for Obama to argue that only he has the virtue to bring change to Washington and that Clinton lacks the character and the commitment to do so. On the other hand, we are somehow hitting below the belt when we say that Clinton is the candidate best able to withstand the pressures of the presidency and do what's right for the American people, while leaving the decisions about Obama's preparedness to the voters.

Who made up those rules? And who would ever think they are fair?

I am not making any bones about the fact that our campaign has pointed out what we believe are legitimate differences between Clinton and Obama on important issues. We have spoken out when we thought the Obama campaign made false distinctions, such as when it ran advertising in Pennsylvania on standing up to oil companies, particularly when Clinton was the one who did stand up to the oil companies by voting against the Bush-Cheney energy bill. And we believed it was appropriate to debate Obama's comments about working people in small towns, because they expressed a view of small-town Americans with which Hillary Clinton strongly disagrees.

But throughout that debate, Clinton deliberately focused on the content of Obama's comments without making sweeping statements about his character.

It's an important distinction. The Obama campaign has chosen from its inception not to treat Clinton with the same respect. In fact, the Obama campaign has made an unprecedented assault on her character -- not her positions, but her character -- saying one thing about raising the tone of political discourse but acting quite differently in its treatment of Clinton.

Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, held a conference call with reporters and called Hillary "one of the most secretive politicians in America today" -- a striking personal charge in the era of Dick Cheney.

Axelrod described Clinton as having "a special interest obsession."

Obama himself has joined the character assault from time to time, saying, for example, that Clinton "doesn't have the sense that things need to change in Washington" -- a patently false and demeaning observation.

In the Philadelphia debate last week, Obama incorrectly said that his campaign addressed Hillary's misstatements on Bosnia only when asked to by reporters. In fact, Obama's campaign has organized several conference calls on the topic, including one this past weekend in which the featured speaker said that Clinton lacks "the moral authority to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day" (a statement the Obama campaign thankfully repudiated after we called it on it). Even though many reporters participated in those calls, Obama's misstatement in Philadelphia was almost completely ignored.

The bottom line is that one campaign really has engaged in a mean-spirited, unfair character attack on the other candidate -- but it has been Obama's campaign, not ours. You would be hard-pressed to find significant analogues from our candidate, our senior campaign officials or our advertising to the direct personal statements that the Obama campaign has made about Clinton.

The problem is that the Obama campaign holds itself to a different standard than the one to which it holds us -- and sometimes the media do, too.

Hillary Clinton is a strong and determined person, and she will continue to discuss real solutions to America's problems and the need for strong leadership to implement those solutions -- even if she must play by a different set of rules than Barack Obama. But wouldn't it be better if in this campaign what's good for the goose were also good for the gander? After all, in America, fair is supposed to be fair.

(c) Washington Post

Why Hillary is All About Women

2008-04-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

Why Hillary Clinton Is All About Women
By Chude Jideonwo
Published in The Guardian, Sunday 13th April, 2008

It started as a relatively innocuous question on a TV show recently. The guests were discussing the new Nigerian music industry, and someone casually asked about the dearth of bright young women dominating the scene. Someone else immediately identified it as a gender issue, and I immediately thought that sounded ridiculous.

But then another guest followed the thought through: women are generally expected to conform to certain images, and women in music are not exempt. It would seem that our expectation from the female artiste is a certain sense of mystery, of being here but not completely in our face. Agree with her or not, the evidences abound - look at the successful women in music, Asa and TY Bello for instance; they have to maintain that sense of mystery. When females like Sasha or Kenny St. Brown decide to burst through that limitation, they get on our nerves. The one female artiste who has escaped this limitation is Weird MC ...ah, but that one dresses like a man!

In another TV show discussing the American elections, someone had mentioned that Hillary Clinton's losses were perhaps tied to sexism, and here I agreed, but only to a larger, more inclusive extent. The fact is, no one is going to the polls thinking, "I won't vote for Hillary because she's a woman". The world has learnt to act and think politically correct enough not to do a silly thing like that.

The problem, however, is the sexism that has constantly been Hillary's foe for many years. The sexism that she faces, just like the female artistes, is a more enduring, subtle, yet potent sexism. People are not reacting to her now because she is a woman; it is a culmination of all the reaction to her as a different kind of woman in the public space.

People forget that the reason why Hillary is a "polarising figure", as Obama doesn't tire of gleefully pointing out, is because of her novelty at the time that she arrived in the public consciousness - a strong wife who refused to "sit at home and bake cookies"; who fought as hard as the men, gave as good as she got, and shocked many American men into a new appreciation for women. What kind of a First Lady was this? They couldn't believe it; they had never seen anything like this before! And so they fought back at her with everything, caricatured her; titled her "bitch", demonised her, but she bounced back each time.

That's the reason Hillary is to America what Thatcher is to the world. And that's why people have hatreds for her that have caked over the years. Why do people accuse her of dishonesty, for instance, and hold her to it when she is no more or no less dishonest than the average politician? It is simply because they cannot come to terms with a woman who can play the game as good as the rest of the men. She proved that there's no inferiority lurking anywhere; that the pantsuits can fit the goose and the gander.

More importantly, as the most activist First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, the first to move from the White House into elected office, she cleared the way for many women and is doing so now. Even if she does not win the Democratic primaries, because of the imperfections of her candidacy (that is, the fear of the Clinton-Bush dynasty; the oft-analysed missteps of her campaign, her prominence as a so-called "Washington insider") or the phenomenal Obama momentum, the next women coming up won't have to deal with the issues that she has. Just as Jesse Jackson, flawed as his own candidacy was in the 80s, cleared up some of those issues for Barack Obama.

LET us look at the way women have been defined over time using one strong example - Margaret Thatcher. She certainly did more than enough to present an alternative, strong, effective image of the female. And how did the world react to her, starting with the British press? She was quickly stereotyped and continues to be stereotyped as an extreme; as the Dragon Lady.

That is the kind of thing that limits and restricts women; there's no win-win; you are going to be seen as extreme: you are either too emotional, or too "tough". When the governor of New Orleans messed up big time after the floods, she was mercilessly caricatured as the clueless grandmother, a gender specific put-down. But when a George Bush screws up, he is only seen as a dullard, no gender colourations.

That is why I laugh when my female friends say they see no pressing reason to identify with Hillary. It is because they do not understand. Because they think the battle has been won. Indeed, any minority - black, women, Hispanics, Niger Deltans - that thinks the battle for "emancipation" is won, is basically fooling himself or herself. Any battle that starts with you at a disadvantage can hardly end. You are in a race with competition that had a head start many years before you and you think you should stop being vigilant at any point?

That is why it is gratifying that, state after state, a majority of women are flocking to vote for Hillary, especially women above 50 who know what it was like, and know why this is important. Blacks have a more overwhelming understanding of what is at stake, and that is why they have swallowed their reservations about Obama, and are flocking to his side. They understand.

The fact is that women have significant perception handicaps. The world still has certain images, deny as much as it does, about how the woman should be. A question will suffice: have you ever seen a woman display the charisma that Obama has on the national stage anywhere? Bhutto? Ghandi? Sirleaf? Even Thatcher? The female is a different specie. That charisma, that attractive cockiness, the boyish charm; that same quality of Bill Clinton's that we now adore in Barrack Obama is something that has been associated with men for ages. Whilst it is not something women are incapable of, it is not something that has come naturally - for decades.

When people say Hillary doesn't give as inspiring a speech as Obama, they miss the point that Hillary has been a better speaker than any other presidential candidate in recent history apart from, perhaps, John Edwards, Bill Clinton and Obama. She was definitely a better speaker than Bill Richardson, or John Kerry, or Mitt Romney, or Rudy Gulliani, or for that matter, Al Gore. More than that, she is a much better speaker, much better with crowds than any woman politician on the national stage that America has seen. Because she is almost "manni-sh" in disposition, she has been able to project that charisma and attractive charm that we only associate with men, making her able to compete with the ultimate alpha male that Obama is.

Still she is a woman, so she still has that perception limitation. Females are better in intimate communication, just like Hillary works better in town hall meetings; notably, Obama does poorly in those settings. But people look at that basic difference between masculine and feminine appeal, and based on that stereotype deepened by years of masculine prominence, conclude she is not inspiring. Yet someone says sexism is not affecting her negatively?

When Obama was given the national stage to give the 2004 speech for the Democratic Party, he more than rose up to the occasion, delivering an unremarkable speech with more-than-remarkable aplomb, but just last year, his supporter, Governor Kathless Selibbus, was given the same opportunity to respond to George Bush's State of the Union address, an astute and popular politician that she is, the consensus was that she looked uncomfortable on stage and on TV. That is the gap.

And it is not the only one. Why is it okay for a man to call a woman "bitch" as a joke on mainstream television in America, but a white man cannot do the same and call a black man a "nigger"? Why was there no outrage, only mirth, when men came to a Hillary rally crying "Iron my shirt!" but Rush Limbaugh had to apologise when a caller compared Obama to a monkey? Because... women are still fair game.

When Hillary shows different sides to her - angry, sarcastic, etc. - columnists refer to her as unstable, but when Obama does same, he is seen as cool.

It is simply a difference in behavioural patterns, and the reactions are just a deepening of existing stereotypes. We are so used to men dominating public space that we do not know how to deal with the female in the same space yet. It is not our fault but it is still sexism.

In fact, women (American women) have Hillary to thank for clearing the way for them. What they do not realise is that her continued history being strong, being tough, fighting and winning battles, being constantly elegant and admirable, she has made it clear that women can stay the course, women can stand the distance, women can do it all - and she is doing it on the biggest stage possible.

Men have this sorted for them, at least in America. Before Obama, there was Martin Luther; and then there was Jesse Jackson, to a much lesser extent of course. Before Hillary there was ... who? All the powerful American women - Jackie Kennedy, Barbara Bush, Oprah Winfrey - have more or less risen only because they still maintained the traditional female roles. Oprah is powerful because ... she spoon-feeds America! Condoleezza Rice is that other woman, who, if she stays on the national stage for some more quality years like Hillary, will make the point clearly.

How much of a surprise is it that powerful, successful women are the last to get married in any situation? Look around. How is it that strong, successful powerful men have no qualms settling down, and women who are successful, strong and powerful still find that a stretch? And you say women are free?

Is it surprising that the one ethnic group that flocks to Hillary - Hispanics - are those from a culture that has seen strong women and political wives over time?

Why were the men in an Ohio plant surprised and impressed to their bones when Hillary woke up at 4pm just before the day's primaries to campaign? Because they certainly did not expect such strength from a woman. And for each battle that she wins, for every hurdle that she crosses there, in the full glare of the world media through the CNN, the BBC, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Yahoo! News and the rest, she remains a poster child for the issues and challenges that women face in many parts of the world. And which they should not. At least, not in 2008.

So, please let us all feel free as proud black people to identify with Obama, and to support him with our hearts, because we too have fought battles of our own. But let no one even seek either to undermine the relentless challenges that the first woman to win a primary in America is facing solely because of her gender, and let us not even seek to understate the significance of each victory that she has won despite these stereotypes. Because the famed feminist, Gloria Stern, was absolutely right when she spoke up: gender is still the most restricting force, not just in America, but in many parts of the world. And my sympathies lie with any woman, or girl, who does not know this yet.

The TFA Winners Afterparty!

2008-02-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

The Future.. Awards Winners After-Party At the Miccom Golf Resorts - when we got winners, nominees, judges, press, volunteers and friends of the awards for a weekend getaway... as usual, apart from anything to do with Hillary Clinton I dont want to attempt to string together any thoughts, so will just let the pictures speak. What I did was take a picture from each separate thing that happened...

Me? Right now I am in Port Harcourt en route Abuja. No rest for the wicked! By the way, The Apprentice africa starts in 10 days, so check the website out, anmd continue to give ypour feedback!

Eyes Still on the Dem Primaries, of course!

2008-02-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

On the little matter of the Obama-Hillary run: this only will I say until March 4th; Weeping may last for two weeks, but Ohio and Texas come in March!!

That said; a 'comment-er', Ola, on my last post had this on-point comments about the 'freshness' and 'trandescending vision' of the 'change' candidate, Obama:

Hi Chude,
I'm another Nigerian who gets the 'Are You Crazy?'stare for preferring Hillary to Barack.Undoubtedly, Barack is a fine young man with immense charisma and a political talents but I still remain sceptial about the 'substance behind the style'.I have a problem with the change and unity message as no one has been able to tell me what the change is from or to? Is the process of governance going to change? are the rules of proceeedings in the US congress going to change? Is the deliberate, thorough and often slow process of legistlation going to change? I assure you talk about UNITING everyone will end the day he gets into office when he has to take a position on approving or vetoing a bill on some hot-button issue which splits america right down the middle. By the way-he is far left on abortion and that automatically guarantees him hatred form almost half of America(See http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51121 as an example, maybe a partisan one, of how divided the country will remain) His careful and nuanced positions going by his Illinois senate record will not work then. His lofty goals of unity and change are simply not SMART (Simple, measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Bound)-unite america, change washington? What does that mean exactly?

Beyond that, I have been quite disappointed about how quickly the black community hung the Racist label on Bill clinton-so much for his friendship with African-Americans. The media also has been rather easy on Obama-almost unintelligently so-there are hard tough questions-based on Obama's previous record that haven't been asked. It would be naive of the Democrats to prop Obama up against John McCain-the GOP attack machine will simply tear him apart-unfortunately the liberal label will hang even better on him than it did John Kerry and Michael Dukakis. . I can just imagine Karl rove begging to be let in on the action. John kerry's was the flip-flopper label-Obama's will be soft on crime (illinois voting record opposing a ban on an early release for sex offenders), soft on dictators and America's enemies(comments about meeting unconditionally with the leaders of Iran, Venezuela, Cuba etc), soft on drugs(his documented use of crack and his alleged support for de-criminalsing marijuana(http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/NATION/896961936/1001)-they'd certainly accuse him of being to the extreme left on the abortion issue. These attacks may not always be accurate or entirely truthful but they have worked over and over again and you can be sure the GOP will use them again. Have you even noticed how some conservative pundits have been emphasising his middle name? These are all the tricks they'll play and I think it's a stong argument that they (the GOP
)have thrown their best at Hillary and will have no more tricks against her left in their hat. Besides, I have listened to her again and again and there's just this passion and resolve to her about tackling America's problems that just get me.

What's my own with Hillary, eh?

2008-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

One of my 'well-wishers', well aware of my obsession (as many across the nation are, since I never shy away from gratuitously dropping her nme of our show every week!) with the American elections and especially Hillary Clinton, pointed me to this a piebe by Funmi Iyanda on the American elections - on the 21st of February.

Lemme quickly say thought that my interest in the Democratic primaries (and suddenly the Republicans, since McCain became frontrunner) is simply a hobby. Yes, what America does will affect teh world dramatically, and whoever is at the 'bully pulpit' tyhat the Presidency is will be defining the rest of the world, including Africa, but that is not why I am interested. I am interested because the campaign's central characters fascinate me, and inspire such emotions and passions in me that our own politicians are underwhelmingly unable to.

Well back to Funmi, as expected the reactions to her post were passionate AND heated, and many of our 'black brovas' tore at Funmi for a lot of things, but underlying a lot of it, no matter the intellectual pretence, is SHOCK at a black person not supporting the historical candidacy of another black person who says the right things and looks the part.

For blacks in America this is an emotional issue and I can understand. If Obama becomes president it will be a HUGE psychological as well as a social lift.

But people like me who live here at home are lucky to be able to afford objectivity, and from an unecumbered viewpoint can say who we like, who we trust, who we believe in, who we would vote for if we had the chance. Funmi took the words right out of my might in being suspicious of an Obama who hasnt been tested and trusted. They stand on the same team in terms or policy: the difference being that one is vetted and tested, the other gives inspiring speeches. Say what you may, speak all the obscurantist grammar, it's really that simple. Hillary is a worker, Obama, a talker.

I dont like - or trust - Obama. It's that simple. Trust has to be earned. Trust has to be worked for. Trust has to be built. What the Obama supporters are riding on now is a huge wave of 'feel-good' opium. For people like me, that is not and can never be enough.

Being 'the good, clean, new guy' was what took Bush to the white house twice - and where did that leave the world? Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. Obama is riding on that same wave - good clean, new guy. Same as any guy that comes up on the scene now.

All in all, any two of them would be better than a Mitt ROmney, or a Republican President at any rate. It is my fervent wish that Obama humbles himself, works hard to earn cogent trust, and then join hands with Hillary to win a TRULY historical presidential contest. Until then, I'm enjoying the thrills of the race!

This and Plenty of THAt (Convoluted as usual)!

2008-01-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

Oby Ezekwesili (World bank VP), her husband and Sen. Ita-Giwa at The Future.. Awards '08Tell me about it. IT's been CRAZY!!

Why havent I been able to blog? Plenty of reasons. The Apprentice (I am in charge of the website, as well as pubblicity, so read the website and tell me what you think!), my NYSC at the NLNG (9-5 EVERYDAY - it KILLS), and OF COURSE The Future.. Awards. And bits and pieces here and there.

In betqween the last time I blogged, I took a LONG-DESERVED holiday, spending a BEAUTIFUL no-phones, no-laptop weekend in Joburg, and have been travelling all around NIgeria. Will try put up the Jo-burg pics.

The Future,, Awards was such a HUGE success I am still tingling from it. Bella weighs in on it here. Ty bello and Emem Ema - I swear, this is the EXACT look for the future! (And it's official, I SERIOUSLY, TRULY Have a crush on Emem!) I generally dont talk about somethinmg so huge because I get lost in it - I am sure by next week or end of month, at least before the after party in Febraury at Miccom, I will have been able to form my thoughts, and gratitude.

On Hillary
And it's still Hillary COuntry in America: she won New Hampshire, she won Nervada, and they foregt she WON Michigan by 55%, WITHOUT campaigningt - if she had lost she would have been news. Bill Clinton is doing what he has to do, and Obama is whining! Complaining about the same thing he has been accusing HIllary of? I wish people could really see through this audacity opf Hype.

Hilary is 'doing it' - and winning!
That having been said, I am pretty disappointed with the black vote. Voting for Obama just because he is a viable black candidate does worse to deepen racism. After all that tyeh Clintons have worked on in civil rights issues, to just sweep that aside because Obama is bvlack and he can win? Shameful. What does that say to the whites who came out to sweep the polls for Obama in Iowa? So what? The blacks should go for Obama and whites for Hillary? My man, Naijadude is even more [passionate than I am (I didnt know THAT was possible) about Hillary and has plenty to say (plus great pics!! - I LOVE her pics - its formidability brought down!) on his blog

Apologies
I a[pologise to all those who have placed comments I couldnt reply to - I will try to do so this wekend. And OF COURSE pictures from the future awards will be up. But you can see most of them on purefoto in the mean time.

Plenty coming up - pray for me let's blog together, and thanks Wienna and the others fo rkeeping the comments coming; i appreciate it

What Makes Hillary Tick..

2007-12-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

Common Ground.

Coming from the divisive politics that has made America two countries really instead of one spirit, we need someone who isnt afraid not to be extreme on the left and on the right, but to say: no one is wiser than the other; we are all seeking the same things - a better country, and we can work together and get it.

I'm in a hotel with broadband that;s such a dream come true, and have been waltzing through Youtube all night. SO many videos t share (especially those DELICIOUS The View meltdowns - you should check them out), but listen to what Hillary has to say about the gap between pro-life and pro-choice

HERE

And she's not just saying it. She has for the past couple of years built such strong bi-partisan alliances that have won her praise, AND respect from both sides. Contrast this with rock-star Obamaa's ugly spat with the Republic campaign over the failure of a bi-partisan agreement HERE

TFA Nominee Party Pics!

2007-12-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

It went down on the 12th of November (wednesday), at Waka Restaurant, Sanusi Fafunwa, Victoria Island, Lagos!

Comedian, Jedi, who emceed the event, digging it down with Entrepreneur of the Year nominee, Mosun!

Yours Truly with Linda Ikeji of the delicious legs!

The megastar's in the room!

Fela Durotoye - Deliciously Dapper!

It's Don Jazzy Again!

Guess who!lol

TY Bello with Fela Durotoye

You can see PLENTY of pics HERE

Hillary Finds Her Voice...

2007-12-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

Funny, all the time Hillary was leading in the polls - I wasnt impressed. As far as I was concerned, she was only coasting because she was the most viable; not because of who she was/is.

Fire Mark Penn! I used to scream to myself. He wasnt doing enough to communicate the essence of Hillaryland - so that once Obama stepped up his opportunistic attacks, and abandoned the politics of hope with which he hoodwinked Americans desperate for change, her lustre began to fade...

For someone like me who reads up ACTIVELY on Hillary, and can boast of solid insight into her personality as much as public persona can allow, I know that she's the best choice for America, and if she would only show a bit of why she is the best - why her evolution into a political heavyweight is the biggest asset the Democrats need now ... she wuld be there. She needed to stop being formidable alone - she needed to start communicating ..

Well maybe I should say thank Obama and that irritant Edwards for their attacks! Now the Hill opens her mouth and she's talking ... her soul is seeping through - and I know she will regain her traction.

Hear her:

"That work means knowing when to find common ground and when to stand your ground," she said. "If you are too unyielding, then you are likely to end up with nothing to show for it. If you are too compromising, you may very well give up your principles and your values. You've got to find that balance." (Read the full piece HERE)

"You dont get change by hoping for it (read Obama and his romantic tales of change and hope), you dont get change by demanding it (read Edwards and his annoyingly slippery tirade against Corporate America), you get change by working for it."

The Des Moines Register endorsement captures the essence of Hillary, and is a must read for everyone who wants to be convinced on why she is THE BEST CHOICE. I was overjoyed that they captured so brilliantly the very thoughts I have about Hillary. The very thoughts that will make her win.

Hear them:
"Indeed, Obama, her chief rival, inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence. Each time we met, she impressed us with her knowledge and her competence."

HERE is another Hillary story that wins my heart.

You will hear more and more about her and why exactly I can;t get enough of her as the days go...

Runaway blogger!

2007-12-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

People,

SO MUCH has been happening since the last time I wrote on these pages, and it's such a shame that I've not had time to blog. I would have tried but my blogger has simply REFUSED to sign in since AND I havent been able to find space to go use somoene else's!! Seriously man. I get so increasingly busy I wonder how I manage to get it all together - people ask, but I truly, TRULY dont know! It's grace. Unmerited. Unlimited.

It's strange at this point - everything is going so well; it is just a dream come true for me! I am SO thankful. Unfortunately, the only blot on that is how I dicsover those people who are closest to you are sometimes the greatest stmbling blocks to ur moving froward and my gift to myself in the new year is to get rid of them slowly, painfully but surely - as I come to the painful fact that I can't allow anyone kill my joy!

The Future.. Awards, The Apprentice Africa, my NYSC posting etc etc - there;s SO much to say. The nominees party for the awards held this last wednesday and it was such a blast! Dbanj, Ashionye, DOn Jazzy, Linda Ikeji, Ebuka etc ... Hopeflly I will blog properly on that anedput put up pics.

However, I must say that for someone who is enamoured with Hilary Clinton it;s a shame I havent blogged much about her here. It's SO sad to see Hilary slipping in the polls - the only true liberal in that race (at least amongst the top 3), she is a remarkable, brilliant woman and will make such a formidable and successful leader. She might still win, sans the toga of inevitablility, and I certainly hope she does. EVerytime I read a bad story about her, I mourn, it hurts me like it's a personal loss! (Just had to blog that! More on that too later!)

I wil respond to ur comments before the day ends.

Sorry about the random blogging - I am in a rush to the airport AND there;s only 24 hours in a day, AND I have SO much to say!

Stay well people! (And kudos to the great spirits who have found the will t keep blogging! Btw, you DO know that naijafineboy is in town right?!)

Cheers!
Chuderi

Mikel Obi, Chimamanda, TY Bello, Don Jazzy, Others, Make The Future.. Awards Longlist for 2008!

2007-12-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

After four weeks of grueling research and investigation, following the close of nominations in November, the Central Working Committee for The Future.. Awards is glad to release the definitive list of the brightest and best young people Nigeria produced in 2007!

With the excitement that has built up in the past few weeks – this is a list that young Nigerians from all around the world have been waiting for! Understandably so, since the list came out a bit later than usual this year. Adebola Williams, Operations Director for the awards explains, “This year the nominations we received more than tripled – it was truly massive! It’s no doubt due to the extensive national media campaign and tours – and we are most grateful to our media partners. And not just any nominations, we got a diverse and impressive pull. It was arduous wading through them, but what can we say really? We like to think it’s what you get when you do an awards like this that people have come to believe as credible and trustworthy.”

As usual, from the thousands of nominations (47, 234 this year) 120 nominees (8 per category) have been selected for the race towards the ultimate prize. In all the 15 keenly-contested-for categories, there are brilliant, high flying young achievers all between the ages of 18 and 31. It is fine cocktail of the famous and the seemingly obscure, the skilled and the talented, professionals and artistes – a truly balanced representation of the next generation.

From TY Bello, who is on the long list for two awards, Artist of the Year and Young Person of the Year, investment guru Boye Olawole and others for Professional of the Year, through the likes of D’banj and Psuare for Musician of the Year, Tosin Dekalu, Chika Nwobi, Funke Bucknor and co for Entrepreneur of the Year. And with others like Mak Kusare of BBC’s Wetin Dey, Joke Jaiyesinmi of Hip TV, Abdulkareem Baba Aminu of Daily Trust, Ayeni Adekule of Thisday, divas like Genevieve Nnaji, Oge Okoye and Ini Edo battling it for Actor of the Year, and for the first time ever, a sports personality, Mikel Obi, emerging, for Young Person of the Year, this is one list you have to read through!

The 4-stage judging process begins immediately, with the Independent Audit Committee, headed by Dr. Reuben Abati and having such credible Nigerians as Ms. Sienne Alwell-Brown, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, amongst 30 others screening through this list to decide who will be crowned as icons of the future!

Further information can be gotten on www.thefuturenigeria.com

THE LIST

Professional of the Year
Ike Ochonogor – FedEx
Temitope Ogunfayo – Procter & Gamble
Adebayo Omole – Matrix Solicitors
Boye Olawoye - Investment Banking Group
Lola Talabi – Cadbury Nigeria
Bode Makanjuola – Caverton Group
Omowale David Ashiru - Accenture
Noble Igwe – Virgin Nigeria

Artist of the Year
Karo Akpokiere
Jide Alakija
TY Bello
Ogunnubi Babadeji
Chukwuma Ngene
Seyi Taylor
Adolphus Opara
Abraham Oghobase

Music Producer of the Year
Alex Yangs
Don Jazzy
Mosa
ID Cabassa
Jeremiah Gyang
Wole Oni
Jokaynie
Mr. Daz

Screen/Programme Producer of the Year
Mak Kusare – AveHill
Michael Oyeyiola - Soundcity
Lamide Opere – Nigezie
Seke Somolu – Wetin Dey
Effiong Eton - Silverbird
Soji Ogunnaike – Real Time
Joke Jaiyesinmi – Hip TV
Nasir Muazu – BBC

Musician of the Year
Obiwon
Olu Maintain
Konga
Ashionye
Psquare
Dbanj
De Indispensables
Faze

Best Use of Technology
Adejuwon Saheed
Femi Odewunmi
Ayorinde Olalekan
Mubarak Mohammed Abdulahi
Icebox Studios
Olufemi Akande
Odufuye Bamidele
Seun Medunoye

Best Use of Advocacy
Emmanuel Etim
Toyosi Akerele
Temidayo Israel
Olatorera Majekodunmi
Adeola Akinremi
UNITeS
Oyebisi O. Babatunde
Amina Alli

Entrepreneur of the Year
Abiodun Ajibola - CGMIE Consulting
Tosin Dekalu – Lady Cobbler
Funke Awobokun – Cocktails In & Out
Funke Bucknor – Zaphaire Events
Gbenga Ashiru – Nebula Media
Bukola Adubi – Miccom Resorts
Chika Nwobi – Mtech
Mosunmola Umoru – Honeysuckles PTL

On-Air Personality of the Year
Adaure Achumba
Keke Adenuga
Nike Coker
Lamide Akintobi
Denrele Edun
Mike Magic
Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi
Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

Journalist of the Year
Samson Adeoye – The Guardian
Ayeni Adekunle – Thisday
Azuh Amatus – The Sun
Abdulkareem Baba-Aminu – Daily Trust
Adedeji Ademigbuji – National Standard
George Elijah Otumu – The Week
Nonye Iwuagwu – The Punch
Julie Odia - Simply Woman

Best Use of Goodwill
TELD
Generation 4 Change
Do Sumthing Positive
Utopia
AIPA- Against Illiteracy Poverty and AIDS
Shade Ladipo
Omowunmi Agagu
Ngozi Ekeh

Entrepreneur of the Year (Beauty & Style)
Omoyemi Akerele
Toni Payne
Okunoren Twins
Muyiwa Osindero
Banke Meshida
Linda Ikeji
Lisa Folawiyo
Bunmi Oyeniyi

Actor of the Year
Genevieve Nnaji
Ini Edo
Funke Akindele
Ali Nuhu
Osita Iheme
Mike Ezuruonye
Oge Okoye
Nonso Diobi

Magazine of the Year
RISE
Juice
Bubbles
Applause
Dynamix
Acada
Tripz
Blast

Young Person of the Year
Mikel Obi
TY Bello
Oluchi Orlandi
D’banj
Chika Nwobi
Toni Payne
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Mubarak Muhammed Abdulai

TFA Organisers Grab Awards of Their Own!

2007-11-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Let's blow our own trumpet jare!lol

PRESS RELEASE

TFA Organisers Grab Awards of Their Own!
As if to further validate their credentials as resource for Nigeria’s biggest youth event, two of the directors of RedSTRAT, organisers of The Future.. Awards, have been declared winners of some of the nation’s most prestigious awards.

At Nigeria’s numero uno media event, the Nigerian Media Merit Awards, hosted by the Osun State Government on the 17th of November 2007, and in the presence of such veterans including Prince Tony Momoh, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, Amb. Segun Olusola, Mr. Dele Adetiba, Mrs. Duro Onabule, Mr. Bode Alalade, amongst other judges, the RedSTRAT Creative Director, Chude Jideonwo, was named the Entertainment Journalist of the Year, for selected copies in market leader, True Love West Africa.

The youngest recipient of the 2007 NMMA, at 22, Jideonwo, who also got called to the Nigerian bar just two days before the awards, is a prominent freelance writer whose by-lines can be found in Time Out, Made, Farafina. Thisday, The Guardian amongst others.

Following from that, Emilia Asim-Ita, 20, has been declared one of the winners of the highly coveted Leap Africa Youth Leadership Awards, for her sterling work with what was for many years Nigeria’s leading youth talk show, Youth Talk (on the NTA). The awards presentation holds on the 22nd of November, in conjunction with the International Youth Foundation.

Incidentally, the two award winners are together the presenters of Rubbin’ Minds - a weekly talk show on the Channels Television Network; Sundays at 3pm that has become the most prominent media voice of young people on the national stage.

This is indeed more power to their elbows as they get ready to deliver another punch that will yet again win the nation’s admiration, setting standards and giving inspiration, through the event, to thousands of youth around the country.

It will be remembered that The Future… Awards, which the London Metropolitan University recently referred to as ‘the biggest youth award in Africa’ is being held in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Education on the 13th of January 2008 in Lagos. Further information can be gotten on www.thefuturenigeria.com

For further information or details, please contact me, Adebola Williams, on 08027064260. Best regards!

The newest Barrister/Solicitor in Town!

2007-11-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

On wednesday, I was called to the Nigerian Bar.

On thursday, I was enrolled at the Supreme Court.

We thank God for all the progress He grants us. But at the risk of soundcing anti-social I was not excited about any of it, and though I kept up the act cause it was one day my dearest dearest mum was so proud about, I forbade most other people around me from making too much of it.

I see nothing to be proud of in graduating from college. Tens of thousands of graduates come out of Nigeria yearly, and at least 5000 people were called to bar with me this week - so what is there to be so proud of?

Now, my albino friend who, with both parents dead, left his village in Edo State, went through tears and blood, severe physical and financial difficulties, to graduate along with us, with a 2'1 Degree at University and another at Law School, and was the only Unilag graduate from our set to win a Law School prize is a story I can celebrate. And I do. Examples like his make it extremely difficult for anyone to have any excuses for failure.

What I AM excited about is the fact that with school done with and all the certificates receieved, the second and most important phase of my life begins. Let the REAL games begin!

Do YOU have what it takes?

2007-11-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

From Biodun Shobanjo: 'You're Fired!'

The man called 'Godfather of Nigerian Advertising', Biodun Shobanjo has joined the A-list cadre of business moguls as the US' Donald Trump, the UK's Allan Sugar and SA's Tokyo Sexwale as a consortium of The Executive Group, Storm Vision and Bank PHB has unveiled him as CEO for The Aprentice Africa!

The debonair icon, Biodun Shobanjo, at 63, is Chairman of the Troyka Group, which is the holding company for Nigeria's biggest ad agency, Insight Grey, SKG2, Optimum Exposure, Media Perpective, MediaCom, Quadrant and Halogen, employing over seven thousand Nigerian men and women.

The Godfather is bringing this intimidating resume to bear in coaching 18 young African men and women on the principles of business, success and winning.

For him, "Winning is not the most important thing, it's the only thing."

Applications are now being accepted from young Africans all over the world - people with brilliance and street-smarts. Apply on www.theapprenticeafrica.com. Do you have what it takes?

Did Yaddy have to do anything?

2007-10-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Democracy ran it's full course. Yar'adua respected the democratic institutions that the contitution in its wisdom so structured, and didnt interfere. The people spoke, the members battled, he continued his own job of building the nation. And at the end Etteh went down - in a completely democratic process!

Did Yar'adua have to decend into the arena of battle? Did he have to interfere in the process? Did he have to soil his hands for democracy to work? Aren't those whole insisted he had to step in thoroughtly ashamed of themselves now?

Yaddy Hits Bull's Eye - Again!

2007-10-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

Please can someone join me in giving applause to President Yar'adua for this resounding eloquence of intellect... HERE

Excerpt:

People forget that we had a similar situation in the past when, following a crisis which also bordered on allegations of corruption and abuse of office in the legislative arm, the then President, in a national broadcast, told the world that certain members of the National Assembly took bribes", he posited.According to him, "one of the two former House of Representatives members publicly indicted in that unfortunate episode, one is a Governor and the other a Senator", he noted.

He pointed out that "neither of them was even indicted in the report compiled by the same government before the April elections, raising questions about the propriety of executive intervention on an issue that is better internally resolved by the legislature or at best adjudicated upon by the judiciary.Yar'Adua who spoke through, his Special Adviser on communications maintained that his oath of office demands of him to act within the law at all times hence his resort to the dictates of the rule of law.

"The importance of the rule of law, which has become an article of faith for President Yar'Adua, and adhering strictly to the principle of separation of powers, lies partly in the arbitrary powers it denies to individuals and the discipline it imposes on all and sundry", he argued. PLEASE, EVERYONE, NOTE!

Tara's Day of Glory!

2007-10-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Hall at Tara's 10th Annivesary ... breath-taking orange ...

Last sunday, Nigeria joined Tara Fela-Durotoye to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of House of Tara, and the launch of her new perfume range, Be Inspired. It was a beautiful evening with some of the most colorful people around ... people you want to share a moment like that with.

RedSTRAT was in charge of the event's media management, and we are proud of the success that it was - and prouder of the role model that Tara is - incidentally she was also Young Person of the Year 2007 at the Awards.

Plenty of pictures can be got on Purefoto or via Bella's blog

Not AWOL

2007-10-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not AWOL. Facebook has stolen my heart, along with many other bloggers - but i am keeping faith people!

But please nominate for The Future.. Awards on www.thefuturenigeria.com. Let no one give any excuses that they didnt hear o!! www.thefuturenigeria.com www.thefuturenigeria.com www.thefuturenigeria.com

How are you all doing?

Cheers
Chude

Reuben puts his mouth where his money is...

2007-09-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Reuben Abati's force of perspective and clarity of thought are clearly what make him arguably Nigeria's most popular columnist. Last week, his piece on Big Brother Africa was spot on; and this week, his piece on the shape of banking and the plight of banking staff is truly FANTASTIC.

To take a quote:

"Banks must be told to stop soliciting for deposits like beggars on the streets. I once mistook a female banker for a corporate beggar, and I was going to give the poor girl N500 to get rid of her before I saw the T-shirt she was wearing.
The CBN should stop banks from sending their staff onto the streets to dance and entertain prospective shareholders. The banks must also be told to set realistic targets for their marketing staff (if they must set targets), design other
performance measurement benchmarks, and concentrate more on raising the quality of their service: the surest way to build customer confidence. The present methods dehumanise and endanger the lives of staff..."

YOu should read the entire piece. HERE

Apologies ...

2007-09-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

I apologise for not explaining my absence, at least for those who have asked. I must also apologise for not posting the comments - I kept postponing and postponing because my connection has been slow, and when I finally decided, I accidentally deleted the comments!

It's The Future.. Awards and Rubbing Minds sapping my energy - but what you don't see of me here, you will soon see, both here and on The Future's website.

If you can, please resend thh comments and I will post. And I will do my darndest to update, so don't leave o!!

Chude

IT’S A BUMPER, BUMPER PACKAGE!

2007-09-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

This weekend of our nation’s independence celebrations, young people in Nigeria will be kept very busy, if not directly, then by extension, as RedSTRAT presents two of its major events back to back in its relentless bid to inspire a generation of young Nigerians into taking charge of their destinies!

On Sunday, the 30th of September 2007, in conjunction with Channels Television, it will be hosting the initially postponed Rubbin’ Minds talk shop, which will be broadcast live at 3pm on the Channels TV Network.

The event – to be held at Planet One in Lagos – is for a select 200 young people between the ages of 16 and 30, who will gather to discuss ‘President Yara’adua’ and Co: First Impressions – an avenue to effectively inject a strong and genuine youth component into national discourse.

To attend that event, or to recommend someone to attend, send an email to redstrat@thefuturenigeria.com.

The very next day, 1st of October, as has become the tradition, RedSTRAT will be formally kicking off the 2008 edition of Nigeria’s biggest youth event. “The Future..” Awards, at an exclusive media and VIP event at rave venue, SixDegreesNorth in Ikoyi.

A cocktail event that sees a gathering of some of the brightest and best upwardly mobile young Nigerians it is an opportunity to bounce the plans for the next Awards directly off a cross-section of its target. At this pre-event cocktail, the promos and campaigns will be unveiled, alongside the new categories, revised criteria, sneak preview of the plans for the event and its build-up, media partners and sponsors, and the guests are free to ask questions, record observations and make suggestions.

About 25 seats are still available – if you think you or someone you know qualifies to fill in the slots, send an email to chude@thefuturenigeria.com, with name, age, and details of occupation.

The organizer of these events, RedSTRAT, with its national spread and mainstream relevance, has quickly established itself as the first name on the lips when it comes to young people in Nigeria, relentless in its bid to act as principal change agent for its generation, presenting positive role model and creatively engaging the hearts and minds - and it is resolutely committed to this imperative. Further information on all the events can be gotten on www.thefuturenigeria.com

It’s An Assembly of Heavyweights Judging The Future… Awards 2008!

2007-09-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

In a matter of days, the three-month journey towards Nigeria’s biggest youth event “The Future…” Awards 2008 (holding on the 13th of January 2008), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, will formally kick off - a journey that many across the nation and beyond are certainly looking forward to with excitement.

But before the formal launch at an exclusive media and vip event on the 1st of October, the organizers can reveal the names of the distinguished Nigerians who have made the list of the Independent Audit Committee, judging the awards.
As has become the tradition, TFA prides itself on having perhaps the most transparent and rigorous Nigerian awards process, where nominees go through four stages that span 12 weeks - and the Audit Committee is the most important arm in this process. Therefore, it is understandable that, each year, part of the excitement of the awards is to see who would make the committee.

Yet committed to making the process even more fool-proof, the committee has been enlarged to a membership of 30, drawn from across every sector of the Nigerian society, through an elaborate selection process by the Central Working Committee.

From the corporate environment, there is Dr. Yemi Osindero, COO of Virgin Nigeria, Mrs. Funmi Omogbenigun who heads corporate communications in MTN and Siene Alwell-Brown of the NLNG – who is engaging in her first public/media activity after a long hiatus from the public space.

From the media there is Mr. Seye Kehinde, publisher of City people, Mr. Simon Kolawole, editor of Thisday, Mrs. Eugenia Abu of the NTA, Tajudeen Adepetu, who runs Soundcity amongst others in his massive TV network and Dr. Reuben Abati who is also the Chairman of the Audit Committee and has so been for three years now.

Iconic entrepreneurs, Tosan Jemide of Cakes by Tosan, Mrs. Mo Abudu of Vic Lawrence & Associates and Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture also make the list.

Advocacy sees Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, Dr. Judith Burdin Asuni, Ms. Nike Awoyinka of Common Ground Productions and Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli of LEAP Africa, and from government there’s Hon. Abike Dabiri and Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Chief of Staff in the EFCC.

In fashion, there are two doyennes, Ms. Ruth Osime who sits atop Thisday Style and Mrs. Data Okorodudu, Creative Director of JD7; and from entertainment there’s the legendary Onyeka Onwenu (MON), ace comedian, Ali Baba, and AMAA Awards chief, Peace Fiberesima.

And to top off the list are Ms. Bennie Uche from the US Consulate, human resource guru Fela Durotoye, Mr. Tunde Soyinka, Creative Director of IMS, sports icon Chief Segun Odegbami (MON), Dr. Emman Shehu Usman, Farafina publisher Muhtar Bakare, and Mrs. Funke Aboyade who is managing partner with Babalakin and Associates.

The Board of Trustees also sees new heavyweight additions including Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, and Chief Olusegun Osoba, who are joining the likes of Prof. Jadesola Akande, Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Dr. Reuben Abati, Mr. John Momoh and Hon. Nduka Irabor. Further information on the event can be gotten on www.thefuturenigeria.com

There’s no doubt about it, this 2008 edition, “The Future…” Awards is set to take the nation by storm!

The List

 Dr. Reuben Abati (Chairman, The Guardian Editorial Board)
 Dr. Yemi Osindero (COO, Virgin Nigeria)
 Mrs. Sienne Alwell-Brown (Head, Corporate Communications, NLNG)
 Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi (Chief of Staff, EFCC)
 Mr. Seye Kehinde (Publisher, City People)
 Ms. Onyeka Onwenu (MON)
 Mr. Tosan Jemide (CEO, Cakes by Tosan)
 Hon Abike Dabiri (Member, House of Representatives)
 Mrs. Mo Abudu – (CEO, Vic Lawrence & Associates/ Inspire Africa)
 Chief Segun Odegbami (MON)
 Dr. Judith Asuni (Executive Director, AAPW)
 Mr. Simon Kolawole (Editor, Thisday Newspapers)
 Mr. Fela Durotoye (CEO, VIP Consulting)
 Mr. Tajudeen Adepetu (CEO, Consolidated Media Associates)
 Mrs. Funmi Omogbenigun (Head, Corporate Communications, MTN)
 Ms. Ruth Osime (Editor, Thisday Style)
 Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello (Executive Director, KIND)
 Mrs. Funke Aboyade (Managing Partner, Babalakin & Associates)
 Ms. Bennie Uche (Information Officer, US Consulate)
 Mrs. Eugenia Abu (Head of Presentation, NTA News)
 Ms Nike Awoyinka (Publicist, Common Ground Productions)
 Dr. Emman Usman Shehu (The Presidency)
 Mrs. Peace Fiberesima (CEO, AMAA Awards)
 Mrs. Data Okorodudu (Creative Director, JD7)
 Mr. Alleluya Atuyota Akporobomeriere (CEO, XQZMOI)
 Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli (Executive Director, LEAP Africa)
 Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters (CEO, Terra Kulture)
 Mr. Muhtar Bakare (Publisher, Farafina)
 Mr. Tunde Soyinka (Creative Director, IMS)

Rush Hour 3 v MY Rush Hour Week!

2007-09-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (That's the sound that comes when you blow out air out of your mouth - it's actually the elder cousin of a sigh of relief).

I haven't slept at home for an entire week!!! Just got back a couple of hours ago - and I tell you: have I ever been so glad to see my room - and my bed!!!!

It's all been about the new Rubbing Minds we were working on - shuffling between our new office space, the Channels TV studios (you know you've almost become staff when the security just waves you in!) and Planet One - and I was even the one doing the least work! I felt so sorry especially for Adebola, our director of operations who is the one directly in charge of this project. But we managed to survive it - and then a couple of days ago it was cancelled, but for very good reason. Channels always wants stuff to be perfect, and that is always a positive thing; except that, as I joked, too much 'perfection', can be a bad thing!

You'll be the first to know of the new date (in September) etc etc. Myself and Adebola were actually on Sunrise (I've ALWAYS wanted to go on Sunrise!) yesterday to talk about the postponement.

In between all of that though, I was able to get - AT LAST! - internet on my computer (everyone's gotten it before me: my excuse of 'no time yet' was beginning to sound stupid even to me!), had lunch with fellow blogger, Linda, and then (the big one) was able to go see Rush Hour 3!!!

Now, my friends at rotten tomatoes I have always agreed with on each and every fantastic movie (Notes on a Scandal, for instance) and the truly horrendous (Are We Done Yet picks up that trophy for now), but on Rush HOur 3 which got all of 13percent there ARE wrong! Add that to the fact that I went into the movie armed with cynicism and all the righteous snobbery of a movie critic, and then to have laughed so hard and almost at every turn?! Yes, Jackie Chan's face might be looking like a ton of bricks right now, and his mate isnt looking as dandy, but they still know how to tickle - and that whole subtle but very telling sub-theme on how America is the country that 'kills for no reason'? Brett Ratner certainly did the right thing in squeezing the last juice from teh franchise. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant. If you havent seen Rush Hour 3, it's still at the cinemas (at least, Silverbird) - HURRY!!!

Speaking out what ele's good; it's a shame that the series Commander-in-Chief, only did one series before it was pulled off. Emilia was raving about it, cos she bought the series after she saw Oprah raving about it, and I was hooked all night until I had seen ALL 18 episodes and it is splendid! President Allen Mackenzie is perhaps the most brilliant character ever created.. Only worry though, seeing as after one episode, the viewers interest shifted (people blame ABC for 'mismanaging' the series, whatever that means) would that be a metaphor for how America sees Hilary Clinton's candidacy? I most certainly hope not.

And once more I say: Rush Hour 3 was FANTASTIC!

My week in a nutshell! Yours?

Chude

Rubbing Minds: Update..

2007-09-07T10:28:00.001-07:00

Channels Television sincerely apologises that the brand new version of Rubbing Minds in collaboration with RedSTRAT will have to be postponed.

This is both to align the event to the sponsorship it has attracted as well as to ensure the event meets the high standards the brand has set.

This is the first time RedSTRAT has ever postponed an event so we can assure everyone that by the time we unveil the new Rubbing Minds, it will be clear why this postponement is necessary.

We apologise most sincerely to everyone who has already made plans towards the day ... The new date in September will be communicated shortly.

For further information: redstratnigeria@yahoo.co.uk and redstrat@thefuturenigeria.com

Rubbing Minds Gets Reloaded!

2007-09-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

On the 9th of September 2007, Nigeria’s premier news TV Station, Channels Television and leading marketing communications firm for young people, RedSTRAT (organizers of “The Future…” Awards) will be presenting to the nation a brand new version of the quarterly event, Rubbing Minds.

In its second year now, Rubbing Minds prides itself as the only event of its kind in the country. Designed in the fine tradition of modern ‘town-hall’ meetings, it has quickly distinguished itself as the only avenue for young people from a vast cross-section to discuss issues around the social, economic and political, as well as to network and synergise.

Unlike other talk sessions that only manage to draw the attention of students or youths in advocacy, Rubbing Minds has achieved A-list status with its rare ability to pull a qualitative mix - from the corporate environment, business, fashion and style, music, comedy, the academia, the media, politics and advocacy. Rubbing Minds sees the elite of young people coming together to discuss of all subjects – Nigeria.

According to RedSTRAT’s Director of Operations, Adebola Williams, “the idea of Rubbing Minds is to make it cool and hip for young people to discuss the issues that ultimately define them, as young people, and as Nigerians. We took up this challenge because of our impatience with the way young people in their 20s and early 30s are being engaged. The fact is, the more you keep presenting those kinds of sessions in a boring, clichéd monotone, the more you alienate a generation of young people who have been exposed to the modern savvy of international debate and politics.”

The first edition of the new Rubbing Minds will seek to counter-balance the expected frenzy that will accompany the 100 Days in Office celebrations across the country. Themed ‘First Impressions’, it will reflect what young people from across Nigeria think about the new president, the governors, and the steps they have taken in the 100 days since May 29. Expected to be as intellectually charged as always, the organizers have promised that the event will maintain its easy ambience and the delicious mix of wit, candor and irreverence that have earned the event its credibility and acceptability.

The event is billed to hold at rave venue, Planet One, in Lagos, playing host to 250 selected young people, as well as three special guests to be revealed in a few days. Even better, this session will be broadcast live (4pm) on the Channels Television network – with a scheduled repeat broadcast. This is certainly unprecedented!

Explaining the new partnership with Channels Television, Williams reveals it was the CEO, Mr. John Momoh “in that unobtrusive way that is his trademark, who, having encountered Rubbing Minds, decided it was to time to put it on a bigger, more accessible platform, so that Nigerians can effectively move beyond empty clichés and begin to really integrate the voice of young people into national issues and the way our country is run. Indeed, people like Mr. Momoh, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, Mr. Tayo Aderinokun and others who have encountered the work that RedSTRAT does for young people and have decided to give it their full support prove themselves as authentic inspiration for the new Nigeria we keep talking about.”

With the irresistible blend of Channels Television’s professionalism and unwavering commitment to detail, combined with RedSTRAT’s savvy and popularity amongst the youth population nationally, the excitement as we all count down to the reloaded version of Rubbing Minds on the 9th of September 2007 is almost breathless!

Enquiries about the event can be made to redstratnigeria@yahoo.co.uk or redstart@thefuturenigeria.com, and details can be gotten on www.thefuturenigeria.com.

P.S: 40 seats are left open: if you wanna attend, please send a mail to chude@thefuturenigeria.com with your full name, age, and occupation.

Soludo-cious!

2007-08-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-22T12:21:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-08-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

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.'

2007-08-07T13:01:00.003-07:00

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!!!

2007-08-07T13:01:00.002-07:00

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

2007-08-07T13:01:00.001-07:00

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?!

2007-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

"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...

Death Kills...

2007-07-31T03:48:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a text first: 'Did you hear that Sam Famakinwa died mysteriously in the North?'

There was something altogether too melodramatic about the text so I didnt give it much thought - or maybe it was that, as usual, I couldn't come to terms with the capacity of death to just ... kill. Kill faith, kill hope, kill life as we know it..

Although I have written for Thisday for about five years now, I have only been to the offices about three times and therefore do not know a lot of the people who I deal with almost every week. Samuel Famakinwa (he is known as a business journalism guru) I had only met over the phone, but like I joke with my friends, he is (was) one of the few Thisday Editors that don't have what I call the Thisday 'You're On Your Own' syndrome.

For the past two editions of the Thisday Music Festival for instance, he has been the one responsible for us at RedSTRAT getting tickets - and this even when he knows us only be reputation. And so it was just a few weeks ago that my friends met with him, spoke with him, gisted with him at the Le Meridien where the crew of the Festival stayed. And one of us even had a post-event meeting scheduled with him. And now he's ...dead.

And it turns out that text wasn't melodramatic: it's really one hell of a mysterious death.

To get a fuller gist of everything, you might want to read Simon Kolawole's (another one without the 'OYO' syndrome) palpably teary-eyed narration. It is convoluted in Kolawole's usual way, but the passion and his sincerity, as usual, comes through effectively.

What do we say to Death?

Only "Shame on you! You have done your worst! Whether you like it or not, Samuel Famakinwa lived a full life - and he will be missed."

Chude

P.S 1: By the way, there's something quite 'iffy' about the response of Samuel's employer to his death as narrated by Simon Kolawole. I dont know ... maybe it's just me. Hear this:

"Immediately, I called my chairman, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, to inform him. He was more than shocked. He was not aware Sam had travelled to Maiduguri. He asked me why I granted him casual leave in the first place." Huh?!

P.S 2: Speaking about death, something just died for me today. Something that should have died long ago actually. You know what they say: sometimes, one thing has to die for another to come to life... I'm sad, but I am more thankful for how free and light I finally feel ...

The David Mark Show!

2007-07-21T11:59:00.001-07:00

N.B: The piece was a bit longer when I spent it, and of course my editor had to cut it down for space: but it made me look so much angrier! Ah well, I wrote it didn't I? Enjoy!

The David Mark Show!
By Chude Jideonwo, Airtime, Thisday 07.20.2007

It is understandable that, following the live transmission of the Third Term (they called it constitution review), Ken Nnamani turned out to be a hero: easily the most popular television personality at the time, whether by default or not. Before him, Justice Chukwudi Oputa had been the darling of the airwaves as he lorded it over the lawyers and witnesses at the delightful Oputa Panel, albeit with admirable charm. So, Mark wanted his day in the sun? Not so tall an ambition actually, er except for one little problem. Actually, there are two problems. First, the Senate President doesn’t have that star quality, which both Oputa and Nnamani were blessed with, even without knowing it. That combination of wit and charm is what TV producers call the X Factor. Actually, depth also helps. All of which our dear Senate President appeared to lack.

Indeed, with his village-square style of moderation, he came off looking jaded, obsolete, almost clownish, uninspired and ultimately uninspiring. Apart from that, television as a medium thrives on content. Put simply, there has to be a point to what it is you expect people to watch. With Ken Nnamani, it was very possible to revel in the personality of the Senate President whose candour was inspiring, refreshing and engaging all at the same time, added to the fact that we were being thoroughly educated as to the groundswell of issues surrounding the tenure elongation agenda, apart from being thoroughly informed about the groundswell of disgust at the prospects of a continued Obasanjo presidency. There was a point to it, there was something that viewers wanted to see. That’s the worldview Airtime keeps trying to communicate to producers: it’s not just about wanting to come on television - what do you have to put on? Television is supposed to inform, educate, entertain and since Oprah came on, it now has a fourth function- inspire.

The ministerial screening had the potential to incorporate all these elements to achieve good TV. But it turned out a failure. A bad TV show. Information? Education? Absent. Since the Senators had reasons as puerile as hunger (hunger!) for their failure to ask intelligent questions of the nominees. A female nominee, someone who might end up heading a sensitive Ministry was told to “bow and go”, simply because the senators were hungry! Add that to Senators standing up to vouch for nominees with such helpful detail as “she is a calm person” “he is the secretary of our great party, the largest party in Africa” if not the whole world, or “I have worked under her for many years” and “if she has raised four children, then she can hold a ministry”.

And as far as PR value goes, these guys would have been better off assigning the brief to the Buhari Campaign Organisation, believe me. The David Mark Show was horrible TV. It came off like we had assembled a cast for BBC Hard Talk, and instead we were confronted with Saturday Night Live. If I was Executive Producer of this show, and the national assembly was my cast I would fire the lot.

Randomly...

2007-07-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, I owe myself the duty of updating you on the Segun Adeniyi, et al debate – whether you want it or not! Especially since Dele Sobowale chickened out and didn’t complete the series in his column yesterday and didn't even think it fit to apologise – see the man talking about personal integrity! For those who know how these things work, since Sobowale published Adio's rejoinder in his column, it is most probable with the threat of a law suit hanging over, the gladiators have reached a settlement … again, talk about double standards! Nothing more nauseating than people who start things they can't finish ...

Just before you lose faith, Waziri Adio’s rejoinder was published in three different papers, and it’s bottomline is refreshing: "He did not 'turn coat". It's a compelling piece. Which is just as well because those who know Mr. Adio call him one of the most decent men around.

***********************************************************************
Even though I had already made up my mind to break up my three-week laziness and go to church this Sunday, since I was sleeping over out-of-school anyway, I like to think that it was Linda Ikeji’s blog that made the decision for me. The power of writing. Of blogging.

At the time before the modelling celebrity’s blog became popular, when she was still requesting serially for readers, I had argued intensely with a fellow blogger about the seeming simple-mindedness of her blog and how she ‘says too much’ and I remember insisting that the pureness of heart displayed in that space would eventually make her popular in blogsville. Not only was I proved right, my friend is now one of her consistent readers.

Like someone else said recently, Linda’s honesty is intoxicating. For someone like myself who boasts of his openness and wakes up every morning telling myself ‘I am a good person with a good heart’, Linda’s blog gives me a new high to strive towards. She can load the blog with tiring fluff sometimes (!), but I unreservedly recommend Linda’s blog if you haven’t discovered it yet…It might just renew your hope in the human spirit.

***********************************************************************

Going to church - the Family Worship Center - on sunday was the best thing that could have happened to me. It's so long since I actually went to church and didnt hear something I could be cynical about. It was so refreshing and unexpected, that its impact still has me enveloped. It was a message on love -and it was so beautiful. SOmething that both Christians and non-Christians will learn from. I will buy the CD next and share some quotes.

It is exciting to know that you can go to church and actually learn something. Church can be so cliched and on auto-pilot these days. I always tell people how I ended up at Daystar. My mum had just 'released' me to leave MFM and go to any church of my choice, since I was so unhappy in the former, and I decided to go on a round of churches, that saw me going from This Present House through Redeemed and Fountain of Life, Christ Chapel etc to Daystar finally - where I actually began to look forward to church. With all the others, it was too cliched, and even where I am now, there are some days when I truly wonder...

The joke now is that before anyone can begin to insult my intelligence anyhow, the one hour service at Daystar will be over. It is cynical, but for me, going to church must mean something. It should. I cannot have faith in God in a vacuum: church must fuel that passion, fill a need - if all it does is turn me to a machine, then there's no point.

Ah well, sometimes, 'thinking too much' can be a curse. But being under Pastor Sarah's ministration on sunday renewed my faith in no small way, and I am most grateful to her.

*******************************************************************************

Was just kidding with my gf over the weekend about how she almost hates make up, and then it hit me that actually none of my ex-es used make-up, except for one maybe. And then the thought enlarged as I realized that most of the females in my generation, at least those I know (my generation defined as 18-32), don’t actually wear make-up. I know it is very possible I am either ‘behind time’ or completely off, since I am the last person to talk about issues of style!

But I suspect, especially after talking note of Thisday Style’s new column for young people yesterday, and seeing the marked difference between my generation and the rest, that I am right. And it makes me wonder: it does seem that our generation is minimalist … Moving from the big wigs and ball gowns of those before us, we on the other hand seem to insist that less is more. Like, generally, we don’t see any need to prove a point. Good or bad thing?

*********************************************************************************
Got back to school today and a small rumour had started about my whereabouts, that I am exploiting - and enjoying - to the fullest. I can't share it here, but I can't help but share my amusement in public! Oh, humans can be so shallow! I mean, me and them! Haha...

...And Dele Momodu!

2007-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Today, Ovation's Publisher, Dele Momodu, reminded me of the reasons many people were - and probably, still are! - disappointed when he left 'serious journalism' for photo-journalism (dont laugh!). Well, it appears Bob Dee is back! With his Pendulum column in Thisday.

I have taken excerpts for those of us who just want the gist in a nutshell...

"Yes, Obasanjo helped him into power. Yes, he wants to remain grateful and loyal. No problem. His mother and extended families have gone to see the Ora farmer to express their total gratitude. That should be enough. Obasanjo himself should realize as a Yorubaman that when we offer goats as sacrifice to Masquerades, we must drop the ropes. For as long as you hold the rope, the ram has not been given to the gods. Obasanjo’s inability to release the rope of power to Yar ‘Adua is heating up our polity again. All men and women of conscience must beg, or force, him to go home and rest in perpetual peace.

"Those of us who don’t appreciate his style are probably in the minority. And history may still be fair to him. He should, therefore, worry less about local politics, or village matters. He should allow his own people to enjoy their palm wine and their wives. He does not need to control the party to be relevant. In fact, it is very demeaning for an international superstar to become a local champion.

"In eight years, we did not get electricity, pipe borne water, good roads, good hospitals, good schools, adequate security, affordable foods, good transport, regular supply of fuel, or kerosene and many other necessities of life…

"We agree that he has a wealth of experience to share with us, but he can do that privately, and at the Council of State meetings. It is too dangerous to put him in the executive chair. Obasanjo is too combustive to sit still at public functions with the President. He will always make Yar ‘Adua feel like his houseboy and may not even allow him to express his personal or official views. The gentleman will always feel intimidated by Obasanjo’s larger than life image.

"President Yar ‘Adua seems a nice and honest man but that alone cannot take him to the promised land."

But of course, you can read the full piece HERE

The piece is titled: Why Yar'adua Must Confront Obasanjo

You Need To Read These!!

2007-07-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. The danger with rejoinders is that, rather than listen to your voice, people will always go find out what originally happened. I had last week or so raised issues with how soon former Thisday Editor, Segun Adeniyi had 'turned coat' when he reached government, and till now it rankles me, I have to confess.

Then yesterday, he made the mistake of actually reacting to that very issue, and for those who know the issues involved and have access to facts to which he made mention, his piece only rang hollow. I therefore decided to go read the original piece that prompted his passionate denial.

And wow! It was explosive! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Read Dele Sobowale's original piece HERE,

and the sad rejoinder HERE

This much I will say, any journalist who whilst his perspectives were untainted spoke a certain way and then turns around when he's in government to scream 'Oh I have now seen the light' is a disgrace, and I use that word with all responsibility. What it means, and the fact they keep missing, is that for the past years that they were journalists: they were misinformed, ignorant, and misguided. Ultimately discredited.

Thankfully, there are one or two such journalists-now-in-government who have been able to maintain their integrity and good sense.

The fact is: if you want to 'turn coat', we understand the job of journalism doesn't pay yes and you need to 'move up in life', so turn coat and keep quiet about it. No one is a fool. It makes me so ashamed sometimes to be part of the media.

The weeks ahead will be explosive, and you NEED to buy Vanguard next week, because Dele Sobowale is going to face the President's spokesman FRONTALLY. I love it!

P.S: Based on the first comment I just received now, it makes sense to state that the word 'turn coat' is used loosely, in the reasonable assumption that folks would actually read the two pieces (or at least one!) and then understand the context in which it is being used. It would make any comments on this post informed at the very least.

Tagged! Seven Things ...

2007-07-05T05:04:00.002-07:00

I was tagged by Jeremy, and would say I thank him for it: I had fun.

Seven Things ...

I wake up every morning and tell myself – I am good person, and I am given to depth. Every morning. It's actually a challenge to self.

I swear by Vanity Fair, Oprah, and Desperate Housewives; and my all time favourite TV shows – Forever Eden, Paradise Hotel, The Practice, Jenny Jones, Tightrope (Nigerian) – are sadly off the air.

I think four of the things that the enlightened world is most hypocritical about are pornography, female orgasms, sexual monogamy and masturbation.

I am a good listener and I look forward to criticism – in turn I am irritated by people who don’t listen. I have many of them as friends. I call it a testimony to my incredible spirit of accommodation that they still are!

I believe that under the right conditions, the human being is capable of anything. Of defacating in an open place after a hurricane (New Orleans), of diverting mosquito nets meant for babies to protect cattle in the midst of a famine (Uganda) and to scoop oil at the risk of being burnt alive to stave off poverty (Lagos, Nigeria). That having been said, I don’t think I could ever deliberately take the life of another person – no matter what.

The only thing I hate more than the hypocritical are the self-righteous.

I’ve only been in love once in my life – and I’m scared it might not happen again.

And I am tagging:
Gbolahan!
Exschoolnerd!
Msminx!
Tolu!
Mystories!

What Desmond Tutu Said …

2007-07-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

The older I get, the more I learn not to judge a book by its cover. Like many, I rever Archbishop Desmond Tutu, but consider him a boring interview subject, and when you tell me that his interviewer comes in the irritating robes of Brad Pitt, you turn me completely off. But then this is Vanity Fair, and with VF, I read every article. And I am glad for that. Here I take two responses from the interview (in this month’s spectacular – no matter what the critics, who haven't even read it(!), say – Africa Issue) that almost knocked me off with their profundity: they are not novel insights by any means, but what struck me is the force and beauty of the restatements:

Brad Pitt: So certainly, discrimination has no place in Christianity. There’s a big argument going on in America now, on gay rights and equality.
Desmond Tutu: For me, I couldn’t ever keep quiet. I come from a situation where for a very long time people were discriminated against, made to suffer for something about which they could do nothing - their ethnicity. We were made to suffer because we were not white. Then, for a very long time in our church, we didn’t ordain women, and we were pernalizing a huge section of humanity for something about which they could do nothing – their gender. And I’m glad that now the church has changed all that. I’m glad that apartheid has ended. I could not for the part of me be able to keep quiet, because people were being penalized, ostracized, treated as if they were less than human, because of something they could do nothing to change – their sexual orientation. For me, I can’t imagine the Lord that I worship, this Jesus Christ, actually concurring with the persecution of a minority that is already being persecuted… Our church, the Anglican Church, is experiencing a very, very serious crisis. It is all to do with human sexuality,. I think God is weeping. He is weeping that we should be spending so much energy, time, resources on this subject at a time when the world is aching.

Brad Pitt:… You said about apartheid, that is was operated on the principles of exclusion. I can’t help but think that the same thing is going on with our trade rules.
Desmond Tutu: We have the capacity to feed everybody on our planet. We have the capacity to ensure that everybody has clean water. We have the capacity to ensure that everybody has affordable health care. We can prevent many of the diseases to which our children in the poorer parts of the world succumb. For goodness’ sake, why don’t we wake up to the fact that you can’t have an apartheid security? You can’t have apartheid prosperity. If you are going to have security, it’s going to be security for all. If you are going to have prosperity, it is going to be prosperity for all. If you want to be free, you can’t have a quarantine freedom. It’s going to be freedom for all. And if you want to be human, we are not going to be able to be human in isolation; it will be that we are human together. (Emphasis mine)

(c) Vanity Fair

Bell is One!!

2007-07-03T04:42:00.000-07:00

I can NOT believe that Bella Naija's blog is only just a year old.

It's amazing - but you need to check her blog out now (if you havent already!) and get all the details from her. "You'd have to admit that Nigerian blogging took a new, fun, edgy, classy, entertaining, lovely {I can go on} direction when Bella started blogging."

Bella made me start blogging; she made me even AWARE of blogs - and she does FANTASTIC work. She also has such an amazingly good heart.

Many people are proud of her - and I am happy to join the roll call!

Chude.

P.S: Oh i see Jeremy has tagged me on Naijablog... gimme a minute!

The Blogsville Idol - See me o!!!

2007-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Oh I MUST apologise to my people, Pink-Satin etc who asked me to publicise the Blog Idols thingie ... that was the insane period I wasnt updating, and then I FORGOT!!! I'm just remembering now as I visit Idemmili's blog - how can Idemmili be in a competition, and I am NOT rooting for her!!!!!

So, please guys, participate in the Blogsville Idol competition - vote, vote, vote!!!!

President Yar'Adua and ... trouble!

2007-06-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

hey people!

I am back in the village of Bwari, back to burying my head in law books, so you might not be seeing me for long periods (even if its just to prtend that I'm serious abi?!). However, this phase is ending in August by His Grace, so it's really nothing.

Will be posting any articles of mine that are in the papers and any other bit and piece I can - and will try to update the diary.

Meanwhile, this trouble I have to look for since I have two - three, in fact - raging opinions I have to share:

First, I think Yar'Adua messed up big time!!! I was already beginning to feel soothed by his approach after being raped for years under OBJ - but Yar'Adua ripped open that sore again with his puerile strategy. This more than anything is what proves that he is not his own man ... yes, he probably wanted to prove he also, like OBJ, cannot be pushed around, but therein - in not being able to insist on doing things your own tested and trusted way - lies the real weakness .

FOllowing that, my fears over my Big Bros, Segun Adeniyi, didnt even take a month to develop. His article in the papers last week was just WRONG. DOes something happen to them when they get to tht Aso Rock?!?! How come the same Segun Adeniyi who once advised government spokesmen that attacking journalists is never a wise approach, now turn around to do justr that?!?! He was a columnist just under a month ago!!! And his new job as Special Assistant, Media is about his boss, not about him ... he shouldnt do this to himself - and to us.

Also, there's this girl who contributes to the Arts pages of Thisday on Sunday, Joy Bewaji - who basically spends time lambasting other columnists (yeah, that has included me, so no wonder I am being sarcastic!lol) - but this time she was actually in a rare moment, praising someone, only it turned out ALL WRONG. I had said I would NOT comment on the Cest La Vie fiasco, afterall the storm has passed and Aunty Betty is a role model - but that doesnt mean that someone should try and pull wool over our eyes! What Aunty Betty wrote was wrong on SO many other levels I can't mention now. She has apologised and that is big of her, even though we do not know again, like Jeremy said, if the problem was 'editorial slip' or 'production mix-up' - for whatever it was she apologised, she was wrong, she made a mistake she shouldnt have - she's only human. Ka chineke mezi okwu.

But for this Joy girl to now say she did NOTHING wrong (you can check last sunday's paper on thisdayonline.com) simply because all her other articles have been 'inspiring'?! Just because she has done this and that? See, the world's biggest hypocricies have collapsed by just one Freudian slip such as this, and while I am not saying that is the case here (I have no right to make such judgements - at least not in public) I am just asking that no one should insult my intelligence.

Aunty did wrong. Aunty hurt another woman. Aunty pissed others off. Aunty apologised. We hope Aunty doesnt do this again. These are the material facts - let no one try to conflate them please.

How was your week?

Thanks A LOT for leaving comments even when I take soooooooooooooo long to reply them ...

Cheers,
Chude

p.s: my friend jude dibia, is doing a really creative thing for his new book, getting two brilliant spunky WOMEN, Mobolaji Adenubi (those in Nigeria's writing community know her)and Nonye Bethel to discuss his new book, Unbridled - which he wrote in a fmale narrative voice ..... It's from 2-4pm at the Terra Kulture this saturday ... Jude will be signing books I suppose! To see a blog-review of the book, cheack Adaure's blog. Cheers

So, WHAT EXACTLY Have I Been Up To, Right?

2007-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

(The GIST Edition!!!)

Hmm. Na wayas. Na real, real wayas. I tire ... I have been under the greatest stress in the past few weeks it is incredible.

So I’m sure a lot of you have been wondering what exactly the drama has been about my not being able to update an ‘ordinary’ blog. But I have really, really been swamped. To avoid boring you and myself, I will just run over the larger details.

First the main gist some of you have been waiting for: it’s not really a big deal; y’all know I was crazy about Omawunmi and campaigned seriously for her to win Idols – which she lost. A magazine commissioned me to do an interview with her immediately after, and she was basically … em … well, rude. It struck me that she must see herself as on the celebrity par with perhaps an Omotola?

‘Luckily’ for me, the major mag I write for also commissioned me to interview her and this time she couldn’t say no (she then agreed to do the other one too – so I had to get someone else to interview her for that magazine) – and at the venue of the interview, she was just all over the place, with attitude. However, fortunately, all that fire transforms to warmth when you eventually get to know her. She is just, well, ‘real’. A little too real maybe. But she will definitely go far.

The day after that interview, had another interview for our column in the Guardian with the AMBO winner, ‘Mr. Cute’ OC. Really brilliant young man whose interview was a pleasant surprise since I have low opinions of the show – but he is evidently on a higher plane in terms of character, personality and intelligence. After the interview, one had to rush off again for the launch of the magazine I spoke about some time ago (thanks Bella for the link on your blog) which I interviewed Genevieve for, MADE.

It’s THE men’s magazine – just a little more twitching, a little more style, dots on the I’s and that magazine will become for men what True Love has seriously become for women. At the time they commissioned me to do their two cover stories, I knew the guys meant business, but I still had my doubts – right now, after seeing the magazine, I am SO proud to be associated with it. So proud. You can check out sneak previews on mademags.com

The next day was a very dramatic one that saw me on an Okada ride to the airport, which would have ALMOST made me a guest of the now former First Lady of Cross River, Onari Duke. However, I missed the flight by minutes … suffice to say it was very disappointing since I had been pursuing the woman for that interview for at least 6 months! I will actually do a separate post about the events leading to and on that day because it was really a day of drama!

The next day, our company RedSTRAT organized our quarterly talk-and-network session for upwardly mobile young people at SixDegreesNorth (special thanks to Louise Priddy and others like Saheeto, who supported), and I already put up some pictures of that here. It was MEGA-fun.

All through the week however, it was interviews upon interviews and an unending race against deadlines, which I inevitably lost seeing as I was trying to finish up copies for FOUR magazines at the same time! I have tied up the most important one thanks be to the Most High God, almost wrapped up on the next and should be through with the final two by Monday.

Amidst of all these me and my guys at RedSTRAT had to also work on producing Patito’s Guys, our show which is a youth version of Prof. Pat Utomi’s show, Patito’s Gang. We were recording two episodes – all the stress finally paid off however on that day (including an averted wardrobe disaster for me, thanks to our friend Muyiwa Osindero of Clothesense) as our guests, including Tara (Fela Durotoye), Ebuka (Obi-Uchendu), Modupe Adefeso, Shina Oyetayo, Ruonah Agbroko and others made the day so much fun. Tara especially is a delight to be with any day, and since she has her head buried in the sand of business most of the time, it fell on me and my big mouth to fill her in on all the latest gossip.

Even better, after the recording, Ebuka joined myself, Bola, Emilia, Ruonah and my new gf (yes, I did also manage to start a new relationship in the midest of all the madness, and that will be all on the subject, people!) to see a movie. I arm twisted everyone to be ‘patriotic’ and go see Irapada - a decision that haunted me throughout the duration of the movie. Now I will have to tread carefully here: Kunle Afolayan is a brilliant young man, and a hardworking filmmaker – but that wasn’t his best work AT ALL. The movie was PAINFUL to watch. And a huge disappointment for me. Have you ever had the experience where a movie snaps you of your energy? It’s weird. We just had to keep heckling and laughing at the many faults to get through it – and that actually turned out making the night very memorable! (However, I must say that the directing of the movie was top-notch ... there were some really beautiful and creative shots - at the river, on the rail tracks, travelling ... that at least was good stuff.)

Coming out of that, I was called upon to help the phenomenal Mo Abudu with a section of the guest-list for her wave-making everyone’s-talking-about-it show, Moments with Mo. I have always heard of Mo and admired her spirit from afar, but to meet her up close was even better. It was also a pleasant surprise to find out that she had found out quite a lot about me (oh vanity upon vanities – I just had to throw that in, yes yes I know!). And no I am not working for her … yet. Because of Law School. But I am certainly considering it, and it was a pleasure to be of help to the show. I didn’t stay for the recording, just dropping in to make sure my guests were alright – but I was mighty impressed; everything was so professional. That show is going to be brilliant. (Though I must apologise to those I invited for the tackiness with handling the audience – I was only asked to help).

Then it was back to the deadlines! The deadlines have taken over my life! My gf is already complaining (not that scares me). But it’s all for a reason – have to do as much as I can since I can do little or nothing when I am back in Law School.

As if the deadlines are not enough trouble, RedTSRAT had THE meeting last two weeks when we formally kicked off the process towards The Future… Awards 2008. And in such a short time, we’ve already gone far – I’m so proud of us!!!!lol People are shocked at how early we are kick starting and generally impressed and that’s funny cos I actually say we’re startying late. Just be guaranteed of this, you haven’t seen anything like what we will be presenting this time by (His grace)! Speaking of something you haven’t seen before, Tara is cooking something so hot it will burn when it’s eventually done! We’re a part of that, and I’m excited about it. Tara’s an inspiration for me anytime, and anything to do with her is always a delight. Between that project and The Future… Awards 2008, there’s enough work to last a weary soul!

In between all of that my parents had a ghastly accident that has left my father in the hospital with my mum barely escaping – don’t worry they’re okay now. My father’s legs are the only issue now and so it is well, we praise God. Only that I have to shuttle between home and the hospital these days in a way that only adds to my stress. (Don’t want to say a lot about it really. Just would look weird to those who know me if I didn’t mention it and since I am one of those people who care what people think….)

And there are still those dreaded deadlines… I have three interviews for instance scheduled for tomorrow … (Sigh). All the time crunch and deadlines have already made me piss off quite a couple of friends (even though it pissed me off when people can’t be perceptive and understanding).

I can’t wait to return to Abuja next week. Those who remember how happy I was to have left Abuja two months ago would be surprised, right? Well that shows the depth of my stress. I really need a break from it all.

Make no mistake though, I love the stress. A life without the kind of adrenaline-pumping, gratifying stress that is my life would be worse than living in solitary confinement. What can I say?!

Vanity Fair - the Africa Edition

2007-06-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

I have just bought my own copy of the much talked about (July) Vanity Fair - The Africa Edition, which just came out, and I must say ... it is worth every over-priced dollar.

Every African should get a copy ... it is a collector's item.

It is our collective story, spectacularly told!

P.S: There are actually 20 different covers: regrettably, I only knew that after I bought the magazine, so I bought the Don Cheadle cover. The Oprah one with George Clooney uploaded here is actually my favourite. You could order a specific cover or an edition with all 20 - and you should!!!

I have replied!!!!

2007-06-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hey people!!!

I have survived the past two weeks, aso I am back!!! I have replied each and every comment on the last four posts, so please forgive me and go and check if I abused you or not...

Will post tomorrow or monday ...

And so sorry, those of you whose mails to my justice box on the Mo Abudu show bounced back, didnt know the box was full, but have added the names of two bloggers who contacted me through other means ...

How was your week?

Cheers!

Wanna Come?

2007-06-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

The Phenomenal Mo Abudu is recording an episode of the show everyone is talking about! Moments with Mo, which shows on Mnet! There;s going to be an 'Oprah-kind' audience of 50 brilliant women - and I just decided maybe those in blogosphere who grace my blog with their presence might want to attend (think of it like a gift pack for subscribing to my blog!) so I have got some spaces reserved.

If you want to be part of that recording this sunday, send me a mail at chude@justice.com ASAP. I would also really want a majority of that reserved space to be above 30 ...

I will update properly asap - my major deadline is out of the way ... PRAISE the Lord!!!

Oh, Chimamanda ...

2007-06-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, Chimamanda~!

My love for thee shall never cease...

Nigeria owes you ...

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=80290

Chude

So sorry ... .

2007-06-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hey people,

So sorry I havent responded to any comments. It's rude. But I have been swamped with deadlines up and down, left and right, and if any of my editors should findf out that I am actually blogging instead of transcribing and editing, na yawa o!!!

Will respond by wednesday by His Grace, and Idemmili and others - no worry I will post the gist!

Cheers!
Chude

Oma, Onari - and later

2007-06-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been telling everyone this funny story, and I will share it with you ... after two weeks of 'fighting Omawunmi's war', I finally met the girl ... and it wasn't pretty! Sadly.

What a disappointment. Unfortunately, I can't stay long here so I will give you the gist later. By what time I might also have done an interview with her - one I am looking forward to - itis sure to be a battle of wits.

This one thing I will tell you though ... she is spunky. Good thing that. Dont know about the rest of the package though.

Also had an interesting monday with(out) Mrs. Onari Duke, and a blast on tuesday at our mega-brilliant Rubbing Minds at SixDegreesNorth on tuesday. (You can see pictures of the event at www.purefoto.com)

Yours Truly, moderating at Rubbing Minds

Will share all these with you by sunday, hopefully.

Hope you had as great a week as I did, or even greater!

Chude

So Timi Won ... Hiss!!!!!

2007-05-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

Such a shame that Omawunmi lost the WA Idol show!!! Yes, I deliberately did not add a spoiler warning because I am upset! Afterall you all went and voted for Timi who has a lot of personality yes but not half as much talent as Omawunmi!!!

Of course when I was sending texts to all my friends and family over the week up until yesterday to vote for Omawunmi I knew I was fighting a lost battle but then what did my soul sister, Dido say? "No White flags! I will go down with this ship!"

But seriously do you know that people rooted for Timi without even watching the shows?!?! Seriously. In fact I was in that camp until I went for a live show last week and saw all Oma's performances ... and was blown away. Sadly not everybody was able to see the light!

It's a sad day for Nigerian music when talent fails to win souls!!! Let's have a moment of silence ... Okay so i'm being melodramatic, shoot me!

Disclaimer: I do not know Omawunmi; have never met her, and do NOT have crush on her ... well, that is apart from her great legs!!!! Yes, shoot me!

Of Great Parties and Great Men

2007-05-24T03:12:00.001-07:00

Of Great Men and Great Parties
By Chude Jideonwo, THISDAY, 05.18.2007

I have agonized week after week on the good sense of critiquing ads produced by heavyweights (depending on who’s wielding the scales), but after reading two articles on the following two ads in this paper and The Guardian in the past month, I think someone should say what some of us think. That would be me, thank you very much. The Star (Lager Beer) ad which runs on television every night should have run its full course by now I thought, but obviously not. Which is why each time it plays, its k-leg becomes even more glaring. Let me remind you of the basic plot: a guy calls his friends and says he has ‘run out of fuel’ and they bring the party to him.

Now let’s leave out the pseudo-American accent and the ‘slow learner’ look on the main character’s face, let me detail the problems with this plot: first, was this young man going to or coming from the party? No one thought to tell us. Now if we answer for ourselves and say he was going to the party, then how come his ‘friends’ came from the same direction as him? How come he was going in a different direction from the one where they came? And if he was coming from the party (i.e. he had left the party), then why are they bringing the party to him? Thirdly, how come his friend got the brainwave so fast it felt like he had been expecting his friends car to ‘kaput’ all along, and why were the girls around him (suspiciously looking like ladies of the night) smiling inanely like it was a telepathic brain wave?

Other sundry layman issues: why is the commercial shot around a hill - what is the essence of that big gesture? Why couldn’t they use models who looked more like Nigerians of any social class? Where did the open field suddenly appear from? And where exactly did the Deejay plug his equipment to produce music knowing as we did that this was an open field for which they were unprepared? I hate to make the comparison, but you will remember that when Michael Power pulled this kind of stunt, it was plausible because he had called his radio DJ friend and the music came from car stereos. So where is the plausibility in this ad?

Since I have mentioned Guinness, I might as well now pose certain questions to my friend, Udeme. The Guinness Greatness TVC is actually one I really like – especially for the tone and voice of the narrator. There is a cool, soothing feel to him that I always look forward to – and the opening and closing ‘My friend Udeme is a great man’ are winners any day.

However, it is the space between the beginning and the end that I have a problem with. The script is fantastic, but the message is wobbly. Too much wuruwuru to the answer. Why is Udeme a great man? Because he wanted to be a pilot? And what is so great about that? The answer obviously lies in ‘there is a drop of greatness in every man’, but in that case, this ad didn’t do that message justice (and for that matter, neither did the Guinness road and TV shows), because it means then that the narrator himself is a ‘great man’. So why would he stand beside a door and tell me that his friend is a great man – if he also is a ‘great man’ like every other average Joe? Conflict, conflict, conflict.

Or is Udeme a great man because he is a pilot? Big deal. What about lawyers, and surgeons and for that matter, journalists? If this ad tells me Udeme is a great man because he is a pilot, then we might as well assume that Guinness is for pilots. Or maybe he’s a great man because he dreamt of being a pilot and eventually became one? Fantastic message, but that defeats the entire effect of the ‘greatness in every man’ copy. Let me not ask how comforting it is to see a pilot who obviously loves his bottle, and demonstrates that love on a daily basis, what is the more important issue is the fact that this ad contradicts its own message all the way: is Udeme a great man because he drinks beer or because he is a pilot? And what makes either of that good enough for his friend to wax so poetic about him?

The Bloggers Book ... Well Done Laspapi!!!!

2007-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

NAIJA BLOGGERS- THE BOOK

This is a call to all Nigerian bloggers worldwide to become a part of An anthology of the greatest works of Nigerian Bloggers-

A book called Naija bloggers Vol 1.

Nigerian Bloggers around the globe are requested to send in their stories or recommend great posts for the publication of a physical anthology, the first of its kind by any group of bloggers on any continent.

The categories are anecdotes, short stories, poetry, prose, drama and essays but there is room for as many sub-categories as are sent in as the book will also serve as a platform where artistes can showcase architectural/interior/exterior designs, photography, paintings as well as fashion and textile designs. Submissions are therefore welcome on any topic whether covered here or not.

There is only one condition- All submissions must have been blogged on or before Monday the 14th of May 2007.

Bloggers may submit up to 5 entries on any topic or issue but no blogger may have more than 3 works published. The Copyright of Articles remains the possession of the original writers.

The profiles of writers will be added to the anthology (those who wish to remain anonymous may do so, however)

Royalties will be discussed with selected contributors before publication.

The intention is to publish worldwide in stages, first stage being Nigeria and to make the book available all over the world.

Talks are on with publishers in Nigeria including Spectrum, Farafina and Khalam Editions.

It is expected that a compilation of the best of Nigerian minds on the internet will make fantastic reading, show a new and much needed side of Nigerians to the entire world, as well as give access to those who are not internet-inclined.

Submissions should be sent to nigerianbloggers@yahoo.com not later than Friday, June the 15th 2007 stating date of blogging and blogname/address.

Please note that submission does not automatically guarantee the publication of all or any of the works. The final selection will be made by respected Nigerian writers.

co-ordinator- http://laspapi.blogspot.com

P.S: For whatever it's worth, I am part of this project, but really Wole Oguntokun is the BRAIN - and the PUSH!! I am grateful to him for taking it seriously.

Seeing is Believing (Convoluted, But I Can't Help It ...)

2007-05-13T03:31:00.001-07:00

I know I sound all upbeat in my previous post, but that is far from how I really feel. Yesterday, I had an experience that is not monumentally scary but left me really shaken.

I went to see a friend of mine at the scene of a music video shoot yesterday. This is a guy we all know. First let me say that I thought I knew the entertainment industry very well, but yesterday I entered a completely differenty sibculture that really shook me - woke me up.

You read about all the MTV hos, and it seems so far away. But we have them here. I saw them! And it was ... ugly. The girl whose video was being shot (by one our best directors nonetheless) had no talent, looked sweaty (in a bad way) and lacked taste.

The people in the video? The guys looked wasted and clueless. No there were no drugs (we're not yet that far gone), but it still didnt stop that wasted, no-ambition glow in their eyes. This is what these young members of my generation are about - they live for a minute around pseudo-stars who might never break out into mainstream, they would do anything for a glint of stardom.

The girls? They were quite pretty girls some, and I caught myself ogling more than once - but these are not the kind of girls that you think anything of apart from a wide bed in a swanky hotel, no matter how pretty. There was the strong sense of no self-worth - no ambitions beyond this point, or perhaps beyond getting a man to get them out of that crowd maybe. The girls were rubbing all over my friend (he's a fine boy) and throwing themselves all over him, grabbing his butt and grinding into him - some looking to arouse him , others perhaps to make sure they are invited to the 'next party'.

Plus they all evidently hated the singer, and bitched and bitched and bitched - everyone was sizing everyone up - and all for what? To shake booty for a few minutes for a video that might not last more than three weeks on Music Africa and probably never make it to any Top Ten chart?

That wasn't even the tragedy. The tragedy was my friend. Hugely popular, incredibly talented and one of the people with genuinely great hearts I have ever meet. Also very disorganised sadly. I genuinely like him. He is a year or so older than me, but I tend to 'Elder Brother' him.

We are supposed to be working on a project with him, which he has frustrated because of his 'scatteredness' - yesterday i finally pinned him down for a talk: "I can't understand why you are doing this to yourself? I dont want you to be like XYZ in a few years time - plenty of talent, but nothing has been done with it cos you've been busy running high on your own supply." And he tells me, "I know, but really I dont think my brand is that big... I always wonder, what do people see in me?'

I was crushed. Not because I was surprised - I had always known this was his problem, but to hear him confirm it crushed me. You see, one gift I have always had is self-awareness. It is a curse sometimes, but mostly it is a blessing. A keen awareness of what I am about and a clear vision of where I am going. It used to always shock me that the most talented people didnt have this - and it us3ed to annoy me to pieces. But age and experience always conspire to temper you, and now I know everyoone is not like that. So I always knew that my friend's problem was he didnt see what we could see. He couldnt. Can't.

This my friend is a superstar. He doesnt have a lot of money, but he is a superstar. He is a huge brand, and everyone knows it. Everyone except him. He calls it humility, and I used to think it was. Yesterday, I realised it wasnt humility. Humility is one thing; inferiority is another. Everyone has the RIGHT to a little amount of self pride - a strong sense of worth. When one moves moves forward in life, there are some things you have to leave behind. The bible says 'When I was a child, I behaved like a child, but now that I have grown ...'

My friend is no more the needy, desperate for attention nobody he was five years ago as a student. He is now a brand, a star, he is now relevant - he has moved up, he has built substance - but still he doesnt believe that. He looks at himself and sees that nobody student from the slums that he was. When he tells me 'Ah, X wants me to come to his party' or 'B called me' i smile sadly: of course they should call him - he's as much a star as them! But he doesnt see that - he can't believe his luck, that he is now surrounded by the kind of life he has always dreamed of, and he keeps trying to convince himself it is all true. He doesnt think he deserves it, and instead of building a stro ng foundation and moving to the next level, he is still busy trying to take it all in, still trying to believe it all. Still limited by a complex.

I understand it because I used to have the same problem serious, until one of my 'big sisters' shook it out of me. He thinks he is a phony - he is afraid that people will look at him one day and realise that he is just a nobody, that people will see through him someday and find out he doesnt have rich parents or lots of money in his account, or a 'fat crib'. That he is just ... another guy from the streets. But he is not! He is a star created by talent and hardwork. But he doesnt know!

What we want to do for him is a HUGE project that we KNOW will sell; and that will place his brand on a huge pedestal not to talk of make him money he has never seen in his life - and every one we have spoken to knows it will work. Everyone except him. And so he is excited about him, but he is frustrating it because he doesnt think he is good enough. People woth half his brand strenght are already flying with th little they have, and my friend lets his own waste away, preferring to jump from this Big Boy's Party to that Big Girl's party. Because he thinks that is all he is good for. He thinks without that, he wouldnt be who he is - no one would want him.

At that shoot, my friend tried to connect with everyone and to be everyone's friend and the life of the party, and would come to me and tell me excitedly that the girl whose video was being shot was learning his dance steps and I felt so sorry for him -it's incredulous; he is FAR beyond that!

But he doesnt know. He thinks he needs to continyue to be this footmat so that he can be loved. He deprives himself to make other people 'happy' - gives all of himself and nothing to himself. Anyone who needs to have people around him to feel useful or relevant is not healthy. You should be enough for yourself.

He will burn out very soon. He will be used and dumped. People will suck him dry of his relevance and leave him with nothing. I have seen it happen before. I can see it happeneing to him. I have tried to tell him over and over. yesterday I told him again, and he agreed with me - but minutes later he was sucked again into the abyss of seeking love from people who dont really love him, - people who dont love the real him, who only love the hype of him. And who will have no qualms moving on to the next hype.

Thing is, he shouldnt even have been at that place at that time of the night. That's what moving up in life should earn you: he should have done what he needed to do and left to go and live his own life ... but he couldn't. He was high on thepeople who were egging him on, making him feel good. They were his Ecstasy, his Cocaine. They continued to butt into my conversation with him no matter how he tried to hide us away, calling him for irrelevant things, when what we were talking about was his life!

He tried to run from them, but eventually he was sucked in again, and I didnt even bother anymore. I just sat and watched him. It was soon 10pm. I had to leave.

I have the gift of seeing, I have come to know. Of seeing where it is all going, where it will all end, and I see my friend burnimg out very soon. I see him wasting his talent away - I see him ruining himself, but I didnt know how to communicate this to him so he could take a step back and reassess. I couldnt. He couldnt see what I saw.

I really like this guy - he's one of the few good people around - and I wished I could have stayed longer to conclude myt talk with him - but that was no environment for me. Even I - the anti-snob - had to turn up my nose lest I throw up at some point. I know what's good for me. I had to leave. I had to leave him behind. With the MTV Hos and the singer with no talent in a sawnky studio populated with the sweaty and the clueless. And that made me so sad.

What use is a gift if you cannot use it to save those you care about?

What's Up? What's Hot? (You'll Like This one!)

2007-05-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

Olaiya Update!
People, you need to be VERY scared of laspapi. Be VERY, VERY scared. He just posted a comment on my last (one of my friends called it 'everlasting'!) post warning me for the second time that Amala Olaiya is 'armed and dangerous' - and guess you what? It turns out that it is!

Just last week, robbers stormed the hideout (I hear this is the umpteenth time - no one ever told me that or I would NEVER have gone there!) and killed someone. Businesswoman that she is, the next day, the owner opened her restaurant and the family members of the deceased (reportedly) went haywire and got armed men (the police, this time) to close down the place!

So Olaiya is closed now ... and I didnt even know because I have been hooked on Mr. Bigg's Asaro instead and 'cause White House is the closest hangout to my office ... Armed and dangerous Amala ... let's have a moment of silence people ...

Spider-what?!
I went with the gang to watch a movie on thursday (it is becoming a weekly ritual!) -and it was Spider-Man 3, against my better judgement.

It makes me sad to confess but I shamefully allowed myself become a victim of branding. The truth is, the only reason I went to see Spiderman is because that is the 'cool' movie to watch now. Everyone who's hip and cool has seen the movie or is about to, and I - mere mortal me! - fell headlong for the hype.

Cut long story short, the movie was a huge disappointement. Cheesy, cliched, lazy, an insult on my intelligence ... and of all things for a sci-fi (well, well) movie - it was badly edited! There was no believablity, the characters were incredulous, the comedy was flat ... sadly when I am very upset I tend towards incoherence so you have to forgive me (You can read an efficient and interesting review on http://www.debonairmag.com/the_death_of_spiderman.htm). In a bid to create a 'new side' for spiderman, the scriptwriters completely turned the essence of the character upside down - and it wasn't for the best.

Then no one even thought to pay attention to continuity so that we could at least believe what they were saying. Then all those ridicuoous villains who were rebelling without a cause? The whole thing about the black crawling suit and the evolution of the sandman was STUPID. How it turns out that the ex-convict who becomes the Sandman becomes the guy who killed Spidey's precious Uncle Ben? And the pole officer's daughter is also the girl who was saved by Spidey is also his lab colleague and is also supposed to be dating his arch-enemy? Oh please give me a break!

Unfortunately, it is still a watchable movie - there's all the boom and the bam that technology brings to save poor quality movies. Except of course for the editing with its very poor transitions from scene to scene. Spiderman 3 basically runs on the Spiderman format and nothing else. It is a big anticlimax from Spiderman 2 - and based on scripting and characterisation, Nollywood films have done much better.

Myself and Emilia left the cinema about 10 minutes to the end of the movie in protest. And immediately we stood up, about 5 other people followed suit.

I know that Toby Mcguire wants to be able to have enough money to make more million-dollar donations to political campaigns (and even I wish the same for him seeing as he is channeling the movie towards my dear, dear Hillary Bill-Clinton) but really, he should have passed on this one. And oh dont get me started on the ageing Kirsten Durst or whatever her name is.

Irapada Instead
One of the reasons I am even the more upset with myself for going against type and falling for the Spidey hype is the fact I know I SHOULD HAVE gone to see Nigeria's new offering at the cinemas - Irapada.

Irapada is an excellent movie, into which a lot of hard work I went: actually the same production suite that moulded the movie produced the future awards promo at about the same time and so I knew it was going to be fantastic. Kunle Afolayan, who I am not particularly fond on sha, did a lot of hard work for that film. And everyone who has seen it agrees that all the work paid off. I am proud of him.

I should have gone to see that movie! I shouldnt have been shallow and gone for the hype! What moral right do I have to charge others with cultural hypocrisy when I just fell for it myself?

Anyways, since my mum has been bugging and bugging that she wants to see Irapada (even her!), anyone looking to give me a million dollars can deliver it to me by hand at the Silverbird Galleria on Tuesday evening. Just look for which hall is showing Irapada!

MY GIST!!!
The Law Office
Okay, I must apologise for not posting all these days. The internet in the office that I had praised earlier (oh dear Nigeria!) has gone bonkers! And so it seems have the ogas at the Law Office. Putting up an attendance register at the office ... and then one of them comes up the other day and starts threatening fire and brimstone because someone didnt come to work: "I will start being wicked with you people," he says. Oh purlease! I last heard that from my class captain at K. Kotun Memorial Nusery and Primary School!!

Add that to the 2-hour traffic to and from home; and you will pity me. So - here's thanking my friend whose internet I am sending this from on a fantastic Sunday afternoon!!!

A New Toy (Old for many I know, But this is Chude's Blog, Remember)
FINALLY, I had the guts to walk into the Nu Metro store at The Palms and get myself an i-pod after years and years of agonising!!!!!! This time, I rushed into the bank, cashed the money and ran off immediately to get it before my courage failed me one again!!!

It's funny, because i-pods were most certainly was made for me. I am a music junkie; I live on and for music, and had always wondered how one could get music on the go - music per mood.

But you know those thoughts you think only you are having?! Until about half of a decade ago (I am one of those slow to catch up on new technology thank you very much) I was submitted to the 'indignity' of my former boss, yapping me once again for being 'old in the head' when I asked what an ipod was. I couldnt beleive someone had actually done it!

She ended up buying me an mp3 player, which I later lost - but the i-pod had to be the final destination. Still I couldnt bring myself to go beyond my usual sensibleness to spend on this luxury! Yes, the cost of a 20-gig i-pod is the amount of money some people spend at Saga VII in one night I know, but not for me, thank you very much.

So each time I had 'free money', I had to think of something more urgent, more sensible. But I hjavbe finally been defeated by the spirit of music! And ever since I liberatyed my senses with the pod - which I have already filled halfway - it has been a rollercoaster, I tell you. An ipod isnt a luxury ... it's a NECESSITY! A NECESSITY!

Lunch Here, Lunch There
Emilia tells me I will soon be broke (I reject it in Jesus' Name!) because I have been spending so much money on lucnh with my friends since I came back, but it is money worth spending! Over the past two weeks, I have graced Barcelos, Nandos and Robert's Cafe with my presence having lunch with all the people I havent seen with my eyes since Abuja, and it is straining my pocket yes, but it is worth it!

One or two of course have been dates, and I am happy to inform you that I finally got the date I prayed for two posts ago!!!! It was all I wished for and more, since a mutual friend also joined us. I had a rollicking time just listening to the two ladies out-talk me ... I couldnt get a word in! (Which reminds me, dear 'Mutual Friend' otherwise called my 'Sparring Partner' - I am holding you to your promise!!!!!!)

Another lunch that was fun - twas with my my one sure source for Island gossip, my super-ED friend who I have blogged about before. It was fun, fun lunch gisting on all and sundry (oh and this time, someone else paid for lunch!). Plus I have INSIDE Scoop on Ms. Osinowo/Mrs. Soleye's 'happily married life' - but sadly can't share!lol

What else?
'Aunty Stella' as I fondly called her, and the enfant terrible of Nigherian gossip, has opened her blog. Its stelladimoko-korkus.blogspot I think and it has all the juicy gist from Lagos. She has called me names on the blog I hear, and I will check it out - but she can yab me all she wants; Stella has been good to me that I can forgive her bad mouth!

When Stella plugs anything on her column, people hear about it! And not just anybody, i mean THE people who you want to talk to! And this she has done for me continuously without asking a kobo at anytime! I will blog about her properly sometime soon, but meanwhile check her out for yourself. And just ignore all the bravado - that young lady (not so young!) is all mush inside!

Well that's it people ... I have more than made up for the past week havent I?

Fantastic Day, Amala Olaiya et al

2007-05-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a FANTASTIC day ... Oh I'm LOVING Lagos!!! I'm saying this so that I will be committed to blogging about it. (lol)

Did I tell you guys that I was sent away from thh office yesterday because I wasn't putting on a tie?!?! If only they knew that the tucked in shirt and shoes actually took all the effort in the world ... me aladire activist?! It seems like the battle between me and the legal establishment has just begun!!!

By the way, I am officially an addict of Olaiya's Amala. I have been going there EVERYDAY since I came back, yeeee!!

Hope those in Nigeria had a nice worker's day?

One week in Lagos ...

2007-04-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ookay people,

When I get to Lagos, it is very hard to think or to be 'deep' - one just has to stay afloat dealing with surviving from day to day. FOr those who wonder, I am in Lagos for a couple of weeks for my Law Office attachment. God always had my back, and so He has once again blessed ne with a 'progressive' firm whose young lawyers have no need for sadism, so for the past three days, I've hardly spent more than 8 hours on the whole at the office (for a good cause, for a good cause!). One thing I must say though: their internet is fast! For Nigeria! Though sadly, I now know what other bloggers who work in offices feel since I have to keep watching my back so they dont know that the only 'research' I am doing is to find out whether Idemmili or Bella Naija have updated!!

Have had a bit of fun though doing what I love: talking to interesting people! Had an interview with Genevieve Nnaji last sunday at her very cosy home in Lekki. Homegirl has evolved into something so selfassured and wholesome that it is really, really, really sexy. And with a new size 8 figure to boot - she was smoking! Her interview was also refreshingly mature ... she has become a real star; someone who now knows what she's about - such a contrast to Omosexy (my big mouth!) I have to say - and I did ask her about the Omotola and her responses were explosive! Sadly, I cannot give you any details cos its for a new magazine that flew me into town for the interview - and these are guys I want to continue working with; so you have to wait till it comes out!!

On wednesday, I interviewed another really engaging character: Obi Asika, who's chairman of Storm (for the clueless, that guys that released Dare's album and the guys that did Big Brother Nigeria). This is the second time I am interviewing Obi, and so I knew to gird my loins cos Obi can taaaaaaalllllllkkkkkkkk! But it's always so much fun to talk with him cos he's so easy to talk to. Obi's humility just ... humbles me. His ability to connect with all and sundry and to respect the craft of every person he meets is truly amazing. He re-affirms that one doesnt have to be a shark to swim with the sharks and to get ahead of them. He's also one of the truest hip hop heads I know, so as usual he let me into some of the new songs and videos from Ikechukwu, Sasha, Naeto C and Jimmy Jatt ... meeeennn, there's a new guy he's bringing out that's MASSIVE and there's a new song from Naeto which will ROCK Lagos. Again can't tell any of what we discussed, but you will see it when it comes out, trust me!

Anyways, talking with him finally made me feel back AT HOME, with the Lagos crowd. Even though that doesnt mean I still dont hate Lagos.

So, you might want to ask, why did I decide to do my attachment in Lagos? 3 reasons: two silly (to you) and one very serious.

Number 1: A girl.
Number 2: Food
Number 3: I was getting so bored and depressed I WAS heading towards a nervous breakdown, and I'm not kidding.

Dont ask! Lemme just say, it's great to be in familiar turf.

Don't ask me about the elections. All I will say is that the only results that really SHOCKED me was that of Oshiomhole. And INEC Chairman, IWUruwuru is the most SHAMELESS and AUDACIOUS failure Nigeria has ever been cursed with, scoring himself 80 percent! The miserable f...! (I apologise to those who feel offended, but this is actually an euphemism for what I really think of that man) Is there anyone close to him who could please give him a smack for me?!

Anyway, I refuse to be upset about Nigeria. The elections have come and gone. Today's elections were basically a non-event, Yar'adua is President-Elect. Let's now begin to work on strenghtening democratic structures ... what do you think?

On to fluffy and irrelevant stuff (hey but this is MY web-log OKAY?!), have something of an all-night date this night, even though the real date I wish isn't happening yet but I'm keeping the fingers crossed!!

How was your week?
Chude

So sorry o...

2007-04-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

Hallo!

I am so sorry I havent responded to the comments.

As those who follow the blog know, this always happens when I am back in Lagos! I've spent my whole life driving! I can't even breathe! Okay I won't lie, in the midst of all the madness, i was almost losing my mind, and so me and my pals, Emilia and Bola, took out time yesterday to see a movie at the galleria yesterday, but that's the only pause I've had since I came, and even that was sha because we wanted to avoid the hold-up back to the mainland! Na wayas

Will be able to catch my breath tomorrow to reply mails, post something new and respond to comments.

Oh and in related matters, it appears BabaAlaye is back on the block!!!!(lol)

Cheers all!

And all hail the new President-elect, 'Umoru'!

Chude.

What is WRONG with these people!

2007-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am SO pissed off at these lame policticians masquerading as Presidential Aspirants. I am SO sorry, but they are pissing me off with all this whining and complaining ... I cannot believe that NONE of them can see beyond their noses. I guess this is why they say role models shouldnt go into politics, because even the ones I hold in such high esteem are PISSING me off!!!

They are asking for postponement of elections? What utter rubbish! The only person who has the moral ground, if at all, to ask for any of that is Atiku Abubakar, because of the late start he's had!

The others are just failures looking for somewhere to hinge blame for their woes. I respect politicians who are able, like Tokunbo Afikuyomi in Lagos, to acknowledge thier own limitations - but it would seem that when people get into politics they lose all sense of proportion. They refuse to accept that success in business and industry does not translate into success in winning votes!

The truth is, as it stands, NONE of the Presidential candidates can beat Musa Yar'adua. The PDP has worked HARDER than any of them in mobilisation, it has more structures (i.e. people, loyalists, patronage) in more states. Without rigging, the PDP will win this presidential election. Listen to that again: without rigging, PDP WILL win these elections. Just as without rigging they won in Delta, just as without rigging, they won in Ogun. Just as without rigging, Fashola won in Lagos, even though his principal Tinubu mis-governed the state.

Newspaper posturing, great ideas and grand oratory don't win people over; if they did Al Gore should have swept the polls without needing to wriggle his waist over Florida. If bad governance made people vote out incumbents, then George Bush would be back to ruining the family businesses by now!

Politics is about SELLING your ideas to the people. It's not enough that PDP has failed. People still stick with the devil they know. I know what I'm saying: I worked during the elections 2003, and I know that - sadly - Obasanjo won that election free and square. People voted for him cos he was the only popular alternative.

It is a silly, silly arrogance to expect that because you are a 'good' person or you have a 'blueprint' or a 'masterplan', then people should run to the polling booths and vote for you without marketing yourself or communicating this fact to them. If it was all a matter of being the best candidate then we could as well go and sit down and allow people select the 'best candidates' for us every four years. But this is democracy, dammit. You have to go out there and sell yourself to the people: they must buy into your plans, you must be able to convince, to persuade, to connect.

What I expected these candidtates to have done by now is forge a friggin alliance - and time is going people! I had thought by now they would have reaslised that none of them is force enough YET to defeat PDP, and humble themselves if truly they want change rather than fooling around with over-sized, misguided egos!

In the US, even a manic liberal like Michael Moore led a liberal coalition to vote for John Kerry instead of their first choice, Ralph Nader, because it didnt make sense to stick to your selfish guns and then lose the bigger war.

That is practical! As it is, of course Pat Utomi is one of my favourite candidates. The other being Atiku (many people want to cut my head off anytime i say that, but if you are open-minded enough to listen to me, you will understand, some other time though).
However, sadly, Pat Utomi hasnt gathered enough wind even though he has worked extrahard, and Atiku is viewed unfairly as a corrupt politician. People have sympathy for his cause but they are not voting for him nader. It is the sad truth I thought that Atiku new, smart strategist that he is. Sadly, his ego is about to do him in. It is so sad!

It is STUPID for instance that just because Atiku and Buhari for instance don't trust each other, they are ready to march separately into an election they are sure to lose. It is stupid for Ojukwu to cling on to Igbo votes just to show that he is still relevant when he can protect the Igbo cause better by attaching himself to either Atiku or Buhari, both of whom have Igbo deputies - since he claims he is all about the interest of Igbos.

If all these candidates really did care about Nigeria or about 'their people', and keep saying PDP is the evil to be removed, then they should be ready to put biases aside and then work together for this 'common good' of dislodging the PDP. It is extremely, abundantly, completely, utterly stupid to match into these elections, after all the money spent, doomed to fail - when together they (and us) stand to benefit more.

If Atiku, Ojukwu, Pat Utomi, and Kalu align with Buhari, THEN they well win this election. Kalu will come with Abia votes, Ojukwu will bring all the Igbo votes, Pat Utomi will bring that of all educated youth (operative word: educated) especially students, and Atiku will bring Lagos, Adamawa and Edo at least. Joined to Buhari's ANPP states, the core north, and those here and there who love his sound policies and clean record, he will beat Yar'adua. Any other way, these suckers lose!

Excuse my language people, but this election - our lives! - is just days away, and these people refuse to smell the roses!!!!! What is WRONG with them?!

Little Mercies ...

2007-04-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

As gratitude and joy and faith conspired to overwhelm me with their combined warmth and glow yesterday, I sent this text message to tens of my friends and family yesterday:

"Fellow Nigerian, at this moment in our national life, let us take a moment and thank God for the gift he has given Nigeria in the form of our Supreme Court Justices ... Chude."

We thank God for these small, small mercies. Democracy, somehow somehow, is on course ...

(In case you don't know what I'm talking about - read today's papers on the Supreme Court judgement yesterday on Atiku's candidacy and INEC's powers to disqualify vis a vis the constitution)

2Day is D-DAY!!

2007-04-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

For instance ...
Say I be the one wey dem give chance ...
Say I be the one wey dey make plans ...
FOr aall man to benefit abi? To make we disagree
to agree to creat chance ...
But now I am not as important ...
Cos now I am looking from a distance ...

2face Idibia

The Federal government declared two public holidays' to frustrate Atiku's cases in the courts ... the police has arrested Chris Uba over his threats to frustrate his brother's plans to rig, sorry win, the elections in Anambra ... three House of Assembly politicians killed in Bayelsa ... PDP expelled Ararume to undermine the Supreme Court's decision in his case ... Oshiomhole threatens brimstone if the PDP carries out its plans to rig in today's elections ...

As Nigerians go to vote today ... I have no faith in the elections, I have no faith in President Obasanjo's commitment to free and fair elections, I have no faith in Professor IWUruwuru, the INEC Chairman ... but I have faith in Nigerians ... I have faith in Jimi Agbaje ... I have faith in Adams Oshiomhole ... I have faith in Martin Agbaso .... I have faith in Kayode Fayemi ... Is that enough though?

Let us pray for our country ...

This might just be our last chance ...

No 'Igbo Kwenu' for Uche Odoputa!

2007-04-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Something funny is happening that once again (in my opinion) mirrors the both differences in behavioural pattern of societies, and how people live out stereotypes.

When Wunmi, the Yoruba ‘star’ (depending on who’s watching the galaxy) actress, was caught with drugs, before you could say ‘Yoruba parapo’, the Yoruba acting community had formed a big circle around her: they attended court sittings every day, they watered down the offence, they held series of meetings, and they worked the press so hard the judge caved in. And Wunmi found her way out.

Uche Odoputa is caught; and immediately, while people were expecting that Ndigbo (who own Nollywood anyway) would rise up in one accord and scream 'Tribalism' if he isn’t given the Wunmi-style rub on the head, the Igbo actors and directors and producers rise up in one accord yes, but only to drive the nail deeper into the young man’s coffin! ‘He hasn’t acted in five years!’ they declaim, ‘He is now a taxi driver in London’ ‘He hasn’t paid his dues’ etc etc etc.

All of these denials mind you are simply because, according to one of them in a warped interview with thisday, this might smear them and deny them little ‘perks’ like visas and grants.

If I hadn’t seen this young man cavorting at BOB TV with these same characters (sadly, I can’t mention names) that now deny him with so much poetry, I might have been taken in by their grandstanding. Or not. Because if perhaps their argument is, ‘We cannot align ourselves with crime’ or ‘Ours is not an organization that will cover up a crime with stardom’, then it would make sense: but their argument is ‘He hasn’t acted any movies!’ And I ask, when last did Ejike Asiegbu (the Actor’s Guild president) act any movie?

And you wonder: what has the fact that he hasn’t paid his dues got to do with his propensity for crime? Does it mean that if perhaps he had paid his dues, they would have rallied round him, or perhaps they would have been more lenient towards the crime?

Or should we just throw away all political correctness and admit that this says something about the ‘republican, egalitarian, above-board’ character (some will say get rid of all the hyperboles and call it by its name: irritating selfishness) of the Igbos that saw the West rally round Obasanjo in 1999, but sees the East rallying round … oh nobody … in 2007?

P.S: I am Igbo as well, so let no one even begin to spray any ‘anti-Semitic’ chant near me.

Night out with the Minister!

2007-04-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday evening, the organisers and winners of “The Future…” Awards spent an absolutely amazing two and half hours with the present Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, who this month will be leaving for the World Bank as Vice President for Africa.

It was two hours of incredible fun: so much laughter, so much knowledge, so much passion, and an interactive session where we were allowed to ask any questions - and oh we did! But she didn’t budge. It was amazing! It was so, so, so, so, so much fun. We broke so much protocol … in fact, we effectively forgot we were in a federal Minister’s office!

Those in attendance: Adebola Williams, Emilia Asim-Ita (directors of RedSTRAT), Modupe Adefeso (Professional of the Year), Doyin Haastrup (Model of the Year) who came in straight from the Calabar Fashion Festival, Lanre Lawal (Best Use of Technology), Shina Oyetayo (Journalist of the Year), Ini Mbang (Team of the Year), Omote Dimoko (Magazine of the Year), Denrele Edun (Producer of the Year), and Omono Imobhio (Actor of the Year) who just finished with the Vagina Monologues. The others couldn’t make it, sadly, cos of work, pregnancy and LASTMA!!!!!

The fun continued at the not-the-Hilton-but-close-enough hotel where we were lodged that evening as all these achieving young Nigerians let themselves go and just had fun bonding with each other all over again. I also discovered that when you mix an extensive menu with room service and a blank food-cheque that I am not the only one who turns out a glutton!!!

I am writing an article about it that will be published in the papers next week, which will have all the details, and then I will post here. This much I will tell you now though: Oby Ezekwesili rocks!

Marriage Blues ...! (Conclusion)

2007-03-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Anyway, like joke like joke o, over the past months she has continued to drop the hints here and there: ‘Oh I can’t wait to carry my grandson’ or ‘When you get married …’. At first I would take the bait hook line sinker fisherman and speedboat and start a long drawn argument that she invariably won. As if that wasn’t enough, I once made the grave mistake of asking ‘What’s the big deal about a grandchild anyway?’ in the presence of the Mother’s Brigade, and they simply DESCENDED on me. It was a traumatic experience; all my arguments were put down so fast … I have never felt so silly in my life. So now I just allow the maternal monologue go on after which I ask the perfectly natural next question: ‘Is there fuel in the generator?’

But if you know me, then you know my mother: we don’t ever give up. Weeks to my last birthday for instance, she didn’t feel like driving and asked me to drop her in the office. No sooner has I put the gear into drive than she starts lecturing me about my spiritual life and how I need to take church and God seriously and do I remember the time when I used to preach in church etc etc etc. All well and good. But suddenly she starts repeating: ‘Very soon you’ll be 23! Very soon you’ll be 23! …’ Wait for this. ‘Very soon you’ll be 23, and you will soon get married, and you need to take your spiritual life seriously...” Ooo-kayy! Hold on dear mother, what … has … marriage … got … to … do … with … my … spiritual life? Well, my response was to remind her I was actually going to turn 22 not 23 – so, what, does that give me one year of respite at least please?

You can’t actually blame her: I’m her only child you see. And the first grandson of the entire family. There’s also all kinds of family history I can’t relate here: but bottom line, it is perfectly understandable why my mother would be just a little bit anxious. In fact, as far back as when I was just entering into the University, my grandmother – bless her - put me on notice that she was bringing me a wife from Obomkpa, our village. I stared her down so hard I think I sufficiently intimidated the poor woman: she has not mentioned the word marriage in front of me ever since.

But of course my mum knows better than to mention Obompkpa, or even Asaba the state capital for that matter. Still I can stare her down all I want, she is not going to relent in her noble efforts.

The funny thing is, it’s not like my mum really wants me to get married now – she also knows that it is rather early: but all this drama is because my mother knows how much of her stubborn genes I took (my father never lets us hear enough of this – can’t blame him; the poor man is at the receiving end of both) and I think she senses that marriage is on my 2007-2017 10 year-plan yes, but only at the end of that plan! What she is doing is basically sounding the gong very early, so that as she aims for the sky, her arrows would at least land on one of the Dubai skyscrapers.

And she has a plan! After Law School, she says, I start my masters; get a job, and then get a wife. Knowing me, she says, I will want a highflying career babe, so ‘No problem,” she says, ‘Two of you can go and be flowing high; I will take care of the baby for you in the mean time.” Hold on once again – the baby? When did we get to the baby? You mean we’ve gone past the engagement, the courtship, the wedding and the honeymoon so fast?!

But it is not a joking matter o - when you remember that Law School ends in a few months, then you will understand that the battle is veeeeerrry, veeeery close. The other day she pointed to me that I am already earning more than A, B and C who are taking care of wife and at least one child and living well. When she also suggested I should join her for Singles Prayer Meeting at the (MFM) Prayer City – a harrowing and truly depressing experience where really passionate (to use a very mild word) old men and women spend a whole day alternating between moping with sorrow and energetically hitting chairs and tables in a way that suggests God should only take one look at their self-destructive desperation and send that husband down quick, quick – I realized she was dead serious.

Marriage, however, is so far off my mind that each time she brings up the topic, I am genuinely shocked. It’s not just the fact that I am still very young (after all with the way all of my peers and friends are getting married left right and center, it is beginning to look like a conspiracy with my mother!) even though that is part of it: it is rather the fact that marriage is not something I have any intentions of rushing into. I’ve got like what… decades left to live – so what’s the rush? Plus I always tell people that I have interviewed at least maybe 10-20 couples in recent years, and I repeat; it’s not something I want to rush into.

But the mother who never gives up tells me not to end up like those silly people who think that a successful career and all the fame and acclaim in the world are enough ingredients for happiness – “don’t be fooled. Life is meant to be shared, love and career need to go together.” Believe me, from experience, I agree with her. What I can’t tell her though is that the two have been going together for me for quite a while. Don’t ask me why. You really think I want to go down the traumatic road of her remembering the long forgotten subject of those condoms (actually it was just one!) in my car and how ‘Ehen, I knew it’??? Hell no!

The other day I joked that if she wants a grandchild so much then it isn’t a problem – these days you don’t need a marriage to bring a child into the world. I laughed long and hard after that; I considered it a really funny thought. She didn’t laugh.

So here we are, my dear mother is on the prowl – and from that phone call, I know the woman is going to use every single weapon in the arsenal to bring my walls down. The other day she gave me yet another classic reason why I need to bring a girlfriend home: Bring the girl so I can start praying o. When I tried to discourage her by saying that even if do I find the one I want to marry, the period of courtship is likely to be so long it will look like a sociological experiment, she informs me that I would be inviting the mortal sin of fornication. Well in fairness to her, the late Pastor Bimbo Odukoya continuously warned about the same thing.

Na wayas.

So what was my answer to her very innocent ‘How is your girlfriend’ question? Well, I recovered quickly from my shock, laughed in the most exaggerated way possible and hailed ‘Mummy, Mummy!’ and then said nothing else. She giggled, I giggled, and she dropped the phone…

You see, the goalpost has changed, but you must never, ever forget that the game remains the same: it’s called ‘catch him’. If I admit I have a girlfriend, I admit I have begun the process of finding a wife. Me ke? Cunny man die, cunny man bury am … I am the true son of my mother!

Marriage Blues...! (PART 1)

2007-03-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

(When you google my name, this is the first article that appears, and I found out more people are reading it cos of that, and that leaves it in that first position. I don't like jo!:-) So I am changing it for now until it receives so few hits that it isn't first anymore!

'Pure Water' or Bottled Water?

2007-03-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

Confirmed news: one of Nollywood’s lesser known but long standing stars, Uche Odoputa, was arrested with cocaine some days ago while trying to board a flight to the States.

It’s uncanny. Now, I don’t know him, just like I don’t know a lot of Nollywood stars, but of course I have watched his movies so I recognize him. The thing is, I was actually standing beside him at BOB TV and he was having this conversation with another quite popular actor where he was tacitly justifying fraud. This other person was trying to argue with him the merits of integrity no matter what, but he was having none of that.

He threw in words like frustration and income etc that let you know this was a young man who had had it up to here with an unfair world. Sadly ours is our society where stardom comes with empty promises, and your image never conforms to your pocket. According to the young man in justifying his support of shadiness: “The difference between ‘pure water’ and ‘bottled water’ is packaging."

That’s why it’s uncanny; it’s almost scary. He just said this two weeks ago; I didn’t hear it from a third party – I heard it myself. I feel like God was sending a message.

It’s sad though what Nigeria can push its citizens into. Nollywood for instance has refused to grow: if Uche were earning in a year what Tom Cruise earns per movie, there would be no need after almost a decade of professionalism to stoop so low.

But it’s no excuse for crime anyway: because no matter what, the difference between ‘pure water’ and ‘bottled water’ is not just packaging – it’s about substance.

What can I say? I wish him leniency in his encounter with the law.

The Amazing Hype!

2007-03-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Grace: Between Fact and Fiction
By Chude Jideonwo, 03.16.2007

I deferred watching the ‘The Amazing Grace’ but only with the best intentions. In a way, I was ‘saving the best for last’. After all, this was supposed to be Nigeria ’s ‘first’ 35mm movie (shot on ‘celluloid’, for the uninitiated), flying the national flag at major international film festivals. It is also collaboration between Jeta Amata ( Nigeria ), Nick Moran ( England ); with a budget from both the UK and the Cross Rivers State governments.

The movie starts quite perfectly: the opening shots against the backdrop of Joke Silva’s enchanting voiceover pull you into the story in minutes, setting the tone for a moving tale. It was very beautiful. However, once we move away from this montage, as the voiceover flows into Joke Silva in flesh, the film begins to get uncomfortable. Joke Silva, surprisingly seems out of her depth. The dynamics of her storytelling to her (rather morose-looking) daughter appear forced and flat. Her voice over also fails the test of continuity. Not only does her accent fluctuate from British to something not exactly American, her voice turns strangely hoarse some times, all conspiring to rob it of the much-needed authority.

Still, the film somehow maintains an even tempo, up until the scene Zack Amata gives his rousing cry. This is where the main story starts and the script begins to wobble, eventually dissolving into a heap of clichés. Dialogue sounds rather infantile and it not only does a very good job of portraying the pre-colonial Nigerian as a simpleton, better than any biased foreigner; but also doesn’t give insight – fresh or regurgitated - about the Calabar people. ‘The Amazing Grace’ is not located, as far as history goes, anywhere. Its reality exists in neither the jaundiced history of the conqueror nor even the prouder self serving version of the conquered. There’s no attempt, at mirroring the clash of wills and complexity of emotions with which our forbears resisted foreign occupation (hopefully there was).

That The Amazing Grace casually treats slave trade with kid gloves, nonchalantly colouring it with romance and sad music underscores its thoughtless, and its fatalistic attention to style above substance. It would be burdensome to give examples but the heroine, Ansa’s (Mbong Odungide) first conversation aboard the ship with Nick was absolutely incongruous, made worse by a tortuously long dialogue where the director forgets the girl is supposed to be illiterate!

Then from nowhere, (and take that very literally) we hear: “I like. Take me”. And “I love you”. Shock.

Hold on, love? Where – from the time he unchained her to their standing opposite each other, in the space of hours - did they find love? There’s no attempt to tell a real story: just an assemblage of clichés. Let’s say you ask me: what is the movie really about, which hopefully from all my rambling you must feel a right to know? I can’t give you any answer. It’s certainly not about the origin of the song as the pre-release publicity materials made us believe. It’s not also about the evils of slave trade, and even though the contrived end of the movie struggles to convey this, it certainly doesn’t come off as a tale about the redemption of a slave trader’s soul…

Apart from torturing us with the song (the prisoners sang that one song continuously every ‘single’ day of their incarceration), nothing else even attempted to tell us anything about the song’s origin, apart from John Newton translating it to English. Even worse, we are supposed to believe that John Newton was so touched he translated the beautiful song they hummed endlessly, yet we also know that this man continued slave trade for many years after this ‘life-transforming’ incident?

The film had its fine moments, no doubt. Fred Amata’s performance was consistently sterling – and at the times when he was at the centre of the action the movie was very tolerable, Nick Moran too was very convincing, in fact (with appropriate shame nonetheless) I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes that showed conflict amongst the white ‘captains’ more than anything else (even though, with appropriate joy, I also report that the worst acting also came from the enslaved white Simmons). Ansa was good to look at and there was an innocence to her that was appealing and to complete the chain of isolated fine acting was the chief of the second village.

There were two very bright moments of delightful scripting when Fred Amata engaged his black captor and when the two captains mirrored the contradictions of slave trade (‘When you return to England you shall go to church/ and thank God for your safe return from your pillage and plunder/ for your sake captain, I hope that God is an Englishman’).

P.S: Funny enough, Aunty Nosh in shortening the piece severely blunted it's sharper ends. And they are complaining! So would vessels have burst if they had seen the original version?!)

This Weekend, I went looking for Trouble...

2007-03-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

No Seriously! On saturday, one of my favourite aunties, Onoshe Nwabuikwu repeated in her wildly popular column, Airtime, a review I did of Jeta Amata's The Amazing Grace; a movie that I thought was ghastly ... and that is putting it mildly. Then, on sunday, Big Brother's Ebuka published in his column a rejoinder I did to a rejoinder Charles Novia did to a piece Ebuka wrote! There too, I had the gun on my hips...

Both pieces were in Thiday.

As I write, I just got a really nasty mail from someone who purports to work with Jeta, as well a not-too-pleasant text message, actually two, from Mr. Novia's end. Ah, the dangers of having an opinion! I am posting the offending here pieces one after the other...

Charles Novia’s ‘defense’ of Nollywood
Contrast with Ebuka, Email: buksu7@yahoo.co.uk, 03.18.2007
Right of Reply

Reading last Sunday’s paper, two rejoinders struck me enough to go against my self-imposed tradition of allowing each fight their own battles (especially when I know they are eminently so capable). One was the response by Dapo Olorunyomi to Simon Kolawole; the other and most pungent was that by respected Filmmaker, Charles Novia to TV presenter, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. Incidentally, unlike Charles, who has never met Ebuka and "has no interest" to, I happen to be acquainted with all the correspondents.

Both ripostes were strikingly similar for the latent bullying observable: one from a senior journalist to a junior though accomplished colleague, the other from an older entertainment practitioner to a much younger one. However whilst the former took the high road of intellectual superiority, the other threw a considerable amount of propriety to the winds.

Surprisingly, I say surprisingly, because Charles Novia is ordinarily a sound intellectual; one whose thoughts and words have consistently bestowed Nollywood with an intelligent underbelly. Unfortunately, his piece "In Defense of Nollywood" plunges short of minimum standards of decency.

In my opinion, Charles Novia went after Ebuka so tactlessly only because of how young the writer is, and for that, my intelligence and that of many readers, I assure him, have been insulted. To refer to Ebuka with such derogatory phrases as "Ebuka fellow", "plastic smile", "fifteen minutes of fame", "amateurish" amongst others was uncalled for and going to such childish levels as undermining his recent assignment for the Guinness brand to prove whatever point was absolutely needless.

Just in case there is anybody who got carried away by the onslaught of insults; let the point be made quickly that the fact that Ebuka got his break via a reality show cannot reduce the quality of his contributions to public discourse. And even if considerable substance were to be the sole qualification for penning a newspaper column, then it would be in order to remind Charles Novia that the massively popular (popular enough that Mr. Novia remembers intimate details of Ebuka’s sojourn in the House) Big Brother Nigeria was acknowledged as an assemblage of some of the most intelligent young people in Nigerian reality show history; and even in that assembly, Ebuka by conduct and expression was one of its brightest stars.
Ebuka, in case Charles isn’t aware, is also a lawyer having earned a B.L. from the Nigerian Law School, not a mean feat I will assure him, since I am presently undergoing the same process. In addition to that, since Ebuka came out of Big Brother, he has earned a name as a capable event compere; that is apart from quickly becoming a rave TV presenter.

In fact, just two weeks before this ill-motivated rejoinder, THISDAY Columnist Joy Bewaji had made the point that Ebuka would in all probability have gotten his present job as TV anchor for "Friend or Foe" (NTA Network) and the Guinness Greatness, in spite of being a BBN housemate, based on the strength of his character and intelligence, both of which in fact put him on the 2007 long list of the prestigious "The Future..." Awards.

Added to all of that, over the few months in which he has maintained his Contrast column, the young man has displayed a mix of analytical depth and intellectual width that has endeared his column to many and is responsible for its immense popularity.
So for Charles to reduce Ebuka to "a reality show ex-housemate making do with his fifteen minutes of fame" was rather juvenile.

I will not comment on the depth and propriety or otherwise of Ebuka’s comments on Nollywood. That is an ongoing debate, and as far as I could see, it was hardly the motivation for Charles’ rejoinder. Instead, it was obvious that the basis for the unnecessarily petty and deeply disrespectful response was based solely on the fact that Charles Novia doesn’t think Ebuka has the pedigree to express certain opinions, evidently because he ‘just came into fame’.

Even then, the language and misguided passion employed in expressing such reservations actually reflect very badly on is own person and judgement. Ebuka has the right to his opinions, and as far as columnists go, he deserves the space that he has gotten. For Charles to even suggest anything to the contrary, just because he disagrees with the young man’s opinions, is in very, very low taste.
CHUDE JIDEONWO
Bwari, Abuja.

Ah, so THE day has come and gone ...

2007-03-20T02:54:00.001-07:00

Thanks a lot for all the messages. For people like me who love the soapy things of life, it does mean a lot. And I would also want to reserve special thanks to the bloggers who decided to go beyond just posting, found my number somehow (I’ve never received more than 2 birthday calls/messages from across the seas at any point, and this time there were 7, 5 of them bloggers!) and called or sent an sms. These days, I’ve learnt not to ask how anyone gets my number, so I’ll just say thanks!!! Really.

Of course my phones were screaming for sp[ace on that day; which is mostly because I always send texts two days before my birthday to close friends and family demanding that they send me wishes! And the reason is quite simple: I never remember birthdays and so it is only sensible to expect that others don’t; it doesn’t hurt to be considerate enough to remind them instead of getting upset they didn’t remember. All, expect two, of the people whose messages I most wanted to read, I got. Which was really sweet.

I also used it as an opportunity to get ‘free hugs’ from all the girls in my class! Like I told the guys who for some funny reason wanted to hug me (what?!): ‘This is my birthday; please allow me enjoy it – so no flat chests allowed! Lol)

I ate shamelessly, drank senselessly, and what else? Spent the day reading the messages I got again and again and again and again and again!

Interestingly, just found out that my ex (no not that one … and no not that one!) had her baby just hours before my birthday. So, what, is that a sign?!Lol Birthdays are such amazing things … for others they are just another day. For you, it’s you day. Yours. That one day in the year. I will take stock of the past one year soon, hopefully,

Again, thanks for those who sent their love. Trust me; it was very well appreciated.

Tomorrow (Friday, the 16th of March) is my Birthday!

2007-03-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

For the first time since I started Law School, I sneaked away from class halfway through the day. I just had to go for the closing day of TV/film Festival, Bob TV. Too many of my favourite people were there.

Saw all of them, had fun discussing like the world was about to wrap up, sighted Liz Benson, Justus Esiri and other celebrities, and then had a buffet-lunch at the Sheraton along with one of my aunties, Onoshe, my former boss Nike (at her expense actually) and film genius, Sandra Obiago. It was heavenly.

Another aunty informed us that just across the road, Charly Boy was launching his book, My Private Part, and she could get us entry so we moved over there, and it was a poorly co-ordinated event, which is surprising since it is Charly Boy’s event, but for the brief period we were there it was also quite fun. Saw other fav people like Jahman, said hi to Madam Due Process and then we rushed back to the Sheraton where the raucous gisting continued … all in all saw more people in this one day than I would usually see even when I was in Lagos, and generally had a blast…

There is a party right now at the NTA Arena; and everyone is going to be there, and one or two of them have suggested strongly that I should go too, but I am just filled to the brim with happiness at the moment and just wanted to come to the room and glow in it.

You see, for two days now, I have been relatively depressed, and for no strong reason. But today my spirit soared … there is no better way to feel on the day before your birthday … I really can’t wait for tomorrow to come – I will blog abut it tomorrow, but be assured that I intend to do some crazy stuff, and sure as daybreak to have as much fun as is humanly possible!

Oh, and it's my 22nd birthday by the way ... dont hesitate to send in your wishes, lemme feel all the goodwill there is!!!

Painful Perfection ...

2007-03-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

(Spoiler Warning: This is a very soapy piece.)

For most of us without unfortunate memories of sexual abuse, evil stepmothers, or lost breadwinners, childhood was bliss. For us, it was simple and uncomplicated; an open field without boundaries. And we endlessly speak of cherishing the memories. What we don’t confess is that the memories are sometimes so beautiful, so perfect that they are painful. So painful that we perhaps don’t even want to remember.

An old friend from boarding school found my number recently and called. Soon as I heard his voice, it brought back a rush of memories I couldn’t handle. I just couldn’t handle it. There was excitement at hearing his voice, but the truth is, it wasn’t pure excitement … there was a keen, stronger, sense of loss. He gave me his phone number and I promised I would call him the next day, but I didn’t. I wanted to, but I … couldn’t.

Make no mistake; his call brought back beautiful memories of boarding school. We were a gang of four and he – scrawny, troublesome, unlikely he – was head of the gang; and we had so much fun: we were the envy of seniors and classmates who couldn’t understand the bond that saw us fighting savagely in the morning and regrouping by Night Prep.

When he called, we agreed we had to meet up when I return to Lagos; and of course to keep in touch until then. When I dropped, I decided not to. But just a few hours ago though he sent me a text: ‘Do you still go by your favourite appellation: the indefatigable orator?’ I laughed out loud to myself. I had actually forgotten I used to call myself that… I was grateful for his bringing me back that memory – and I smiled at the verbosity that has not been a part of my being for many years now. I smile as I remember that which I no longer am.

I am certainly glad to hear from my old friend … but I don’t think I want to see him when I get back to Lagos. I am not … I am not sure it will be a good idea. The memories I have of our friendship are so beautiful, too beautiful - almost too sacred to be tampered with by the realities of the present.

There is also the gnawing fear that we have become so different that we cannot become friends in the now, and the ensuing frustration and sadness at the lack of reconnection I don’t think I want to deal with. Why does life happen to us?

It is the same feeling that sucks me in when I look at the backed-up files from my old laptop. In fact, I dread looking at those files, and yet I do - I am hopelessly drawn to the times past: decisions I came to, mistakes I made – I read the amateur writing, the letters to mentors... and each time, clichéd as it sounds, my eyes get moist … those times were so sweet they are sad. Does that make any sense to you?

Those files have poems written; proposal sent, queries replied, applications made, letters penned – it’s a bag full of dreams and life in those times when I had just made it into the whole world armed with all the innocence that there was. A vista untainted by rejection letters, angry rejoinders, office politics, failed dreams and real betrayals. Those were times when I was protected from the consequences of my actions, when I could say what I really felt and carry no burdens from any of it.

Dimeji’s call had an even stronger effect that those. It made me cry. It just made me cry. And even now, my eyes are tear-filled. But you see, the tears are sad, but they are also sweet …

Let me share the song I am singing now, as I write and cry, with you. It is a song from our ‘Song book’ in secondary school (Mayflower, Ikenne):

From faraway, I hear sweet voices calling me
And in my thoughts, come memories flooding fast
A childhood song, in all its dear simplicity
Brings happy tears to one whose childhood days are past
Sing on my heart, for days that will not come again
Oh sing those songs of life that was so fair
Now from afar come voices easing all my pains
And sorrow dies, and memory drives away all care …

It is still morning yet in my life so I have quite a load of innocence left, and naivety is yet an abiding part of my makeup, nay a part I stubbornly hold on to. But those were the days when I didn’t even need to think about it first; I was blissfully unaware, unselfconscious – I could just be …

Maybe I will go and see Dimeji after all. After all said and done, I am eager to relive those beautiful beautiful moments – I want to remember; to share. But I will go without any hopes of renewal; without any plans to rekindle. Because if that doesn’t happen, the sense of loss will only be sharper – and more painful.

I will go only to bask in that beauty from what is now a long time ago. And perhaps remind myself to make sure that what is now, and what is ahead should be as sweet if not sweeter than what I left behind.

Of Bills and Births ...

2007-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

(I actually wrote this last week, but then the man likely to be our next president got catarrh, it didn’t seem right to do this then … well the man is back now – and the rest, as they say, is politics!)

Okay, its time for some diary-style exhibitionism! So what has been happening with me recently? Well, first I tried to do my bit in building the nation – going beyond talk and rhetoric: so I spoke with the legislators involved with the Anti-Gay Bill.
I sent a text to Aunty Abike Dabiri, which she didn’t reply and then when I called she asked to call back. I wasnt able to get through to her again, so I sent another text and left her strictly alone. She knows how to do the disappearing game in such a nice way you will never get upset!

Hon. Abdul Oroh, who is usually very nice to me was rather terse when I told him the purpose of this call, but I pressed on nonetheless before he gave a short and sharp ‘We just concluded a Public Hearing on the matter” response. So, sadly, it appears that I joined the advocacy train rather late. There is very little input the public can have on that bill now, since it has gone on to the 3rd reading (NOTE: I now hear it has been passed by the lower house? Not sure about that though.

Just read a Thisday report from the Sunday Paper, and from the texture of the debate in the Upper House it looks like this bill will sale through. I dont want to comment on the anal retentiveness of some of the Senators, but one actually said those Senators who werent against the bill must be one of those homosexuals 'abusing the anus'! This, a Senator of the Federal Republic - supposedly sane enough to hold office?!

Sadly, at this stage, all that can be done now is for people who have strong opinions about it to keep using the various media to ventilate their views so that the legislators know that we are watching when they finally decide to vote on the draconian bill.

You might want to also take comfort in the fact that our legislature and Federal Government (which sponsored this draconian bill) might soon be getting the Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy) treatment, because I hear from informed sources that beyond New York Times editorial, there is an international Pro-Gay lobby that is about to descend on the Nigerian space...

(There was gist in between these two that was on this morning but is presently undergoing de-too much information-ing – those who were lucky to see it before then, congrats!!! The rest of you? Sorry o!)

So there – all the gist from the past one-week. Law School? Well life just got worse here. We have two more hours of lecture, which means the day effectively ends at 5pm!!! Lectures from 9 am – 5pm! Sitting in the same place for more than 6 hours! How did I find myself in this mess?! Thankfully I have formed a small clique of post-mordern, very 'intellectual' friends at the back (we call it the 'House of Lords') here who make it easy to go through the day, so we go survive sha. Tough people last!

By the way, plenty of congrats are in another for my friend Stella Dimoko-Korkus, Nigeria's number one gossip columnist (her staying power and the range of elite people who actually read her is amazing!) who just gave birth to a bouncing blond haired blue eyed boy in far-away Germany where she is now based! 'Aunty mi', you strong o!!! Everything good is coming!

How was your week?

Chude

Addendum

2007-03-08T04:48:00.001-08:00

Addendum

2007-03-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

Fellow Nigerians, we are in trouble ...

2007-03-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am a very politically incorrect person; and my views are sometimes so contrary that I don’t express them. Like the elections this year; I have consistently refused to discus my stand publicly – and with good reason: the one time I tried to do a few weeks ago for instance, Tara Durotoye (a great soul nonetheless) almost beat me up physically. I could understand her passion; but I could also see an angle she wasn’t looking at.

It is the same way that FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, I have always distrusted the EFCC, and continuously maintained that Ribadu is an Obasanjo instrument of oppression even when he was winning Sun Man of the Year and Thisday Superman of the Year up and down. Long before now that it has become politically correct. The man, Ribadu, himself appears a patriotic Nigerian just as angry as I am and you are about the sorry state of our nation no thanks to kleptomaniacs, but in the hands of Obasanjo, it was inevitably impossible for him to do a clean job. I would express my opinion after critically looking at the man’s posture and activities and people would call me a cynic. Well, here we are.

Back to the elections: I have always said in private that going to register and all that drama is a massive waste of time because President Obasanjo does not intend to hold elections this year. I have always said it. That man doesn’t want to leave. I have taken my time to oversee his body language and vituperations carefully, including those around him and his stooges like the INEC Chairman and it has been abundantly obvious. Anyone who does so dispassionately will come to the same conclusion.

Two days ago, my True Love editor called me. There was going to be a high-powered interaction between the PDP Presidential Candidate, Yar’adua and select media persionalities to be televised on national television, and she wanted me to represent her (I will blog about that at happier times, not now please). I was very excited. However, She called me hours later with profuse apologies to say it had been rescheduled and we both wondered why. I just now found out that it was because Yar’Adua had collapsed in his house and been rushed abroad…

Sun Newspaper this morning ...

It is more striking for me because just yesterday I was half-joking with my friends that each time Yar’adua speaks during his campaign stops it looks as if he is so frail he is about to die (as usual, one of them said I was being cynical). I even said ‘He is like a dead man, in fact.’ And just the next day … this!

What’s worse? Everyone knew this! Right from the time this man was imposed as PDP candidate, those who knew him and his condition had cried themselves hoarse that he had either or a kidney or a heart disease that is fatal. The president denied, PDP continues to mouth rubbish and the man himself refused to listen to reason and admit his frailty.

As things stand, there are strong rumours that he is dead. As at this evening though – thankfully – Thisday confirms he is not. I can’t confirm of course, but even if he survived this, what we know for sure is that man is not well. At all. He is sick. Very sick. He might not last long at any rate.

Certain people have expressed upset that Obasanjo is killing Yar’adua with his own stubbornness. These people say if our president wasn’t such as egomaniac he would have admitted that he chose a sick man and make a U-turn but of course Obasanjo can never admit to himself his own infallibility.

Those people might be right, but they still don’t get the point. Right from the start, people like me, and lately Atiku and other members of opposition had pointed to the gross fact that even if OBJ leaves in May, he is still in charge of Nigeria, because he has amended the PDP constitution to leave himself as Chairman of the Board of Trustees FOR LIFE, and according to the same constitution, his decisions are binding on any PDP President. Bottom line: he would still continue to rule us! And for us, this was obviously why he chose an obviously weak Yar’Adua whom he could control.

Well we didn’t see this President coming! He is a master strategist! He has proven again that he is SMARTER than ALL OF US put together!

There are many things unpalatable about being in Law School here, but then again there are huge advantages of living amongst at least a thousand legal minds. Because in the midst of arguments over this latest development we just discovered an ALARMING provision in the Electoral Act. Let me give it to you:

S. 26: If after the time for the delivery of nomination paper and before the commencement of the poll, a nominated candidate dies, the Chief Electoral Commissioner or the Resident Electoral Commissioner shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, countermand the poll in which the deceased candidate was to participate and the Commission shall appoint some other convenient date for the election.

Read that again. And again. And again. You get it don’t you? What it means is, if truly Yar’Adua is dead or if there is any chance of his dying anytime soon, the INEC Chairman and his subordinates can postpones the elections until ‘a convenient date’. In law, this is a dangerously discretionary power! So if the INEC guys say a convenient date is December 25 2008 – he is right in Law.

Atiku has been saying this!!

They must have known! The president’s strategists must have known! Why did they pick Yar’adua?! Why a sick man out of all the possible candidates who like him were not corrupt? Why not Donald Duke? Why not any other of his Northern Governor loyalists? They must have known!

Most likely, this might have been President Obasanjo’s plan all along. Fellow Nigerians … we are in trouble!

A Case for Sodom and Gomorrah...

2007-03-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

(Unforgivably long; but cant help it - like I said in my last post, it's an article that was published some time ago, so can't cut anything out ... )

Three days ago, I had a combustible argument in school. Against an `army' of 4 highly intelligent students, and two not-so-intelligent ones, I made my case for the rights of every human being to their sexuality.

One interesting thing I noticed was that whilst all of them were united against my argument, all of them had completely different reasons for opposing me… that should interest you, the implication being that when it comes to the issue of sexual rights and sexual freedoms, everyone already has a stand before desperately seeking ways to defend that stand.

To anyone who has followed my views over time, my somersault in principle as concerns this issue would be something of a shock, remembering the deliberate bile and calculated passion with which I tore at the Anglican Church for ordaining a gay man as a Bishop last year.

The gay bishop...

But since that time I have grown as a person, and I have learnt to listen to other people with other life experiences and to always look at the larger picture.

Now, in the course of the argument referred to above, one in the latter group informed me that God hates gays and that was why he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. That really got me thinking, and pushed me into picking up my bible and reading through it again, in case I missed something…

What really happened in the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah? What I have discovered is that many Christians have deliberately misconstrued, misinterpreted and misapplied the story and its morale simply to support a misguided campaign.

Did God destroy Sodom & Gomorrah because of homosexuals? N-O! And this I recently discovered to my eternal chagrin. Having done some biblical research on this issue, even against the backdrop of the fire-and-brimstone stand of US Evangelicals (we call them Pentecostals) who now want to consume America with their brand of `righteousness', I have realised that there are a lot of contradictions in their propositions – which, unfortunately, I used to accede to.

Now according to the bible, God sent His angels to destroy the two cities because "their sin was great". No sin was singled out.

Indeed, before the men got to the house of Lot and were harassed by Sodomites, they had already intended to destroy the cities. Do you remember that God and Abraham looked and looked and couldn't find even five righteous men in the whole city? Does it mean then that everybody in that city was engaged in the sin of homosexualism? Think about that …

Let's move forward: when the angels got to Lot's house, the book of Genesis reports that the `men' of the city "compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter" and said to Lot, "bring (the men) out, that we may know them."

Now, apart from the fact that the bible has so obviously explained the composition of the mob by qualifying the sentence with "all the people", it is standard etymology of the bible that it uses the generic word "men" for both the male and female gender. It is therefore obvious that by "men", it meant the people i.e. men and women of Sodom and Gomorrah as it had already qualified in the same sentence.

And if you still are not convinced, then remember that Lot first offered his daughters to the men of the city. If they were homosexual men, pray why would he give them his daughters for a session he must have known they wouldn't be interested in?!

Indeed, what becomes obvious is that, because it was a gender-mixed crowd, he was offering his daughters to be slept with by the men in the crowd. Because the people insisted on getting hold of the men in his house … by whose authority do we insist then that the angels were going to be raped by fellow men, and not the women in the group as should logically be presumed?

And even for those who say the angels blinded the `men' because they were gay, does it mean that if the assailants were women, the angels would have been happy, and would have then accepted? Does that make any sense to you?

It is abundantly obvious that the people of Sodom were only looking to perform depravity by any means – and not homosexual-specific sins. They wanted to defile the strangers in the city for some perverted reason – and it obviously would have made no difference to them if the strangers were male or female.

The book of Jude re-emphasises the point when it says: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner gave themselves into fornication …" The sin was fornication, not homosexuality …

It is important to state clearly that my point isn’t necessarily a claim that there was no homosexuality going on in those times, or that it is not a sin that God frowns out, what I am instead doing is give a lie to the obvious fallacy that God destroyed a whole city ONLY because of homosexuals!

As I have already noted, even if the men were homosexual, God had already decreed to destroy the city before they approached the angels, he didn't make the decision because of their subsequent actions. Their "sins were great" so "he was wroth".

In God's eyes, adultery is just as bad as homosexuality, being a liar is equal to being gay. Fraud and blackmail, which are crimes a good many of our `ministers of God' will be found guilty of, is just as bad as men sleeping with men. Where then do we get off with this silly notion that our sins are more acceptable to God than the sins of another because of the gender of our fornicating partners?

In James, the bible makes the point clearly. In the 10th verse of its second chapter, it informs us that: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and offend in one point, he is guilty of all!" Is there need for further proof?

Of course, having failed here, the self-appointed defenders of God will accelerate to the new testament and put Apostle Paul on the witness stand: in his letters to the churches, he strongly condemned homosexuality. True. However we must remember that he also advocated that women should cover their hair in church, women should not speak in church and many other such controversial and somewhat rigid measures which we Christians have correctly explained away as advice or informed opinion, rather than law.

In legal terms, those writings are equivalent to opinion juris, rather than lex: they are rightly regarded by Ministers of the bible as the opinions of a respected Christian, rather than law laid down from the heavens, which is why they are not adhered to! Following that line of thought, it follows that the apostles only opined about gays and many other such sundry issues; and never said their writings were binding as law or were direct inspiration from God.

I do not intend to belabour the issue.

In America, a pastor – man of God, supposedly ordained to preach the message of salvation - was forced to apologise for saying ON THE PULPIT that he would commit murder if a gay man touched him. Again, there is a Christian website called godhatesfags.com, but it is more likely that the ones He hates are the people who built that site: the kinds of people the Book of 1st John refers to when it says: "If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar!" It continues: "He that loveth not knoweth not God." Period!

As I write, I remember that a valid point supporters made for the gay bishop last year was his record as an exemplary priest whose life showed forth the fruits of the spirit, and that his sexuality was a negligible, and therefore irrelevant, part of him. Indeed, I am tempted to say that it would be more palatable to have as a priest that kind of a bishop, whose parishioners would so staunchly defend, than the many pastors here who talk down at their members and add nothing positive to their lives.

What the bible advocates is that our lives should be a signpost that will draw others to Him and to righteousness. With the kind of bigotry, bullying and hatred we show, when our lives do not even follow the scriptures' more basic tenets, do we show the love the bible preaches when we say, "I would stab anyone that is a fag!"?

Get a life! What gives you that right? Is it better then to be an adulterer who abandons his children and steals government money than a gay who lives his life morally and legally? On what sane, rational basis would anyone make that conclusion?

I have had the rare opportunity in the last couple of months to come in contact with gay people, and I have read up on many others: the shocking revelation I got was that 90% of them would immediately change the situation if they thought they could – some have indeed tried very hard to, and failed.

Yet some have attempted suicide out of frustration, juts because the rest of us have decided to bully them, just the same way albinos, fat people, and minorities in general have been derided and bullied over centuries. But these people are neither evil, irresponsible, nor are they deviant - they are normal people just as much in search of salvation as I am from my sharp tongue.

It therefore becomes very convincing the argument that God created them that way.

But even if it is a sin, did God appoint any of us His law enforcers? Isn't He that made the law from heaven, who created the earth and all that is in it strong enough to see it to an end? Does he force anyone to follow his laws? Didn't he place in the same garden the fruits of good and evil??

Indeed, when Jesus was on earth, do you remember him force anyone to be holy? Didn't the saviour eat with sinners to the chagrin of all the `holy men' of Israel? When that prostitute ran to him and poured oil on his feet, wasn't Judas Iscariot the leader of the pack who sought to condemn her? And what did `Pope Judas' end up doing to the Master? How come we conveniently forget Jesus' reaction to people like you who sought to stone the adulterous woman brought to him? "He who is without sin …"

Jesus understood. He was pro-choice: he allowed people live their lives because he knew that any society founded on moral superiority is wont to hypocrisy, hatred and strife. In His original plan, he allowed man to make his own choices even if they would be wrong – all He did and still does is advise, solicit, persuade. In his years on earth, he absolutely detested the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and the Scribes. He knew that their moral-high standing was one to which they had no right – because "our righteousness is as filthy rags"!

He was a rebel. He hated the very idea that whoever did not conform to standard was ostracised, especially when those who were doing the ostracising were no better! The Creator did not fight sinners, yet those He created think they should! They insist on defending God better than Himself! And yet they piously take the front pews in church and imagine that they are saner than Osama bin Laden …

In fact, this whole homophobia thing makes no sense to me! Why are we so annoyed by the kind of sex two consenting adults have? What sort of fundamentally flawed sense of moral superiority makes us think we have a right to assault and condemn a lesbian or a gay man? Tell me, how does what any man or woman do in the privacy of their bedrooms, without forcing anybody, or harming anyone, actively affect your life or mine? And what makes us have the right to tell a man he must sleep with a woman simply because you and I are attracted to women? And how come we don't have commensurate disgust for such other "unnatural" sexual acts as masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex?

I cannot understand this HYPOCRISY in the Nigerian society, and even in more liberalised ones, as the American elections have shown us. The Church in America has not ceased to gloat that it gave George Bush victory based on `solid moral values' just because he hates gays … but does that really make any sense?

Does it make sense that the church celebrates giving victory to a murderer and a liar? Are you aware that certain American pastors (having decided that Bush had a `moral agenda' after he promised to amend the constitution to ban gay marriages) lied to their gullible members that Bush found Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, just to get congregations to vote him?

Leading the global hypocricy battle...

Does it mean that being a murderer is better than being gay? So, Bush walks into Iraq, kills the innocent children of poor women, makes children fatherless and ruins thousands of lives all in the pursuit of petro-dollars, and somebody thinks because he calls the name of God, he is holy and has high moral values? In any case, have we forgotten just how much Osama an his teammates invoke the name of God?

In fact, I have severally asked, what qualified George Bush (Jnr.) a better Christian than Kerry? Doesn’t Kerry believe in God? Has he been shown to ever have an unconscionable and evil heart? Does the fact that when asked about gays, he answered, "we're all God's children" make him inferior morally simply because George Bush carries the bible on his head, while John Kerry probably carries his in his heart?

You cannot imagine how irritated I get when, here in Nigeria, I hear our band of hypocritical churchgoers, who fast for seventy days but still inflate contracts, round-trip in banks and tell lies in the course of government work, rejoicing that "God won the election for Bush". I heard one of these say the reason why America has succeeded thus far is because God is mentioned in their anthem. And then I wonder what happened to the "So help me God" in our own pledge? So how come Nigeria keeps moving resolutely backwards?

Indeed, are there any churchier people anywhere in the world than here - in the world's third most corrupt nation? And what has our religiosity, God-ism, and `high moral standards' done for us? Has it reduced the cases and incidences of rape, incest and child abuse our nation is riddled with?

This is one of the rare times I have spiced my writing so strongly with religion; but I have decided to write this piece from a Christian perspective so as to prove that one can be a Christian and still be liberal – with respect for the rights, freedoms, and choices of other beings just as our Perfect Master, Jesus, had. To show that these people do not understand the bible that they preach.

Even if I am a born-again Christian who believes that being gay is a sin against God and against the body, what I do know for sure is that the bible doesn't ask us to hate gays, and neither does it tell us to stop them from being gay. All it asks us to do is persuade and convict any who has gone ‘astray’ – and to live our lives in such a way that will re-enforce this message.

Of course, these remain biblical issues, and if anyone has superior arguments, I await them. But for me, I am unequivocal about my principle: that we must allow consenting adults to live their lives - as far as they do not harm us, or anybody.

And to those rabidly against this principle, I again ask the simple question: what is the basis even for our regarding someone as less than human simply because that person doesn't have sex the way you and I do?

She's Gay, So What?

2007-02-28T00:39:00.000-08:00

I received this personal mail that simply broke my heart, some days ago. It came from an aunty of mine, a very strong woman, who is also an award winning writer, and one of the smartest, nicest people I know (I am posting with her permission):

“This is just a note of appeal for you to lend your voice in condemning the possible passing of a bill that would violate a basic human right: the right of adults to their private affairs, it would be greatly appreciated. The debate on the passing of this horrendous bill begins on Wednesday, February the 14th in Abuja.

Please be a voice for the voiceless; be a voice for a group of people who do not necessary fall into the shade of black or white. A group of people who found themselves in the gray area of life, not by choice but by providence. As a sister, as a daughter, as a mother, as an aunt, as a friend, I am one of such repressed voices. Please, assist in making me visible. Give me a voice.”

Now if this doesn’t touch you, a cry from one human soul to the next; then I wonder what will …

I had promised myself I wouldn’t be drawn into any gay debate in Nigeria because it really is a draining one. When you see sound intellectuals who don’t even want to talk about it; and if you speak too much about it, they begin to look at you with disdain, then the point hits home. Sometimes they are people you respect; people who are very deep and very cosmopolitan and very progressive in EVERY OTHER respect except this: when it comes to this matter of sexuality they clam up. For them it is a deeply personal matter – just like for me.

Arguing it therefore never leads anywhere, except resentment.

So I decided not to stick my neck that far out any longer. After all, wetin concern agbero with overload? In any case, it is very easy to be gay (just as it is quite easy to live a double life) as long as you are responsible and sensible and no one would ever know about it. But after getting this mail I knew I couldn’t play the ostrich. It is one thing to ban gay marriages and to refuse recognition for gays, but after some quick research I found out that this Bill is actually INSANE.

If passed into Law, it will ban gays from being seen in public, as well as ban association with anyone who is gay. You must know that this law includes those who are ‘closet’ gays; so those of you who have such friends, when you fraternize with them, you stand the risk of jail!

Even worse, reading a book that has gay themes, watching movies, etc with a gay person (we are talking Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives, The Devil Wears Prada, Monster, and of course Brokeback Mountain), reading a website that promotes homosexuality, amongst others could land you in jail!

Bree Van De Kamp's son, Andrew - "Gay-themed" character in Desperate Housewives

In other words: this Law seeks to completely ban the gay reality. A reality that is neither new nor negligible in Nigeria: a country that has thousands of gay millionaires, gay actors, gay clubs, gay politicians, gay parties – and has had them for decades.

As at the last count, I know at least 25 people, living in Nigeria who are the most wonderful and the most brilliant people I know – and they are gay. I may have reservations about their orientation, but that doesn’t translate into sitting back and allow an insensitive government pass a legislation that calls them criminals!

I am drained already. I really don’t want to argue this anymore. The thing is, it should be pretty self-evident; it is one thing to detest gay people, but to say they cannot LIVE?

Incidentally, just a few days ago, the new FARAFINA Magazine came out, and in it there is an interview I did with an openly gay Nigerian guy (the first such comprehensive interview, I hear) who came out on the NTA Network via New Dawn with Funmi Iyanda (and the show got penalized for that, by the way) about two years ago. I read that interview again right now and I can only feel intense anger for those who think that gay people are less than them just because of their sexuality.

Because I really, truly can’t go through all that emotional energy or making the points, I am going to post an article I wrote in THISDAY some years ago, that deals with the issue extensively. It is quite different/interesting for the fact that it uses the same premises that anti-gay people use, to destroy their arguments.

Of course when it was published, it attracted a DELUGE of comments from both sides of the divide (which also proved to me that there is as considerable a number of Nigerians IN Nigeria who are not anti-gay as there are those who are), and my email address was practically crying from the fire and thunder. I expect the same to happen now.

No matter what side of the divide you belong; I think you will find the piece … stimulating. (I will attach it in a few hours).

What's Hot, and What's Even Hotter!

2007-02-26T00:53:00.000-08:00

"Back in Law School, down with a cold, trying to adjust and bored as hell" - That's the story of my life right now!

Anyways sha, that hasn't stopped me from being SO passionate about a lot of things right now - and angry too! - but I'm here wondering which of those opinions I should torture you with first!

In the meantime, I am SO feeling 2face's See Me So right now. I listened to it no less than a hundred times (no exaggeration) over the weekend. Forget his bad grammar, that guy is deeeep.

Will blog about why I think so before the week ends. But after weeks and months of cynicism, I must say that his sophomore album (apart from the silly skit!) runs on so much depth I just want to hug him and say 'Thank you'!

Speaking of music, West African Idols is IT!!! I thought BBN (Big Brother Nigeria Nigeria) was the best thing ever to happen to TV here? Well, I didnt reckon with this! I was SO scared our Idols would be such a disappointment, but I am so glad to tell you that the show ROCKS!

First, I am glad to report that we do have our own version of young colourful characters (read zany!), and the auditions were hilarious. My friend Mike Magic I was scared was going to flop (going by his AMBO record) but he is just great. Plus we do have so much talent in Nigeria it makes me proud (some of the singing gave me chills), and the production quality of the show is international Idol standard - I am so proud to say!

The judges are FANTASTIC! Of course, ever since I had Dede on New Dawn with Gbolahan (MyTalkingBeginnings) and Funmi interviewing (or rather Dede attacking) some new music group some two years ago, I have always said anytime Idols comes to Nigeria, Dede must be Simon! He's great on the show.

Dan Foster, I was getting ready to hate him, but he is SO my favourite! He has that happy-go-lucky feel of Randy Jackson, but with so much more depth. And he is really, genuinely nice. And his face is So fun to watch! Sometimes he is the forgiving grandfather, the caring elder brother: he makes great TV.

Nana is good for contrast, though I'm not too fond of her. Bella Naija says she's better than Paula Abdul, and I say no - give me Paula anyday; she makes great TV! Nana tries to prove too much that she understands music ... but she doesnt! At least Paula doesnt pretend to; and spends more time polishing her wit. But that having been said, them three are great together on the show.

I don't agree with A LOT of their decisions though: there are some people they didnt allow through that i thought 'WHAT?!', there were some who they allowed through which i thought was really REALLY wrong, and I am upset that they are 'discriminating' against root Nigerian music in favour of R&B, but hey that's my opinion. I am sure if I was a judge, A LOT of people would disagree with me. Music, afterall, is really a matter of 'I like. I dont like'. Plus there were some people who could sing, but i really am not sure I want to see their faces on a constant basis! So there.

But oh I so wish I was in Lagos and in the thick of things right now! And I so envy those judges!!!!! Some people have accused me of being bitchy when I analyzed the BBN housemates on the show last year, and I only laughed at them because they dont realize that was me at my tamest! (Lol). Put me on Idols, and I'll show Simon how to be NASTY!!!

All this is just to say: great show, great great great show. You should see it. Bella Naija has some clips on her blog - so you can check that out.

By the way, you can (finally!) check up "The Future... Awards" Winners After-Party pictures on www.purefoto.com ...

One Week in Lagos!!!

2007-02-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so its gist time ...

I am a sucker for real-life drama, and obviously so are a lot of you, so here’s a dose of real life; the make-or-break meeting with Miss Girlfriend? Well, the ‘break’ happened! I’m not going to tell you the why and how, because she has ‘warned’ me not to over-blog about it so that “no one kills me o!”; even though that no one who actually sees her will want to do any of that: she’s one of the prettiest things on earth, that’s apart from being one of the TV personalities that people like to like (that’s all the clues you’re getting, sorry!)

But suffice it to say that it’s amazing what we allow fear and doubt do to us – control us, define us, and maybe consume us. And I am talking about myself too. I don’t think the reality of it has dawned yet though cos I’m still not feeling all the doom and gloom yet – maybe cos we still talk like everyday? But I will miss her sorely. Much more than she things. If only she knew …

So how was my Val’s Day? Well I sent off a small thingie, but had to cut out all the other grand ideas for the day (now, that hurt!). Ironically, my psycho ex called me the night before and so together she and I took the gift to the office of my new ex, and generally had a blast driving around Lagos on Val’s Day. Of course me and this psycho ex are mutually too psycho for each other so even though we’re so fond off each other; no way! But carrying a very pretty girl in the car throughout THE day, you can never go wrong. So it wasn’t all sorrow and sadness for me.

In unrelated developments, I HATE Lagos! Christ! I’ve just spent weeks outside Lagos, and I can’t understand how I ever survived this dysfunction, degenerating city. Lagos is UNBEARABLE! People are LIVING in traffic! To go and do interviews on the Island I spent HOURS on the road, in the traffic – I was so frustrated!

Anyways, did an interview with the ‘Almighty’ Yemi Osindero of Virgin. Very cool guy. And of course I made sure to express my ‘upset’ that Virgin didn’t sponsor our event at the end of the day! However, it is always a refreshing difference to find Marketing managers who are really nice - usually those guys are full of their own importance – but people like Yemi, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh and co are amazing in their 'down-to-earthedness'.

Also I (of course!) visited the True Love office (by the way I really don’t want to add my voice to Jeremy’s attack on TL in Naijablog since Kemi has given a good response, but suffice it to say that he should have looked at his words before posting them, really) and met ‘my’ crowd. Was great to see everyone, and it made me miss all the excitement of the interviews and the photo shoots etc - and that’s what makes coming to Lagos worth it, the people, not the city!

Sighted the next cover model (of course I can’t tell you!), Funlola Aofiyebi, Bayo Haastrup, Yemi Akerele (Entrepreneur of the Year - Beauty and Style) and others. Also did some catching up with Ebun Olatoye (who is like the Asst. Editor); who is my Number One gossip partner, so of course we had some gossip exchange!

("My people!" - Ebun is first from back)

Ebun is one of the people I have really deep affection for. She’s also one of the people who I know for sure have my back – and for no reason. She reads this blog so she’ll be knowing this for the first time, but Ebun was mainly responsible fopr the crucial turn in my life from ‘wasting my talent’ to ‘making some real money’, and all these she did in that her unselfish, unselfconscious way.

What else? Oh, talking about the not-so-good, I really just have to get this off my chest! Why do people allow bile eat them up so much? Went to visit one of my ‘aunties’, who is upset with me for no justifiable reason, and she just generally ignored my greeting – in the presence of everyone!! No one noticed fortunately cos her friends and staff were basically glad to see me around, but I just thought … I came all the way to her place, canceling two crucial appointments and going against my way just to say hello, and someone who I am the one who is actually supposed to be very angry at her is giving this?! I SO wanted to be upset at her, but funny enough I only felt so sad. It also re-enforced to me just how much I should rid bitterness from my own life. Really.

Anyways, so the week, like I said was a delightful mix of the good, the bad and the ugly and I had fun.

And, right now I AM having fun! Unfortunately I cant tell you all about it, cos this post is long already. But, I am at The Future… Awards After-Party at the Miccom Resotrt in Osun State alongside Tara Fela-Durotoye, Denrele Edun, Gbenga Sesan and others and it IS a blast! My body still aches from all that dancing past midnight yesterday – I shall put up pictures so you just see for yourselves.

We’ll be out of here by afternoon, and it’s back to the real, stressful, struggling world. How was your week? Cheers.

I know, I know!

2007-02-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

Hallo!

I'm SO SO sorry I haven't posted anything new. It's rude, I know! It's the Lagos madness - I have been trying to do a million things all at the same time, and the traffic is senseless!!!

In the meantime, those of you calling me privately and sending me emails to get the gist of the 'make-or-break' meeting with Miss Girlfriend on sunday, shame on you! If I want to talk, I will blog about it. Luckily for you, I want to talk!

I'm in Lagos now. PLENTY Gist: Good, very good, bad and very ugly. On my way to the Miccom Resorts now for the Awards Winners Party; so once i get there, you'll get the download, by tomorrow!

But if you want to hear me shoot my mouth off, you can check out my last article on the Just Jisting column of the Awards website: http://www.thefuturenigeria.com/noticeboard/just-jisting/2007-01-28/ as well as all the inside gist from the event. I hope the Web guy has downloaded the pictures by now sha...

Take care people, and thanks for all the comments!

A Little Gossip … (And Hopefully, Nuggets of Wisdom!)

2007-02-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

(Unfortunately, this too is quite a long piece, but there’s a lot of juicy gist in it and I didn’t want to cut all of that off, eh?!)

There are plenty of laudable reasons I started the Thisday column, Sons & Daughters, but there was also a selfish part. Wide-eyed teenager that I was then, I believed it would make it easier to find a space in the social ladder.

Dumebi Agbakoba (Will be in Sons & Daughters tomororow)

What I wanted to do with that space if and when I eventually got it, I don’t think I knew for sure. But did I get what I sought? Well, there were varying results – and I will drop some names, trust me! Some of them have become real friends, like Morenike (Dr. Rasheed Gbadamosi’s daughter), there’s Solape (Governor Agagu’s daughter) who took me as some kind of ‘aburo’, Gbolahan (Sen. Obanikoro’s son) and I now have a distant mutual-respect friendship, and how could I ever forget how SHOCKED I was when Charly Boy said yes, I could take his teenage daughter, Adaeze, on a date?! But of course not all have ended well; Zemaye for instance, and Bimbo Adenuga (I still don’t understand what happened here, I had all her numbers both here and in the UK and her emails and suddenly I couldn’t reach her on ANY of them!).

When I started, I was much enamoured by wealth and wealthy people. I still am, but my fascination is much healthier, thank God. I do the column with more wisdom now: no more puppy-eyed questions, no sucking up, definitely no more of being patronized by kids who might be smart, yes, but when it gets down to it, really should be listening to me (Note: This is NOT my ego speaking!).

I can’t deny the power and importance of wealth. It is certainly a good thing that rich kids are able to go to the best schools, have capital to start good businesses and something to fall back if they make a mistake. Heck, if I had a father with plenty of money and contacts at the highest levels of the blue chips, can you imagine how much more of a grand success something like “The Future…” Awards would be? But the point is, no more respect for people who have money just for the sake of it.

A friend was having issues with her boss, a popular young publisher that typifies all style and no substance. This is also a guy said to have hit money by sleeping with older woman, coupled with the fact that his English is so bad I wouldn’t let him write the obituaries in my paper. But he had the guts to talk down on my friend’s excellent writing simply because he has enough money to buy a printing press. He had really killed her spirit, and I had to tell her: ‘Don’t let him get to you. Always remember that you are better than him – all he has is more money’. And then what I had just said hit me: it is SO true!

Temi Ogunsanya and Bolanle Austen-Peters (Two of my favourite 'aje-butters' - these two women have such a sharp business sense you would think they grew up with nothing!)

The main gist: there’s a rich-kid friend of mine (no names!) who’s ED of a big company on the Island, and has a father with legendary wealth, apart from being on first-name terms with Governors and Ministers – and no it’s not who you think, thank you very much!

Very deep and intellectual and witty; and anytime I visit her office it would be a roller coaster of fun gossip. Then I took our event for her company to sponsor.

Unfortunately she is also a disorganized person, so in between forgotten appointments, sudden trips, lost proposals and unwritten memos, one week to the event we had nothing. Plus, you know how these people are; she didn’t appreciate just how much we needed the money. I fired an sms telling her how disappointed we were about the seriousness.

My dear friend wasted no time firing an sms back calling the money ‘peanuts’ amongst other things that sought to let me understand she is so way above me on the money ladder that perhaps I should be grateful she’s even my friend.

It was so predictable I could almost laugh: it came to a battle of wills, and she took that easy way out! You can’t blame her; others do and get away with it, because they are usually dealing with people who are already insecure about their relative poverty (whether they confess it or not). It’s like what impotent rich men do; they can’t get the girl the good old woo-her way, so they use the cheque book. It is actually a sign of weakness. Ultimately, a display of powerlessness.

But I didn’t expect it from her. I was so shocked in fact that I sent off what was actually a cowered response (very unlike me, I assure you). Emilia flew into a rage and said I had to send a stronger reply! I should have, but didn’t.

Then a few days ago, I read that text again and realized that truly, the insult couldn’t go without an adequate response, and so I drafted one – I let her know her reply was tasteless. And I was ready for war!

My friend, however, floored me. She might have taken the easy road at first, but then there are those who have money and no substance and there are those who have both, and she is one of the latter. She sent me an sms, this time, with apologies and a coherent explanation (in fact going too far in the apology by exaggerating and calling me a “great writer!”). I was gob smacked, but I was also greatly relieved; it means I wasn’t wrong about her after all.

That’s it really: by all means, use your money – but use it only where it matters: if you want a loan, by all means let them that you have collateral; but not when it comes to stuff like inter-personal relationships … you can never be better than the other person by reason of the fact that you have more clothes, more shoes or a better perfume bottle. Oprah says it best, no matter how rich she is, she is still the same person – only in better shoes.

The Wisest Woman on Earth!!!

People cover up their inadequacies with money. In fact, certain people make money just to cover up their inadequacies! An illiterate will make more money in order to be able to employ literate people so as to be able to ride roughshod over them; but you see, he might be able to do that, yes, but he will still always feel inferior to them - always.

I had course to ask myself recently: why was there that obsession at the beginning of my career to belong in ‘the crowd’? The answer is simple: a complex; a complex that told me every waking day that because I cannot afford to be in Business Class, because I’m not in the Presidential Suite, because mine isn’t a four-wheel, I am less.

I know plenty of otherwise accomplished people who are prodded on by this intense complex. That’s why many of these Lagos Big Girls are broke I tell you! They grew up in Mushin and Ijesha and wherever else, got some good job or slept with some man and moved up to buying a house in Lekki, and instead of building something solid and investing, they want to sit in First Class with Okoya’s daughter, they want to be in Bambuddha with the Priddys, they want to ride the same cars with the Ibrus, to use the same Louis Vuitton, wear the same Tiffany Amber … for these ones, unfortunately, no matter how many contracts they win, how many awards they get, how many magazine covers they make, they will never feel good enough. And it is so, so sad.

The LOOMING Evil that is Louis Vuitton(Lol)

But you can’t really blame them. It is also the pressure of our society: a society that still talks about such crap as ‘old money’, nay a society that demands of you to live above your means to get respect! Isn’t it ironical for instance that City People columnists will yab movie stars for not driving good cars when they have none themselves?!

Before I bought my car for instance, certain people would treat me one-kain, mostly because I won’t dress up, added of course to my hatred for shoes. Yes, there was the ‘bohemian’ part of me, but there also the part of me that was earning less than the national minimum wage, yet was expected to ‘keep up with the joneses’ who were certainly earning at least 10 times what I was?

All that changed when I changed jobs, started earning some real money, and then I bought the car – the ultimate Lagos symbol that separates the poor from the climbing. Now this truly mirrors the shallowness of our society … I was still wearing my slippers and my adire, but as far as I could wave my car keys at the right angle, people who wouldn’t give a glance before began to discover some respect! It was the same me! The same stylish-less, shy, under-stated me. Only I now had a car key!

Sadly, soon you too begin to buy into the hype. It was one day, while discussing with Bola and Emilia, that I realized my self-confidence was beginning to depend on those perks – a 'big' phone, a laptop, the car etc - so that anytime I wasn’t with any of those things, I began to feel less! It would be comical if it weren’t so tragic. But of course the biggest tragedy of all is that this is the story of thousands of other people.

Something had to be done! Which is one of the reasons I accepted my Abuja posting without a fight. I also wanted to see how my self-confidence would fare, especially in a law school where you would find the hyper-wealthy daughters of some Northern millionaires in cars shiny enough to blind your eyes!

I sold off the car before leaving Lagos, and embraced the idea of a place where True Love doesn’t circulate, where the people wouldn’t have seen me on STV, and where I could only be judged on how I comported myself (which really is the beauty of school, as a leveler), what I had upstairs and how I related to other people.

There is of course still recognition here and there (and it helped that a girl I had a short crush on saw my name in the magazine!), but all I really have now is me and my self worth.

And when I win the respect of my colleagues, based only on the things that I say and do now, and when someone picks an interest, not because I swung my car key, or I just walked out of Cubes, or the person I am talking with is some major Marketing Manager, I know I made the right decision to come here and be reminded of what’s most important.

Wait! It would be an equal tragedy if anyone runs away with this saying crap like ‘money is not important’. See, there is no pride in not being able to take care of your family or yourself. That is not the point here.

By all means, strive to make money, and even I continue in my striving to make more money to buy a better car, to fly First Class, to buy even more expensive perfume, and very importantly to be able to finance my ideas and create more value, so yes please let us all make money … but, let’s say, God forbid you don’t make that money, does it mean you will live the rest of your life thinking yourself less than the moguls and the tycoons?

The thing is, money certainly means you will live a better life (even though that, of course, is debatable), but don’t think it will make you a better person. You will just end up a small man in a big car.

Sad Anna (When she made such a fool of herself at the AMA Awards; it's hard not to feel sorry for her)

Everywhere you turn, wealthy bosses are still intimidated by their brilliant staff (Re: Obasanjo and Okonjo-Iweala), insecure husbands still can’t stand high-flying wives, Anna Nicole Smith just committed suicide, Judith Regan finally got fired, J-Lo still can’t find Love, 50-year old Republican congressman Mark Foley was caught molesting 16-year old boys, George Bush is back to drinking, Mel Gibson is in rehab, Governor Ayo Fayose is still on the run … and so on and so forth. And all of these people have money. Lots of it in fact. That’s something for us all to think about.

Aww...

2007-02-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Hey,

Don't I just feel So loved. (Excuse me a minute whilst I wipe my eyes!), but thanks for taking out time to read that LONG piece (of course I knew it was long!)

Thanks to Jeremy for plugging it for me to the max, and of course Bella the queen of the bloggers! Thanks everyone for dropping, and thanks for saying you'll come back again!

Styl Council especially, something tells me you and me are going to have some fun in what BabsBeta calls BlogNgVille. And you know the funny thing, i was JUST thinking, like on monday, on what me and my guys could do with this whole new blog zone (for one its a PR person's heaven that we haven't tapped into yet! Do you know how many people read Jeremy and Bella daily for instance?!) - so let's keep talking! And no I didnt see that episode, but I can imagine it; that is SO Tyra!

Im, i'm based in Abuja now o! Boring-as-hell Law School remember? So i'm like the last person to help you get the tickets. Plus I'm not too sure the thingie is holding, at least not as scheduled.

Who is that person calling me a Dare groupie? You must be Gbemi's friend cos only Gbemi calls me that. Dont blame her though, I actually happen to think Dare's one of the most talented people I know.

Laspapi thanks for being the first to 'show support' By the way, the interview with FI was deep!Lol. And can anybody please reveal the long-awaited identity of Baba Alaye?!?!?!

Planned to post two things now, but I just got back from court today. Today was the last day of the BOOOORING Court Attachment (How on EARTH did RMD, Emem Ema, Ebuka and Tamilore Kuboye and the others survive this?!?!?!) and the judge decided to use today of all day's to give a long boring lecture on the beauty of the legal profession (5 Days after I FINALLY made up my mind not to practice law after a soul-killing day in the court!).

The next few days will be hell: have to pack this night, be at the airport first thing in the morning, and then have the make-or-break date with my girlfriend, where I will find if she will so remain after that date on sunday (PRAY for me!), and then of course if I come out the lucky guy, you do remember what wednesday is right? Aha. So there's all the strategising and spending to do (It's a cliche, but I love this particular year-in-year-out cliche!) Then interviews scheduled all through the week and then the palaver of "The Future..." Awards Winners After Party holding next weekend at the Miccom Gold Resorts.

But I will post before tomorrow ends, just after I brush the pieces up: one has a bit too much 'egomania' I think (Lol) and the other is a bit too long, so Babs dont worry!

Once again, thank you ALL for posting comments and see you when I post tomorrow!

Chude

P.S: Anna Nicole Smith finally kicked the bucket - and in the midst of all this 'I must be the father by force' controversy? Anyways, its our culture not to speak ill of the dead, so ... let's wait a few days!

Taking Myself Too Seriously ...

2007-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

(The Incredibly Tortuous Journey Towards Opening Something As Simple As a Blog.)

I had never understood the idea of blogs. Online diaries? I mean come on, diaries are supposed to be personal!

Actually, I like snooping around people’s diaries when I can, so the idea is supposed to excite me but honestly people, aren’t diaries supposed to be about the innermost? The things we can’t possibly tell other people, those things that make us human, the secret mistakes, the pains, the unholy delights, all that stuff – and who would really, really share all that juicy stuff on … the Internet?!

It’s like the whole reality she-bang, which really is just a sham, because all we get is ‘coached’ reality. The Simple Life for instance? Does Paris really think we are so dumb we can’t see all those pranks are planned to the teeth? Or all of that grandstanding on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK (and then of course, the ‘victim’ of racism finally won, of course!)? No one gives us any ‘reality’ once the cameras are on!

So back to blogs: how many people actually read the things you have to say? With all the magazines and newspapers and books and websites (I just spent three days reading one Vanity Fair!), how many people can actually take you seriously enough to read about your everyday life, like, everyday? And why would anyone take themselves that seriously to think other people would want to read them that frequently – even if they are close friends?

So for months, I have simply dismissed the idea. Also because I knew if I ever decided to blog it would be blogging in the real sense of it, not any of all that hard work that I see my friends doing. Whoa, some people’s blogs are l-o-a-d-e-d! All the work that Wole Oguntokun (laspapi), Tolu Ogunlesi (Some long name I can’t repeat here), Bella Naija and Molara Wood put into their blogs? So I didn’t want to jump in with the delightfully shallow and then look … well, shallow!

Even if I finally decided to do the shallow online diary (which I am finally doing, thank you very much!), I have never had a good record with diaries. Which is very surprising because I would think myself – I who likes to talk to myself – a diary person. But every time I have started, I have given up after a few days. I would forget to put entries some days, other times I would have too much to say, or I would simply lose the diary. I tried to start one on my computer, and … well, my former laptop packed up with it all and I never had the heart to start again.

The reason for the failure is simple really. Diaries are for the future, and I am not a ‘future’ person, sorry. I am one for the present. An interviewer once asked me: ‘Are you doing all these things now because you want to put your name in history for future generations?” And I promptly answered, “I am not doing anything for future generations, no. That would be an unintended consequence. I am doing all these things because I WANT to do them, because they make me HAPPY, because I feel fulfilled this way, because I want to be a force to reckon with in MY generation – in the NOW. Period. It’s nothing about the future.” She laughed – said something like “you’re one funny guy”, but, even though I joined in her laughter, I wasn’t joking.

So going through all that trouble doing something that would have no relevance until some indeterminate time in the future?? (Sigh).

I'm here for the NOW, people!

I have always told myself I might regret this, in like 20 years, when I decide to write some kind of autobiography and have no material, especially since I am not good with memories (a lot of what happened in primary school I can’t really remember), but really … I mean, really!

The reasons pile. I’ve been able to avoid for the past one year, really feeling passionate about some of the ills in Nigeria’s politics especially. I can really get emotional about this stuff (tear-jacking emotion about, say, Peter Obi being impeached I tell you!) and I am sure that has to be unhealthy. But I know that having a blog to vent will do just that – make me vent!

This is especially because I am afraid that when I do start writing, I won’t be able to stop! I will want to talk about what’s happening in Oyo, what’s happening in Anambra, what’s happening in the national assembly, what’s happening at the Aviation ministry, the madness of Maurice Iwu, the incompetence of Sunday Ehindero, the small-mindedness of Mr. President … every friggin boring thingie!

So I had good enough reasons, yet with each fantastic log entry I read, and as more people began to open web logs, the idea lured me stronger. I mean, even my former boss, Funmi Iyanda has a blog! Even a Governor, Donald Duke, couldn’t resist the temptation! So what do I think I am?!

But that wasn’t all that convinced me to change my mind. Another reason is, I am going to be bored in the next few months, I know. I brought it upon myself actually; because whilst other sane people like fellow student Temitayo Etomi (www.projectvotenigeria.org) chose to do Law School in Lagos, I decided I had had enough of the Lagos craze and interviewing celebrities with over-sized egos and wanted to go somewhere quiet. I am enjoying the paced life don’t doubt me, but it still can get boring for someone like me. Plus, I can’t officially work (you leave them to be fooling themselves! Yes I know I can’t leave the premises because lectures are from 8 to 4pm, BUT, for me, Chude, not to do any kind of work for more than one month? Tufia!); and after “The Future…” Awards (www.thefuturenigeria.com) I know I just have to have something like a blog, so my life won’t be like it’s on pause, after all the writing activity of the past few months.

The Limo dropping Ebuka and Phummy (Comperes) at the venue of the Awards ...

I think that’s what finally nailed it for me, especially knowing I had to end my Just Jisting column on the website upon the successful hosting of the magnificent event. That column was like my personal blog at the time (since the other directors of RedSTRAT were too busy to write) and I really enjoyed all the feedback that I got for even what I thought were the most boring pieces.

Me and the other Directors (They are also my best friends.)

Us, at the event ...(Thanks to our clothiers!)

So I toyed with starting a column. In fact, I had actually started the discussions. But, believe me, columns are work: you have deadlines, and then you have editors breathing down your neck. And then you always have to have a point with columns, and sometimes I just want to be pointless! Added to the fact that, with blogs, you can decide not to write when you have nothing to write and no one bugs you! Plus there is no editor to cut off some of the things that you really wanted people to read! And of course there is the added advantage of not needing to be on the right side of English grammar, especially as concerns punctuations!

So I finally made the decision. But trust me, I had to make it even harder for myself, so I began to search for a blog that would have passwords, so that only my friends would be able to have access into it. I found something like that, but the wahala was too much. Don’t blame me, I had to be assure my serious-minded alter ego that I tried. Not finding what I was looking for, I’m sure you’ve guessed, slowed me down.

I finally made the decision some days ago, when I was chatting online with two of my former best pals. Even though this is supposed to be a diary, I can’t reveal the conversation we had, dear diary, but suffice it to say we finally convinced ourselves to create blogs and so we did!

Fact: human beings are basically suicidal. Because, very coincidentally, the day I finally decided to create this blog, of all days, that was the same day Tyra Banks (sometimes I love that show, sometimes I want to scratch her eyes out!) had a woman on her show who was fired from her job for saying too much on her blog! (She also revealed that 80,000 new blogs are opened everyday.)

Was God trying to send me a message? I d-o-n-t think so. Because I didn’t listen. And I usually listen to God. So this wasn’t God. I had already made up my mind. And you know… maybe if it were Oprah, I would have convinced myself it was a divine message. But Trya? Tyra of the plastic smiles and too much make up?

So, very quickly, I went and opened the blog. I didn’t put anything on it for like three days. Until now. But at least I knew I’d opened it!

Well, here’s the blog people! Will it be worth all that wahala and mind twisting? Your guess really is as good as mine. But for whatever its worth, here it is. I have joined the mad crowd! I am a blogger! I have succumbed to the temptation to listen my own voice! I am NO different from the rest of the exhibitionist generation! Hip Hip Hurray!

Like I said, I do not know if it will turn out such a good idea, so I will stuck with what I know. I know for instance that I am sticking with my name for the blog for the simple reason that, it will consistently remind me that my cover is blown, and so I will have to be careful with my BIG MOUTH!

Big Mouth! (at one of our Rubbing Minds events)

I also know that I will try to be as unpretentious as is possible in a society that idolizes the pretentious. I know too that I will have as much fun as can be possible doing this. I won’t say I will be ‘true to myself’ (abeeegi! how many of us are even true to ourselves when we are alone with ourself on our beds?!), I will only promise to be.

So, amongst other things, the few people who know me, but don’t really know me will find that I am NOT a one-dimensional ‘serious-minded’ person. Therefore, alcohol and strip clubs and all night partying might not be my thing, but I assure you that girls and dancing, loud music and SENSELESS noisemaking would turn out a huge part of what would qualify as ‘my thing’.

So let’s see how this goes eh? Oh and by the way I’m one of those weird people who actually welcome negative comments and both constructive and un-constructive criticism. So, don’t pull your punches! Welcome to my blog.