Son & Father

Hey, so I know it has been a while 
But I had a lot going on: moved to new apartment with all its attendant drama
Found the love of my life [don't ask, 'cos I'm not telling]
...This blog post is about a totally different matter

I met a young man just slightly over a year ago, at a popular Suya spot in Abuja
We were designated to be flatmates for a year, we became brothers for life
People always wondered how far back we had known ourselves and they found "a year" a rather unbelievable answer
I couldn't believe my good fortune:I had gone through my share of horrible flatmates before [can I get a witness?]

He is truly the brother I never had, I saw him come through for me time and time again
He would yab me sha and I will yab him back and it was always fun
Even though we disagreed on some issues, we always remained friends
I wondered how he could be so cool [I knew my coolness wasn't in doubt, hahahahaha]

Then I met his father....

[Pause] Breathing deeply

And it all clicked!
The caring heart, the down to earth disposition, the charm, the good looks
Were "hand me downs" from father to son
I made him a meal and he actually paid for me it [wasn't expecting that :-)]
That caught my attention: he was different, he had a rare purity of heart and spirit

I met him again one more time and he was beaming with smiles again
He congratulated us on finishing the degree program, he even helped smooth out the crease on the collar of my shirt
He was gracious in his manner and sincere as a good father would
That would be the last time his son or myself would see this colossus of a man alive

I regret I only "met" him and never really got to "know" him
But I know his son: My friend and My brother and by proxy his father
I have read and heard the stories of the goodness of his heart and the depth of his professionalism
His dedication to his faith, his responsibility to his family, his love for all people

I salute and celebrate you Prof. C.O.E. Onwuliri
Rest safely in the arms of your creator

Go on and Do it

A lot has happened in the past year for me 

Much more is yet to happen [that I can count on]

I am at that stage when you transit from something old, familiar & comfortable

Into something new, audacious and terribly frightening

Very much like the cocooned caterpillar becoming a  majestic butterfly blessed with pulchritude and grace

 

As I said in some pseudo valedictory speech at my grad school some two weeks ago

"The reason we come is to go"
I am ready to go and not just in some sloppy fashion, limping my way to a God ordained future

I am ready to soar and be all that I am destined to be, climbing high on the wind of opposition and criticism  

Armed with a resilience that will make the rubber band envious, increasing capacity with every stumble 

And a faith that will make my Creator proud and propel me to the mark for which He shot me into life

What has been that one move that has scared you paper white

 

A marriage?

A child?

A new job?

A new city?

A new degree?

A new career path?

A new book?

A new song?

A new you?

There's only one way to overcome that inertia...Go on and Do it!

and be AWESOME

Urinary Gum

Hello Blogfam
So I am sorry I will be grossing you out now
I just used the bathroom and there was gum!!! in the urinal
[What!!!]
I am disturbed
I want to believe it was spat out and not passed out
'Cos that will be a huge inconvenience

Songs and Dishes

Hello Blogfam

The highlights of my day

Today, I sang at a concert series in my graduate school
I did a couple of songs, one of which was 'Dance with my father', the other was an original I co-wrote with my pal Charlie X from Lagos Nigeria
I did get really emotional singing the songs, cos they came from my heart
The feedback I have gotten from the audience says I wasn't alone

I have tried to add a few more words to this
But I am shamelessly coming up with nothing
Maybe it's the hunger or the anger
Following my roommate burning my chicken stew
[Weeping loudly]

And now the sink is filled with dishes and a burnt pot
I have decided to not wash them
In defiance to my charred meal and angry tummy
...actually I may just do the dishes: Motivation by low blood sugar
Shaking my head [did I mention, its been raining for 2 days] YUCK!!!!!!

Shopping Blues

Ok!
Hello Blogfam
It's another great day in Blogdom: Living it up in Blogosphere [I know...too much "Blog" type words] :)

So I have spent the last eleven hours buzzing around a mall
With 3 of the most amazing girls I know
And It has been an experience in:

"I don't like this"
"Its too expensive"
"What!!!, that cannot be the price, you must be joking"
"OMG!!!, that's an amazing dress"
"Girl!, you need to get those shoes"
....and the list goes on

What's really hilarious though, was that it was planned as a four hour outing [yeah right!!!]
With my only expectation being that I was to return a wallet I had previously bought and didn't like
[Hmmmm!] I came out with a new wallet and [clears throat] a few other items as well

Don't give me the evil eye: we all have our weak days
I did however, triumph in walking away from a few good deals, chanting my mantra to my credit cards
"I own you and therefore you don't tell me what to do"
They obviously were hard at hearing...[very sad face]

With every swipe of the cards: Our hearts melted as though someone was slicing off a chunk from our beings
Did I mention yet the weirdly dressed or "undressed" woman who gave us a shock [Gasps!!!]
I will tweet her picture [Follow me @cejaimadu] and share the shock with everyone :)

Now I am looking through my receipts [Heart racing...shocked]
and I tell my cards: "Ever heard of return policy? Tell me who's boss now"
[Tongue sticking out in defiance]

Incentives maybe?

Hey
So I had tried to whip up a storm and get people to read and comment on my blog
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Blackberry Messenger
hmmmmmmmm
...I am pretty sure you know how that went

[Strangely, I don't quite get what happened]
Maybe I am being punished by the gods of blogdom [one of my new words again]
For daring to be absent so long
And then suddenly reappear and expect to be an overnight success literally


Not one comment [weeping and sobbing out loud]
But then a light bulb went off in my head
Maybe just maybe if I added incentives to reading, then I will lure the crowd in
The issue is what kind of incentive works for you
Tell me [yes you!] and we will work something out

I need people to read and comment
[that is so cheap dude!!! yeah and I said it]

Happy May Blogfamily

I must apologize for being absolutely lazy
If there was an award for the laziest blogger, I will make the nominations list
And all very non intentional
This laziness, which I had brought upon myself
As opposed to my 'talkACTIVE' appellation
Has been the creation of life events: which we all have
It has been a crazy few months in the recent past
There have been ups and downs
Highs and lows
Smiles and frowns
Months in which I have cried, laughed
Shouted, sang, screamed, dreamed and you know the rest
I do apologize more to the people who actually called me
Or emailed demanding a new blog: Guys I am here now
[Big Smiley Face]

Its the 1st of May
I am thankful for that, please do allow me burden you however with why this is so beyond the obvious
This happens to be one of those 'dates of significance' in my life
3 years ago today, I interred my father: A man who had slaved
Just to ensure we had the best
I listened with grief to the finality of the loud thuds that accompanied each shoveled heap of sand
I wanted to reach down and drag him out of that darkness, that heat, that grave
I knew he wasn't there...He had long gone
Today however, an even scarier thing happened to me
I had begun to forget the fine details of what he looked like unconsciously
I had to "think" to remember him
I love him, I am his legacy how can it be then that I forget him?
Have I forgotten my father?
[Not so big a smiley face now]

If you've lost someone dear, please do share your experience too
Happy May everyone

Yes but No

I received with mixed feelings the news of the death verdicts passed on Major Al Mustapha  [Chief security Officer to the now late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha] and a certain former employee of the Abiola family who had helped facilitate the crime

The men who are said to be responsible for the murder of the June 12 heroine Alhaja Kudirat Abiola: The assassinated wife of the also now late Bashorun M.K.O Abiola the self acclaimed winner of the infamously annulled presidential elections under the IBB regime which held on June 12, 1993

Major Al Mustapha has been in custody for longer than many people care to remember and had somewhat escaped a verdict for so long up until yesterday in Lagos,Nigeria , where and when he was condemned to die by HANGING by a Judge who painstakingly read her verdict describing him as a monster and his accomplice a Judas who had helped the killers successfully gun down his employers' wife.

I remember the gruesomeness, the horror and the shock of the killing
The images on every national daily that showed blood splattered in the car she was shot dead in
I can only but imagine the pain and the anguish that her family must have suffered to have had their matriarch cut down in her prime as she fought gallantly and ultimately died for the mandate she was convinced her husband won at the hands of a soulless dark bespectacled General

Major Al Mustapha was really an errand boy and an equally soulless one at that if he is indeed guilty of the crimes he is accused of [I am not alluding to the notion that maybe he has been falsely accused instead I am treading carefully choosing to understand that only God knows the truth in all situations and no matter how much man thinks, his sight or capacity to execute fair judgement in its purest form would always be skewed by his humanity and its limitations]. As I went through a couple of tweets after the verdict was read, people began to ask valid questions about the higher placed powers that must have been accomplices to the crime and who would likely never be found out and for whom Mustapha would suffice as a scapegoat. He could never have planned that dastardly act in isolation, but he must now suffer alone: the reality of the world is that we are always alone when push comes to shove more often than not.

That said...

I celebrate the doggedness of the wheels of justice that have slowly but surely turned granting "Justice" to the pained ones.

I applaud a judge who hasn't been intimidated into cowardice by the very glaring reality that this could be potentially misinterpreted as gender and  tribal inspired vengeance by a fellow woman of the same tribal extraction as the slain Kudirat: this is a tribe that is more often than not at loggerheads with the Northern Hausa tribe from which Al Mustapha hails [Much of the South really is in the same scenario having a very strained  lackluster relationship with the North born of out of years of religious motivated genocide]

I commend a family that must have given up and yet held on albeit by a strand of hope that some day they will be avenged and that day has come finally

I however always find it difficult when a life is taken so I have struggled a bit with the verdict but I will keep my sentiments out of this and instead say what I vehemently find appalling is the method of death prescribed by our fair Judge

HANGING!!!
Forgive me but that's antiquated, totally outdated and absolutely inhumane

I expect the counter argument to be that why offer a soulless monster a humane exit out of this world, especially as he didn't offer the slain freedom fighter any such favors when he ordered that her body be pumped full of lead bullets till life gasped out of her
And then I would say, in taking life: any life in a manner as monstrous as has been recommended don't we reduce ourselves to his revolting, barbaric, debased and depraved state?
We become him just with the law on our side.

If his due is rightfully death, let us bid him farewell from this side of the divide as the humans with a soul that I know we are and offer him in death what he failed to give to his victims in life : Mercy

National Pride

Hello Blogfam
So, something I consider very interesting happened today in one of my health policy classes
A quick Background/Intro [I am Nigerian and darn proud to be one]

I was presenting a case of a policy formulation I had been part of [ I would spare you the details]
What I won't spare you however is one little detail of the process that sparked such a reaction

So somewhere in that process, my responsibility included authenticating a drug's license with NAFDAC
NAFDAC for the those who don't know is Nigeria's version of the FDA here in the US
Barely had I mentioned that when a European colleague of mind made a comment that suggested
That we were being unreasonable to trust anything that was tested and approved by any agency found in Nigeria

...And then the reactions started

Some fellow Nigerians in class immediately contoured their facial expressions: frowns visible across their brows, muttering swelling in the ranks of the slighted Nigerians they voiced in a few local dialects their utmost displeasure at what they had just heard
I immediately stopped her and corrected her insensitive and poorly placed statement by telling her that we had a fantastic organization in NAFDAC which was one of the prides of our nation
Even a lady from Ghana seated beside her told her "It's probably one of the best in Africa" and understanding the neighborly rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana that was a very welcomed seal of approval

The class ended not long after [only because time was up and not because of the visible tension following the statement]
And my Nigerian sisters immediately gathered around me [as I am the only Nigerian male in this particular class] and we ran a short commentary on the disrespect that had just been accorded us
Friends from other nationalities as far as India and Pakistan alluded to the fact that the comment was way out of line and sympathized with our anger

An hour later, I got an online chat message from one of my "sisters" who had stumbled across the lady from Europe and promptly hammered in the matter: Don't talk about my Nigeria like that

And that's right, its my Nigeria, it may not be all she can be but be assured she will get to her place of glory and you: the outsider have no right to sit in judgement over her especially when you have no stake in her

This piece is for all Nationals in a foreign land who have had to stand in righteous defense of your homeland
I salute your sense of National Pride and  say please don't let no one take it from you...ever

Shock

And so it begins

[Drumrolls]

Actually at the onset nothing is obviously out of place

[Drumrolls fade]

The world seems normal, not a strand of the regular sequence seems disturbed

Then it starts [In my experience it is always a phone call] and we hear the words

Words that would haunt us for a lifetime and if not even beyond

[Drumrolls]

“He’s Not Breathing”

“I Will Kill You”

“This isn’t working: You’ve been unfair to me”

[Drumrolls fade]

Have been three phrases that have rocked my world in the recent past

Each unleashing a variety of emotions each very unique in its regard

But each geared at ultimately making me feel ALONE, VERY ALONE

 [Mournful dirge]

Then the torture starts: Physiological and Psychological

Feverish patterns dance across our weary cerebral thermostats

Fiendish imaginations and scenarios play out upon a now febrile mind

The tongue will taste no food: the body wants none; it feels like it deserves none

[Mournful dirge ends abruptly]

How dare the tummy be happy when the mind is run amok with questions: Why, What, When, How

Lethargy sets in, threatening to paralyze desire and cripple the will to go on

[Fast tempo music with rhythmic beats in the background]

And then it comes: the acknowledgement of  

The pain, the terror, the reality that things have forever changed

Nothing would remain the same anymore and truthfully nothing really does that

[Music fades]

Change is constant we are told, I only wish Change would give me a fair head start

So I might prepare: say my goodbyes, apologize, give one more hug, say one more kind word: basically giving me one last opportunity to make things right

Then maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much as it does

Who am I kidding? It would always hurt

[Soft Music starts in a swell]

But I trust the only unchanging factor in all of these to give me strength

Help me God: I heard one of those dreadful phrases…I heard it this Morning

Cheers 18, 19, 20 and some...

Hey Blogfam [a neologism I just coined to mean Blog Family]
I just wanted to say something rather interesting that happened  to a friend
So I have this guy friend who is by nature determined and focused, the kind of guy who makes up his mind about something and is well driven to achieve it
And I would have sworn that would be a good thing, but maybe not according to the girl he wants to marry
She is scared that he would in his quest to greatness step on a lot of toes that would want revenge
And she can't imagine herself being a widow
[I am as surprised as you]
He loves her and I wish him all the best as he convinces his princess to kiss her frog [him]
Not that he looks like a frog [by no means], just felt like adding a fairy tale catch to what is shaping up
To be a truly remarkable adventure in LOVE [I will keep you posted]


Well while you ruminate on that let me wish the Ladies of 18, 19 and 20 January a resounding "Cheers"
As you segue into a new horizon ladies, have the best of everything good: you are worth it

IT'S OUR TURN

"Arise, O Compatriots Nigeria's call obey"
"To serve our Fatherland with love and strength and faith"
"The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain"
"To serve with heart and mind, one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity"

"O God of creation, direct our noble cause"
"Guide our leaders right: help our youth the truth to know"
"In love and honesty to grow and living just and true"
"Great lofty heights attain to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign"

The routinely sung National anthem of Nigeria tells of a vision
A vision of a great brotherhood founded on ideals of Patriotism, Freedom, Peace, Unity, Love and Justice
Propelled and driven by the leadership, imbibed and supported by the youth
A synergy across generations that was to yield a nation like none on the face of the earth
Indeed we are now like none on the face of the earth but for all the wrongest of reasons

The following message is for the people I have identified as the 2nd generation of Nigeria
[According to the bible ( for all non Christians: do excuse my reference to this sacred text)
Every generation is made up of 50 years and I will now apply that knowledge to the timeline of Nigeria]

The lord Lugard  is famous for welding the northern and southern halves of Nigeria into one country
What you may not know, is that he actually started those plans in the year 1912
He had just resumed work in Nigeria for the second time having been transferred from his post in Hong Kong
Applying the 50 year generational rule brings us to the year 1962: the 1st Generation of Nigeria
This generation from 1912 to 1962 struggled against colonialism, against imposed leadership and won
Gaining independence with their fight and forever having their names engraved in gold
We have named monuments after them, streets, stadiums, airports and much more
We have even in some instances engaged in apotheosis of these individuals
They have earned that honour simply for one reason:
THEY FOUGHT THE POWERS THAT BE AND NEVER GAVE UP

From 1962, applying the next 50 years would land us in the year 2012: This year
We are a generation that is transiting, exiting and allowing the new place and space to take charge
but we aren't quite done with our battles
We are the generation no doubt that has fought the most battles: The gruesome civil war, the various marches against military dictatorship, the struggle and attainment of democracy
Now fate offers us a new battle, a new chance to redeem our image as Nigeria's failing generation
How kind of her, Fate realizes we have with our own greed and selfishness
Which permeates every sphere of our lives destroyed the vision: NIGERIA
The 1st generation would probably be groaning in their resting places as they see the mockery we have made of their dream
The ridicule we have brought to their sweat, their toil, their blood, their NIGERIA

We in this generation are responsible for the failing economy, the dilapidated infrastructure, the surge of crime, the failure of accountability in leadership, the shocking realities that education and health are going south, the loss of international credibility: The failure of NIGERIA...now our NIGERIA
What have we done with the baton that was passed to us, do we even know where it is
What do we hope to pass on to the 3rd generation who wait in the wings, shamed to be called Nigerians
We have extinguished the roaring flame of the torch that was handed to us by the 1st generation
But all is not lost, destiny gives us one rare chance to redeem ourselves and that chance is NOW

We face a new challenge in this generation: corruption and greed in all ramifications and regards
From elected office holders, to religious leaders, from civil servants to private business owners, from parents at home to mentors in larger society, from the retiree in the rocking chair to the children playing in playgrounds everywhere
But let us remember the vision NIGERIA: A vision of a great brotherhood founded on ideals of Patriotism, Freedom, Peace, Unity, Love and Justice
Propelled and driven by the leadership, imbibed and supported by the youth
A synergy across generations that was to yield a nation like none on the face of the earth

Let us make good this time as we protest the corruption in leadership in Nigeria
But as we do that may I ask that you and I also protest the inner corruption on our insides
For if we indeed hope to make this change sustainable, it must come from the inside out and not the reverse

Those who march  for change please do so bearing the vision in mind
Those who speak for change please do so bearing the vision in mind
Those who pray for change  please do so bearing the vision in mind
Those who criticize and condemn the move, I pray you see the vision and act as appropriate

We are in a very precarious moment in our nation's history and what happens next to a large extent depends on us and what we do or do not do
In whatever capacity you may deem right and proper do something, do something positive and please do it now
We are in the last days of this generation and the clock is ticking.....

IT'S OUR TURN

Chemistry

I have a good friend who has a good friend
Actually my good friend says this good  friend he has is an old face who has become a new friend
He says fate made them meet once and there was nothing there: no sparks, no chemistry
Now they meet again and it is like a chemistry lab just exploded all over the place
That's good right?
The only issue of concern is that this new good friend of his wears another man's ring on her left hand
And does so happily as he tells me
I have not clue however how to tell him "it's over"

Another 24 hours

So, I ask myself what I achieved today?
and the answer is ....I am still wondering
but I can tell you what I didn't achieve: The headlines or the breaking news
For maybe being the victim of some freak accident
Or for being hit by a drunk driver
Or for being arrested for being at the wrong place at the wrong time
Or for being struck by some sudden illness and losing my life

I am alive and well and sure thankful for that
Ah!! Yes I remember what I achieved: I got numbered (don't ask) and I wrote this blog

Global need

I like most people appreciate the good things of life 

The glitz and blitz of fame, money, importance and perhaps relevance

I however have come to discover for myself that even though these finer things do indeed help cushion the journey called life 

I would rather have them in addition to the things money cannot ever buy

Mark my words : in addition

I want someone to shake my hand and smile at me sincerely 

I want someone to hug me at night when the storm clouds gather

I want someone to want to spend time with me for no other reason than what they enjoy the best

I want sweet nothings whispered down my neck

I want to hear the words : I LOVE YOU

I guess should go get married  

In Flight Entertainment

I just got back home (Baltimore) after spending the holidays with my buddy in Ohio
I naturally had to board a couple of flights, since I wasn't driving or neurotic enough to make the journey on foot
My first flight took me from Canton to Atlanta
I am one of those people who usually hopes I get me a fine looking lady with a great enough smile and a knack for small talk as my neighbor on flights
For the first leg of my air relay, I did have a female and that is as far as my hopes got answered
She was anything but ...I hear it is rude to call a lady ugly so I would say she was fine from far
All she did was nod off to sleep rather violently ( I was sure her neck would snap off soon enough)
But she somewhat had enough diva drama in her to wake up at some point to complain that my elbow was bothering her
What a joke! My elbow was way on my side: I put her nagging down to a fevered dream

And it gets worse
So it is the second leg of the relay from Atlanta to Baltimore and the same hopes surface "Lady luck cannot be so mean"
Boy! was I wrong, first I get a middle seat (what!!!!) I am 6' 4 and weigh about 300 pounds so do excuse my alarm at having to get a middle seat
And just as I seat down beside some skinny dude to my left, an unwelcome vision twice my size and girth settles into the seat on the right (instant panic whirls up within me)
Long story cut short...there's a ticket mix up, skinny guy gets bumped up to first class, I take his place and some female (much like the first described) takes a seat between the bigger guy and me the big guy
Oh! I really do pity her, she must feel like a piece of bacon between two bread buns
Then the nightmare ensues: someone FARTS!!! not once but twice
It was the worst smell I had ever been exposed to and everyone around just pretended like it was nothing and kept their eyes shut in feigned sleep
I'm sorry I am not that placid, I had to speak to whoever the terrorist was to please STOP in the name of all things fair and nice
It stopped and I do have my suspects, but something tells me I am on a similar list most likely compiled by others seated around too
...It sure is good to be home
( Seriously though: there should be a law against farting on airlines)

what did he say really?

so Goodluck Jonathan attempts a presidential address
Sincerely it was more a load of confusion than clarity
He sympathizes with us, slashes his salary basically tells us to suck it up
No mention of the outrageous budget for his upkeep or the many flaws that we have always known existed
He must really imagine that we are that gullible
Its good leadership or nothing
Do not pacify us with crumbs when we live in a bakery

Over rated

FOOD:just a mix of vegetables, spices and animal flesh.....OVER RATED 
FUN:intense emotional highs that never last long.....OVER RATED 
WEEKENDS: two days in the week that come after thursday.....OVER RATED 
FOOTBALL: 22 grown men chasing a rounded leather object.....OVER RATED 
FASHION: fabric and stiches, threads and buttons.....OVER RATED 
BEAUTY: depends on who is looking.....OVER RATED 
SIX PACKS: all is just plain vanity.....OVER RATED 
WORK: something to keep the mind busy and the devil away.....OVER RATED 
CELLPHONES: gadgets to consume money and time.....OVER RATED 
COMPUTERS: display your ignorance with no regards.....OVER RATED 
JESUS CHRIST : THE SAME YESTERDAY TODAY AND TOMORROW 

DEFINITELY NOT OVER RATED

Occupy Nigeria

I have watched and listened to the news in mounting horror over the last year coming out of my homeland: my Nigeria.

  

I know we have as a people not had the best of days in the past: I daresay Nigeria's political, religious and sociocultural past plays like a movie rivaling any stories that tinsel town could ever produce. It has been from one thriller to another and always WE and not the principal government characters suffer. In saying WE, I mean the fathers of Nigeria who work so hard and yet fail in their responsibilities to their families, the mothers of Nigeria who slave away and at the end have nothing to show for it and the children of Nigeria whose dreams are daily eroded by the failures of the system their parents have built and more importantly tolerated.

  

We as Nigeria have had more than our fair share of bad press especially in international circles, however in addressing those who speak evil about us I would say that “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” We are the not the worst of nations and even in those places that have labeled us with all sorts of unsavory appellations there exits layers of crime, corruption and bad leadership but what makes them different is how they present themselves and go about their issues. I MUST at this point strongly say I have not and will never condone the nonsense that we as Nigerians have done in the past ranging from corruption, scamming, bad leadership and bombing to mention a few that have given us a bad name: It really has to stop.

Speaking of bombing, I remember the Christmas day bomber in the US a couple of years ago: our brother Abdulmutalab. In defense of our great nation we had brazenly told the US government that bombing and terrorism wasn't in our nature, I dare us to say the same now. 

I don't get the method to the madness called “Boko Haram.” They claim to be sect who oppose western education, yet they use western developed explosives and if my prior information about their mission statement if one may call it that is true, their grouse is or should I say was with the government, because judging from recent targets they obviously now have a grouse with the common man too. They had carried out smaller scale non news worthy events in the past, but on Nigeria's 50^th independence anniversary, they came out with a bang literally and went national doing so with such shocking boldness and sadly that was just a fore taste of things to come. They have struck with such bewildering fearlessness bombing federal buildings, international buildings and more recently places of public gathering.

Shame on you Boko Haram! Shame on us Nigeria! And Shame on you Nigerian leadership!

May I address you Boko Haram and your cohorts: it is despicable the absolute rubbish it is that you perpetuate. I condemn you in every way and manner possible, you are cowards, faceless barbarians who hide behind the mask of terror to unleash an evil that I pray would in your lifetimes turn around and bite you in the rear causing you the same pain that you have caused us. I speak to the sponsors of this evil financially and politically, I speak to the family members and friends who have waved “fare thee well” to the bombers as they exited to go wreck their havoc: all of whom are as guilty as the person who does the actual process of bombing.

If I ever did understand what your bone of contention as Boko Haram is at this point, maybe I would understand how you pick your targets. So far, your target pickings have obviously been the work of a maniac with no evidence of a pattern or a cause being fought. If your issue is with the government, then get in line, because we all have an issue with this monument to ineptitude called the Nigerian government, but you don't see us throwing bombs at the United Nations building or offering our own foul interpretation of Christmas fireworks in the guise of bombs to the innocent citizenry who despite being constantly raped by a callous administration still manage to get themselves to a Christmas service to celebrate the undeniable help that they have received from the celestial realm.

The pain you have caused, the hurt you have unleashed, the blood you have spilled and the fear that you have inspired truly bear testament to the sordid truth that you have made a pact with the devil to ruin a great nation, let me tell you a little detail you must have over looked while you signed your demonic covenant: in the end light would always win over darkness.

Speaking to us Nigerians, I must first of all salute our infinite tenacity to bear up under and with almost impossible scenarios that would crack the fiber of most people. I find in us a rare sense of humor especially on the social network sites when ever anything happens, ranging from bombs, to ridiculous federal spending, to really anything that is trending.

As much as I appreciate and participate in the fun, I would need to speak to us a bit more sternly. These bombers are Nigerians, who live in Nigeria and have Nigerians as friends and family, yet we expect the law enforcement agencies which have been crippled by the now governmental norm of corruption to work literal magic and catch these criminals who we hide, protect, feed, clothe, hug, laugh with, share memories with and the list goes on. Let us get off this jocular horse and instead ride a meaner machine poised to effect change. Let us own up and be responsible: when you see something, say something and more importantly do something. It is high time we became proactive with our security because the government obviously has no idea of what it means to secure the people and the property which really is their first responsibility as elected officials. This is no call to chaos or jungle justice but instead a clarion call that we as responsible citizens play our very necessary part in securing our own lives and property by being pro-active: something our leadership fails at so much it is appalling. Tell the authorities when you see something out of place and keep pressuring them till action is taking, with persistence even the biblical wicked judge finally gave in to justice. 

We should vehemently demand that this government live up to its responsibilities and stop joking about every wrong doing that they indulge in, because something tells me that those lazy people in Abuja actually factor in that we would do nothing when they do all those wrong things. Let us shock them, let's tell them you cannot keep doing the same things that have been done to us over the years and get away with it: enough really is enough

The federal government is a sham, a painful realization that it takes more than a name to actually turn around the luck of a nation. In the face of this Boko Haram madness, this government has failed woefully. The Boko Haram group which operates with a limited budget and poorer human resources has overcome a more financially and human resource buoyant government. I guess in this age the underdog: David still kills Goliath: the loud mouthed big for nothing government, except only that this “David” is probably poor sighted because he is shooting and killing the wrong targets: the people and not the “Goliath” government.

Shame on you politicians who have sat in your posh mansions, being driven around in your immorally expensive automobiles and enlarged  not just your waist girths but your bank accounts as well while the nation you claim to lead is blown into shriveling bits.

Mr. President, at some point I did pity you for the unfair political treatment that had been meted you in the recent past by your now seemingly more influential political adversaries, but with your attitude, lack of initiative, dearth of action and honestly your inappropriately annoying smile I feel nothing but disappointment in you Sir. You are in a coma as far as leadership is concerned, what will it take to jolt you to consciousness: a bomb? Because you've had more than enough of that, a strike? I believe there is one on going now. Wake up and smell the sweat and blood of everyday Nigerians as they suffer unduly under your leadership or maybe the lack of it thereof.

I am not asking that you run away or resign because sad as it may be a vacant presidency is probably the only thing worse than what we have now. What I am asking that you do is man up and be the leader that you were elected to be. Rid yourself of those charlatans who poison the intentions of even the most saintly of hearts, get surrounded by true professionals, invest in the future of Nigeria, fix education, fix health and then you would automatically say that you do not have money to do that.

The rather rude and insensitive New year's gift you gave Nigeria in the name of fuel subsidy removal is another issue, but you claim it is to provide you the money to fix the travails of Nigeria, as much as I don't believe you, you deserve a chance to try, but I beg you don't do what we somewhat expect you to do, which is fail. Surprise us: succeed, we need you to, we pray that you do.

Don't go down in posterity as a total leadership disaster even worse than the evil machinations of those who have bombed us. Give the future a reason to remember you and smile for good reasons only. Be the light we have asked for, defeat the darkness. I would help in any and every way I can and I pray that all Nigeria does the same.

God bless Nigeria.