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