Where i'd rather be...

Anywhere but here...

Wishful thinking right?

A colleague who was robbed at gun point yester-night, narrated the entire experience to me.
It is one of those stories that touches the heart and at the same time shows you where this country is headed to - nowhere...

Yesterday on MBI (a television station) - there was a story of a CNN reporter (Jeff Konange) who was taken to the lair of the MEND forces (Movement for the Emancipation Of the Niger-Delta) and interviewed the second in command - who went about a speech and then abruptly ended the interview...

I was shown an image of "the Niger delta freedom fighters" holding a certain number of Filipino hostages at GUN POINT - maybe it was for the sake of the TV cameras (I don't know). I always say that there are two perspectives: The bravery that a gun holder feels when pointing a gun on someone or the terror of a hostage who has a gun trained on him/her...
It was one of those situations where you're forced to question everything you think you know about humanity...

Point:
It is an extremely lucrative business to kidnap foreign nationals within the Niger-delta region and hold them for a specified amount of money...
What the long term objectives are is truly beyond me....

On a broader level:
the 2007 polls are another source of entertainment. We are subjected to claims and counter claims emanating from all corners...

Allegations and counter allegations of bribery, corruption, strong-arm tactics and a host of other methods employed to harass and intimidate political opponents.
Recently the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) published a list of "corrupt" officials which was to be used a means to disqualify candidates...

I mean - this is Nigeria (the last time I checked), ranked as one of the top ten most corrupt nations on the planet... everyone's corrupt so the judgment of a commission to publish a "list" of corrupt officials is like telling us that the sky in not "blue" but somewhat "bluish".

As i had earlier predicted, the true test of democracy in Nigeria would be the 2007 elections - ( i hate it when I'm so right!)

I don't go around fooling myself on the merits of any other nation to Africa but when you consistently decry real development and eschew some kind of ethics in favor of short term gains and advantages - what do you expect but chaos...

We are a continent of survival...
Short term advantages have always been preferred to long term gains...
I can amass a fortune by stealing and committing fraudulent acts but how many life times do I have to actually spend the money?

In this day and age - the bottom line should be how to re-engineer, re-structure. We have seen that this is very possible and has proven successful in some sectors - why can't we do it for the long haul?

You can only push and toy around with people for so long. Put simply:
You can fool some people all the time
And most people some of the time,
and that's enough...

We need to break out of this dependency mentality - we need to make personal corrections to our lives and propagate those corrections to the on-coming generation.

In summary - I would prefer to be a slave of a caring master than to be a free born without any real choice, ruled by the whims of others.

There is no future that doesn't start from now...

getting better - getting worse.

Lagos:

Date: Wednesday, 17th January 2007.
Time: 10:39 am

Location: 3 Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island - Lagos.

I arrived at the office barely early (7:59:59) and hurriedly filled my name in the attendance sheet.
I was informed rather sadly that my friend: Innocent has suffered a recent mishap in the hands of "One chance" operators - thieves that resort to robbing unsuspecting passengers of buses or cabs. He was forced to jump out of a moving bus and sustained a certain amount of injuries...

In fact, another friend of mine informed me that he has suffered a similar fate last week.
He was robbed of his phones and laptop - I believe, thankfully that he didn't sustain any injuries.

But...

This is a pointer to the recent happenings...
It is a well known fact that the January to March periods are a trial - in terms of finance for the typical working population. Such that people resort to all manner of illegal or shady activities - the end purpose of which is survival.

But when your fellow Nigerian decides to rob you in the name of survival - the we can be said to be heading into dangerous waters.
Have we gotten to that stage?
Are we now to forfeit our rights to go about our normal activities in peace because we have people who think they're suffering...

Bloody hell - everyone's suffering!
Jobs, security, transportation, food - everything is a thing of concern but as is our way we continue to persist in the mist of adversity - even when our compatriots can no longer differentiate between those who cause the situation to deteriorate in the first place and their fellow citizens - Nigeria is slowly going to the dogs!

But there's hope...
If 140 million Nigerians wake up every morning and continue to strive to survive - there has to be more than hope - that points to Will Power

Let's say a special prayer...

Sleepy... Tired and wondering...

I slept badly.

Okay, I should probably amend that to I took a series of catnaps...
A scenario where you only snatch a few clicks of sleep is not exactly lovely. Added to the complex journey which brought me and my friend home last night because we (referring of course to that general body of ever-adapting people summarized in one simple word: Nigerians) are currently experiencing a "lack" of petrol, which has caused transportation costs to sky rocket and have left countless number of commuters littering the various bus stops.

I left my office at about 6:45 pm yesterday but I got home at about 9:00 pm - the reason is something that I refuse to go into - who knows, for those who are actually crazy, I would suggest a trip to Nigeria with a specific port of call (Lagos).
It is a place that constantly flirts with danger. Everything's a bet - and you're almost always the loser...

But as my friend Danny Ocean(Ocean's eleven) put it: the house always wins...

I am pretty darn sure that the experience will be one you'll not forget till the day you die - My promise!

It's a crazy town with crazier people.
It is a town run and governed by the need to make money - lots of it in as short a time as possible.

It is estimated that you spend a typical (12 hours of the day in the work place), the hours between can be spent getting to work or leaving.
Fact: Your home or house is simply a stop over - eat (if you have the energy), sleep for five to six hours and then restart the whole fray again...

I know that a better life exists and I'm so seriously looking for it!
This is most definitely NOT that life...

Thank God - It's friday...