A Nigerian Teenager's Blog

(un)Completed Poem

2013-07-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

I wake up to the Sun Shining in all its Splendour
Sending Golden rays through to my (amazed) eyes
I think to myself;surely,this alone is worth waking up for
This quintessence of God's Arts so fine,so nice

Then I think of you;my love,Queen of my Heart
And I know that the Sun would blush with Envy and Shame
Were it to be compared with thee,Sweetheart
And be as a burned out candle,beside thy Flame

I had planned for this Poem to be longer than it is now but I was absent from my PC for a long Period and lost the Train of Thought... kinda seems completed tho,so...

Here,once a Cup stood

2013-03-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

Here,once a Cup stood
Filled to the Brim
Alas,too full to drink

Dry Thoughts and dry Smiles
Wet lips at the thought of wet Throats
But alas,too full to drink

Split on the Rocks
Empty now,but not quite dry
Silvery Trickles;wisps,swirl inside

Tantalus,Memories of a Time
When a Cup stood,but
Too full to drink

Empty now,but not quite dry
Dry Thoughts and dry Smiles
Waiting...Praying...
For a cup,filled to the Brim

Our Government... Us

2013-02-18T01:54:00.001-08:00

My orientation about our government began to change in 2009. Before this time, I had always felt – sadly without any historical or evidentiary perspective – that Nigerians can transform Nigeria, in spite of our government.
It was easy for me to believe this. I came into awareness of my country’s place in the world in an atmosphere of hope in the late 1990s and at the turn of the millennium as we embraced democracy and the opening of many social spaces. There were very many examples to point out.
Some are now cliché, like Nollywood, an industry that has been hailed for rising up like a rose amongst thorns, and had become Nigeria’s biggest cultural export to the world; or our music industry – also thriving simply by grit and talent; or its youth who from art to advocacy, technology to the media, had charted courses that didn’t depend on government patronage or ‘support’.
Surely if Nigerians could do these, in spite of Nigeria, then surely we could end up regenerating Nigeria – through a network of us empowered economically and by knowledge working to rebuild our country, step by step.
That’s what I thought.
That’s what drove our passion and our work with The Future Awards, and its evolution into The Future Project – and our focus on identifying the most inspiring of our generation as strong, positive role models to motivate others to transcend Nigeria’s difficult environment and do great things.
The idea was – and it is still the fulcrum of our work – that this network of inspired, effective new leaders would create a flywheel effect that will change Nigeria.
A chance comment from a friend got me thinking beyond the box, however. He asked: how far will we actually be able to go in transforming our society before we have to connect those efforts with what government is doing or what it needs to do? How much could we achieve if the government fundamentally remained the same?
The more I thought of it. The more I realised – not far.
My experience over the past few years have made apparent to me what has been apparent to the world’s real change-makers in modern societies over the past few years. It’s the same reality that confronts you when you read books like Lee Kuan Yu’s From Third World to First World, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracles – we can only go so far in changing our world without connecting with or transforming government.
Focusing on inspiring a network of progress outside of government wasn’t a wrong message however; it just wasn’t the complete message. Just like many of us, I was falling into a well-worn trap of the single solution, of the single story.
Of course, when you face a system like Nigeria’s, where successive governments appear to govern by default; where it appears there are no values or visions from on top and all the other clichés about our leadership that you and I are now familiar with it is easy to give in to the temptation to want to desperately ignore that government, to belittle it, to make it seem inconsequential.
With the acute awareness that it is a huge, thankless task to change a government like ours, and the abiding fear of the daunting path ahead transforming the way government thinks and functions, it is very easy to hope that we can change our country without it.
Unfortunately, that ostrich needs to bring its head out of the sand. Nigeria is not going to be changed by non-governmental organisations digging boreholes; it will not be changed by advocates pushing for probity in government. No matter how earnest and well-organised they are; their efforts will be thwarted because they are not in charge of hiring competent officials and firing corrupt aides, the maintenance of an independent judiciary through responsible appointments or the judicious allocation of public funds.
In the same way Nigeria won’t be changed by the USAID or any other international do-gooders because that is not what they are structured to do, just as a war will not be stopped by the Red Cross or Amnesty International, but by the governments and their enemies which started the war.
This is the reason, in fact, that many donors and international organisations from the British Council to the DFID, the U.S. Government to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation prefer to support organisations that interface with government, or they just partner with the governments themselves.
Where they are not doing that, they are working with organisations that are in opposition to government, or that snipe at the heels of government. Either ways, there is an implicit global understanding, honed by years of ineffectual interventions and a vicious cycle of good intentions with little result that it all comes back government.
The reason is simple: none of them have the budget, the resources, the reach, the weight, the capacity to affect all levers and layers of society. Even when they do – which is almost impossible except when one country violates another’s sovereignty – none of them can muster enough required to effect the kind of change that can be facilitated by the full power of the state.
Perhaps we can find Egypt a perfect example. While its exemplary people have turned protest into an art form, arm-twisting their leaders into taking responsible decisions and sustaining the tempo of change leading from the Arab Spring, a people-driven revolution has still come back to the character and nature of the new government that they have – and what Mohammed Morsi decides to do (and not to do) in his relations with the judiciary, the military, and civil society will turn out being more important than the revolution that brought the Islamic Brotherhood into power.
Like Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, who is King of Jordan, told participants at the World Economic Forum in January, the revolutions were the easiest part of the work that they have – building a political culture, driven by their elected leaders in government is the major task that lies ahead.
The message is simple: no matter how dirty and slimy we find our government (and maybe we are justified, and maybe we are exaggerating), we are making a terrible mistake to think that we can transform our country without it.
Government is the singular most important force for change in any society – print that and paste it on your day if you really want to do something to change your country.
It doesn’t matter if, with government officials behaving like asses and the deplorable behavior that passes for administration, government has become a dirty word; the dirtiness should not obscure that simple reality.
We need a government that works – one way or the other. We cannot, cannot change Nigeria without its government.
The tragedy, of course, is that the clamour for working with government or joining government is usually championed by people whose motives are largely questionable.
So it is important to note that joining government blindly, especially the legislature and executive, is not going to solve our problems even if it is important. And, of course, if precedent gives us any pointers, blind ambition causes more harm than good.
Fortunately for us, there is not just one way to make our government better. What we need to do, like I have mentioned in an earlier piece, is to find our positions in relation to this organ.
We need enough competent and vision-driven people who are transforming the government by working with it and helping it; or we have others working from outside: activists, freedom fighters, opposition politicians, radical lawyers, dogged journalists, progressive clergymen.
But whatever we do, we need the government in our sights. Whatever we do, where we want it to have a lasting impact on the way our society is structured and governed, we have to find the nexus where these efforts connect to government – and modifies its behavior. Either that or we push it aside, and work to get a government that will act right.
In my next piece, I will be sharing the example of two impressive people who provide a signpost for how one can step into those troubled waters and bring calm to the storm. I will also share examples of two people working outside of government who have found effective ways of putting it on its toes.
We will need more people like them, who are self-aware enough to make a step that is selfless and purposive. That job isn’t for each and every one of us – but there are always men and women made for a time like this. And e fit be you o.

Chude Jideonwo

I read that article, and like the Author, I now realize that although extra-Governmental activities will help, the real change, the paradigm shift we want in our Country;Nigeria,will only come to be if we succeed in “connecting with or transforming” our Government. But to go a ways further, I have come to the conclusion that this Government is beyond “connecting” with, after all, a connection would work both ways and this Government has shown no sign of being willing to “connect” in any way with the pulse of the masses… Therefore, the only way left is to “Transform” the Government, how then do we do that?
“We need enough competent and vision-driven people who are transforming the government by working with it and helping it; or we have others working from outside: activists, freedom fighters, opposition politicians, radical lawyers, dogged journalists, progressive clergymen.
But whatever we do, we need the government in our sights. Whatever we do, where we want it to have a lasting impact on the way our society is structured and governed, we have to find the nexus where these efforts connect to government – and modifies its behavior. Either that or we push it aside, and work to get a government that will act right.”
And e fit be you o.

Article above culled from the Premium Times Website
By Chude JIdeonwo

2013-02-09T08:16:00.001-08:00

We are the Future, we are the Dream
We are the Nation, we are part of this
Yes we are so amazing; that’s the least we shall be
At the Heart of the Nation; changing History
How can they say that we are finished?.. we have just begun…

So begins the oh so aptly titled song by T.Y Bello; The Future… Patriotic, inspiring and rejuvenating in a “Arise, and walk” kind of way, the song speaks out the youths of Nigeria…
Listen
ty-bello-the-future

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The Future is here… The Future is has come…
Very nice song,great ...everything...

Naija Music Review-Praiz;Rich And Famous

2013-01-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

After having this song on repeat for hours on end since in first downloaded it immediately after watching the video on Kennis music,I think i can honestly say that:for me;Rich and Famous was the song of the year 2012,the song combines top of the range lyrics with perfect delivery,even though the theme is somewhat of a cliche in Today's Naija music...Praiz manages to breathe fresh life into it in a way that diffrentiates it from the others. At notjustok.com where i downloaded the song,the only person who had anything negative to say about the song complained that it was too similar to the "billionaire" song by Bruno Mars and Travis McCoy...:-D,that shows the song is worlds away from the legion of half-baked "before and after" songs so common in the industry today. The Video...is Wonderful,almost as much as the song itself...but i won't talk about it for fear of seeming a paid promoter:-D,watch and fall in love all by yourself... DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO

Dan Brown-Digital Fortress

2012-12-19T07:21:00.002-08:00

"When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage--not by guns or bombs -- but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves."
A little bit predictable but overall... an interesting Read.

Download

2012-08-14T09:43:00.003-07:00

Brb...

2012-07-20T07:28:00.001-07:00

It's been a long,long time since i posted anything here,I've been like soooooooo busy,from the case with the school,yeah,i had a ridiculous run-in with the Almighty Chapel Secondary School authorities,to personal issues...yeah,yeah,girl stuff...I've been busy.Anywaix,I'm going to be graduating in ...6 DAYS TIME!!!I'm still like WOW!!!,yeah,even though it's one year late...so,I'm sure you can guess that with graduation so close,I'm going to be more busy than ever,so...I'll face my posting duties squarely once I'm clear and free of the "wonderful" CSS...until then...I'll see you in a jiffy...

2011-11-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

                                    C.A.I
        yeah,CAI,though you would probably recognise it more as KAI!!!,in this context meaning Campaign Against Indiscipline.In Nigeria today,a lot of the problems we face are either direct or Indirect results of Indiscipline. Consider,right at the top,our leaders embezzle indiscriminately,misappropriating billions of dollars in public funds on personal extravagances,I mean,if you see Igbenedion's house(or palace) eh,my brother,you will not beleive that it's in the same Nigeria where people live on far less than 100 naira each day(most people use $1 but this is far more personal for me than that). I mean why do such a thing if you aren't a selfish,greedy villian,would you even consider such a thing?
          A little bit down the ladder,civil servants offer their services to the highest bidder,in exams,teachers aid students for measly,insulting sums,I wrote the GCE exams recently and I saw invigilators being paid 300naira to allow blatant cheating by students,Town planning officials are payed likewise measly amounts to falsify records and permit illegal and ultimately detrimental building plans to go through,later,these same officials sanction the demolition of building that honest but mislead citizens sweated blood to acquire.Policemen,oh!policemen,isn't it the height of shameless indiscipline that after all that has been said on the matter,Nigerian policemen still stoop so low as to continue collecting bribes of 20 or 50 naira from gullible motorists,you know what?if i were a policeman and even wanted to collect bribes,I won't be collecting 50 naira...KAI!!!
         Some way down the road,we come across the ordinary citizen,down to each and everyone who knows what should be done and does not do it,who knows what should not be done and does it,we all have played a part in steering Nigeria towards this dangerous path on which we find ourselves.but you and I,teenagers and non teenagers,we can make an effort,we can do all in our power to right all these wrongs and surely we shall be succesful.
                  But all this starts in our minds,our mindset...When we start thinking like;I'm Naija and I'm proud of it,though my country is in bad times right now,I KNOW that YOU... and I... can make a Difference.

A commentary on Naija,from the most biased of views...A teenager's...Koonbey...

2011-11-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

I started this blog a long time ago but wasnt too freaked about the concept generally until recently when I saw someone's blog;www.okizle.blogspot.com and was impressed enough to want to give mine another try...So,here I am and just like the name implies,I'm a Nigerian teenager and so I'm gonna blog about the kinda stuff that Intrests Teenagers around the world like music,movies,novels,relationships...in short,fun,and about those that only apply to Nigeria like Shitty music,Shitty movies,Shitty rules at school and Shitty Internet...in Short,The Naija we know and love,I know I do...and I also know that you and I,if we're determined,can make Naija a country to be ''prouder'' of...So,letz get this party started...