Yet again another one from the archives...still troubles me greatly when i

 read it....

....And My Heart Wept

Taking a walk through the infamous Tafawa Balewa Square, i couldn't help but imagine what it was like back in 1960 when the Union Jack was pulled down and the green, white and green flag of our beloved country was hoisted for the first time in declaration of our independence. Pictures of that glorious day as i had seen on tv came to me and i tried to imagine the joy it brought millions of Nigerians home and abroad. My imaginations nevertheless, would fall short of the magnitude of celebrations that followed. I moved slowly to take it all in and as i trudged along i couldn't help but notice an elderly man probably in his sixties sitting with his head in his hands. I moved even slower to try and make out why, even though it seemed like he just had his meal, he didn't look particularly happy. Sad would actually understate the look on his face. It was more like a man wondering where his next meal would come from. He seemed to have created a corner for himself at the Square. He had old boxes piled on each other to make a little platform not so large with something wrapped in an old rag that appeared to be his pillow. This platform was dressed up to look like a bed and i started to think. Does this man actually sleep on this 'bed' at night in this place? Looking around i noticed he had a few items lying around that surely made it clear that this was this elderly man's home. Home? Suddenly a thought raced through my mind. This elderly must have witnessed the independence celebration fifty years ago. He must have jumped to high heavens glad at last that he would live the 'Nigerian dream'. He must have had hopes and aspirations as to what our great country would turn out to be in years to come. He must have dreamt of the good life and at his present age, he must have thought how he would have retired and reaped the fruits of his labour with his grand children and great-grandchildren flocking around him. He must have thought quite a lot. But he never would have thought that fifty years on, after that glorious event he probably witnessed in person, he would sit in the same place not knowing what tomorrow holds for him. He never would have thought that when it should be time for him to enjoy the rest of an expectedly fulfilled life he would sit languishing not knowing where his next meal would come from. As i stared at him thinking, i didn't realise i had come to a halt because yet again the situation in my country made me want to cry for my country. The unacceptable state of affairs is no doubt an over-flogged issue. The neglect of the common man and the misappropriation of public funds. And i thought to myself again, how much was spent on the cake used for the independence celebration...and my heart wept.

This was wriiten a couple of years ago but it still seems relevant

If Symptoms Persist...

Growing up as a kid, i had this thing for television. We didn't have cable tv, no Dstv, no HItv not even STV. All we had were Nta 2 channel 5, channel 10, channel 7, LTV and a few others but i still loved watching anyway. I knew the days and times of my favourite cartoons and tv programmes like Voltron, Superted, Robin hood, Dr. Who, Battle of the planets and many others. And at night, my dad would make me watch the network news. It was a ritual i must observe. Looking back now, i think it paid off. But that's not why am writing this. Am writing because am angry again. I woke up this morning thinking about all the different commercials that i watched back then especially the drugs' commercials. There was always this particular warning at the end of everyone of them; 'If symptoms persist after two days, consult your physician' and i wondered if people really heeded this little piece of advice. It was important they did, because if one had a nagging headache for instance, it would require more than taking two tablets of panadol at three-hourly intervals to stop the pain. Then again what if you were to completely ignore it or pretend there was no headache, the people around you will suffer because your ill health would inadvertently affect you in every possible way and you'd end up taking it out on them or at best they end up as caregivers cause you ignored a minor headache or refused to see your doctor, if you have one, when the symptoms persisted. Exactly..., that's what the network service providers are doing to their "headache" right now and we the consumers or customers, 'who are never right' in this great country of ours, are suffering. I call it their "headache" because its their duty to provide this service and a disservice not to. I don't understand and still can't fathom why i have to try and load a recharge card for two days and it still wont load and the last message i got from my network providers was "...it would be loaded within 24hrs...". What i don't understand is, do they not know that the service has been terrible 'or is it horrible' and have they been intentionally ignoring it or pretending everything's fine? It beats me. I really hate to do this but MTN or is it mtness has left me no choice. Loading or recharging has been a problem for some days now and the calls, when they eventually connect, lack clarity and in the worst case scenarios, you may not even hear your callee. And in some other cases, i have lost some air time without actually making calls or sending sms. What is going on? The symptoms persist and i think the best thing to do now since they have refused to consult their doctors is...i better not say it here but this is so awesomely insane.