On one of the days while I was away from here, I took the opportunity of being in the West End for work to have lunch with an old Nigerian friend of mine who also lives in the UK. He's recently finished a professional postgraduate degree, and while I wouldn't necessarily describe him as intellectual, he isn't dumb either. So we're having lunch in this nice restaurant, and it's pudding time and I'm swirling the wine in my glass and scooping the last of the ice cream from the dessert bowl when he drops the bombshell
"Did I tell you I'm changing my name?"
Okaaaayy! Right! And what are you changing your name to?
I love his current name, it's replete with the heritage of the part of Nigeria he comes from and it isn't even one of thosee supposedly jawbreaking Nigerian ones that Westerners who have no problem with pronouncing Cholmondeley-Smythson or Condoleezza or even Freud complain about....
And so I ask again? What are you changing your name to?
"Well I'm changing my first name to use my English middle name..."
"Okaayy and..???"
And I'm taking my mother's maiden name for my surname. Now his mother is from a part of Nigeria where they commonly have Anglicized or English surnames, and so my friend is going to transform himself from "Nigerian first name and Nigerian surname" to "English first name and English surname".
But why would you want to do this? I mean it's such a drastic step.....
Well, I think it will improve my chances with getting shortlisted for jobs in my professional area. I'm really struggling at the moment and I need all the help I can get.
But I point out- you will still have to go for interviews and they will still see that you're black and Nigerian.
Yes, but by then I'll have a foot in the door. What's happening now is I don't even get to interview.
But, but people have got jobs in your profession without changing their African names?
"I don't know how they did it, but I can only speak for myself. I've discussed it with my mother and she says I should do whatever will help me breakthrough in the UK."
He then went on to tell me a story about a friend of his from the Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria whose surname was something like "Nyong". Apparently this friend was shortlisted by a firm for a job under the impression that he was Chinese. I suppose the firm wanted to tap into the burgeoning China investment market. Anyways on discovering he wasn't Chinese, he was promptly given marching orders....
While the anecdote was vaguely amusing, I was more disturbed by the entire conversation and throughout the last month I've found myself reflecting often on it. I cannot imagine changing my name for any reason. It seems too integral to me being me and my sense of identity.....but perhaps I'm being too harsh....perhaps if I walked a mile in my friend's shoes I'd understand it better....but right now I'm really really struggling.... I've tried to dissuade him but his mind is made up and he's setting the process for the name change in motion....
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Changing time, usual suspects and hoping for grace
The clocks here changed while I was in the US and I am still struggling to cope with the suddenly longer days. Two weeks ago before I left I was used to darkness falling quite early.I tend to work till about 6 and I often gauge the time from how bright it is, looking through my office windows. Imagine my shock then yesterday, my first day back at work when I kept at it till darkness fell only to realize that it was nearly 8 pm.....which reminded me of my first encounter with changing the clocks. It was soon after I arrived in the UK and it was a Sunday morning.I made my way to church only to find the doors still firmly locked and no sign of life anywhere about. The streets too seemed oddly emptier than I had noticed on previous Sundays- as I stumbled through the streets wondering what had happened- some nuclear accident that I hadn't been told about-I decided to buy a newspaper, and the kindly news agent noticing my perplexed expression explained that the clocks had gone back the night before....and so while I thought it was 10 am, it was only actually 9 am. Later a friend taught me the handy mnemonic of spring forward and fall back, (probably imported from the US) to keep track of when you added an hour and when you subtracted an hour. The whole business of changing the clocks just underlines how subjective the concept of time is- it is whatever time we say and agree that it is.......
Meanwhile I was reading Thisday's analysis of where the various legislators stood on the question of amending the constitution to allow a third term for the President. What struck me was how you could almost predict which way a certain legislator would fall and in most cases it had nothing to do with principle. You could see those who had benefitted from the President smoothly falling into the "Yes" camp, those who had clashed with the President falling into the No camp together with the IBB boys and girls and the Atiku boys and girls. And then there were the ethnic blocs- all the legislators from Ogun, the President's home state solidly in favour, most of the Northern states their legislators solidly against.....
Why can't the president see how divisive an issue this is, and the potential dangers and nip all this nonsense in the bud?
In the same issue of Thisday I glimpsed what seems to be the official line of the Presidency on this- which goes along the lines of if the Nigerian people beg Obasanjo to stay, then he has no choice. That argument is, to use an indelicate English phrase -utter bollocks- Nelson Mandela was begged to stay, he wisely ignored the begging and retired gracefully. I know grace is not a word one usually associates with our often ungainly President....but we live in hope.
Meanwhile I was reading Thisday's analysis of where the various legislators stood on the question of amending the constitution to allow a third term for the President. What struck me was how you could almost predict which way a certain legislator would fall and in most cases it had nothing to do with principle. You could see those who had benefitted from the President smoothly falling into the "Yes" camp, those who had clashed with the President falling into the No camp together with the IBB boys and girls and the Atiku boys and girls. And then there were the ethnic blocs- all the legislators from Ogun, the President's home state solidly in favour, most of the Northern states their legislators solidly against.....
Why can't the president see how divisive an issue this is, and the potential dangers and nip all this nonsense in the bud?
In the same issue of Thisday I glimpsed what seems to be the official line of the Presidency on this- which goes along the lines of if the Nigerian people beg Obasanjo to stay, then he has no choice. That argument is, to use an indelicate English phrase -utter bollocks- Nelson Mandela was begged to stay, he wisely ignored the begging and retired gracefully. I know grace is not a word one usually associates with our often ungainly President....but we live in hope.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Checking in, after a long absence
The problem with any sort of sustained break in blogging is that it's then difficult to pick up where you left off. So much happens and you are unsure where to start, and then it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.....
Just got back from the US where I went for work- I am still reeling at the number of highly qualified Nigerian professionals I met on my travelling in different parts of the US, particularly the academics- many of them with not just one, but two PhDs......their opinions and visions on their long term plans varied but most of still had very strong links with Nigeria and were often involved in some sort of collaboration with colleagues in Nigeria ranging from collaborative research to just regularly sending books and funding opportunities. They were all unanimously condemnatory of the proposed third term bids.....but I came across two initiatives which if properly manged could help tap into this resource. One was an advert from the National Universities Commission inviting academics abroad interested in sabbaticals or collaboration with Nigerian universities to apply. Unfortunately the advert is not available on the NUC website http://www.nuc.edu.ng/index.htm ......meanwhile the NUC has apparently ordered that all academics in Nigerian universities who do not have Phds should get one within the next two years or be sacked. The paradox is that because of a lot of systemic problems, it is virtually impossible to complete research for a Master's degree, let alone a PhD in most Nigerian universities within that time.....
The other initiative was an advert from the Central Bank in The Economist magazine which again invited Nigerian economists and finance experts abroad interested in collaborative research to apply....again, I've tried finding the advert on the CBN website http://www.cenbank.org/ with little success...
If these schemes are to work, they need to be communicated to as wide an audience as possible....and not making use of the internet seems a loss of opportunity....
Coming back to London yesterday I was struck by how different the UK is from the US- it is indeed another country. For one thing it was quite difficult from the TV news bulletins on the channels available in the US to get a sense of what was happening internationally- even CNN had a decidedly US centric focus in a way that the BBC for all our criticisms of it does not, PBS which would probably the equivalent is not readily available in most hotels........although it was interesting to watch the hundreds of thousands marching in Los Angeles against the proposed new immigration laws which would make being an illegal immigrant in the US a felony . As one angry and articulate Hispanic American young woman said- This country was built on the blood and sweat of immigrants- wanting to improve your chances in life should not be a crime.....
In spite of my busy schedule, I've managed to keep up with some reading. I've just finished A is for Ancestors, the collection of short stories by the authors on the 2003 Caine Prize shortlist and I enjoyed. It confirmed my belief that there is a lot of African talent out there. I've since realized that there's a whole series of collections of each year's nominees work available on the African Book Centre website http://snipurl.com/ng6t ...I'm going to order myself the rest when I can.....
Just got back from the US where I went for work- I am still reeling at the number of highly qualified Nigerian professionals I met on my travelling in different parts of the US, particularly the academics- many of them with not just one, but two PhDs......their opinions and visions on their long term plans varied but most of still had very strong links with Nigeria and were often involved in some sort of collaboration with colleagues in Nigeria ranging from collaborative research to just regularly sending books and funding opportunities. They were all unanimously condemnatory of the proposed third term bids.....but I came across two initiatives which if properly manged could help tap into this resource. One was an advert from the National Universities Commission inviting academics abroad interested in sabbaticals or collaboration with Nigerian universities to apply. Unfortunately the advert is not available on the NUC website http://www.nuc.edu.ng/index.htm ......meanwhile the NUC has apparently ordered that all academics in Nigerian universities who do not have Phds should get one within the next two years or be sacked. The paradox is that because of a lot of systemic problems, it is virtually impossible to complete research for a Master's degree, let alone a PhD in most Nigerian universities within that time.....
The other initiative was an advert from the Central Bank in The Economist magazine which again invited Nigerian economists and finance experts abroad interested in collaborative research to apply....again, I've tried finding the advert on the CBN website http://www.cenbank.org/ with little success...
If these schemes are to work, they need to be communicated to as wide an audience as possible....and not making use of the internet seems a loss of opportunity....
Coming back to London yesterday I was struck by how different the UK is from the US- it is indeed another country. For one thing it was quite difficult from the TV news bulletins on the channels available in the US to get a sense of what was happening internationally- even CNN had a decidedly US centric focus in a way that the BBC for all our criticisms of it does not, PBS which would probably the equivalent is not readily available in most hotels........although it was interesting to watch the hundreds of thousands marching in Los Angeles against the proposed new immigration laws which would make being an illegal immigrant in the US a felony . As one angry and articulate Hispanic American young woman said- This country was built on the blood and sweat of immigrants- wanting to improve your chances in life should not be a crime.....
In spite of my busy schedule, I've managed to keep up with some reading. I've just finished A is for Ancestors, the collection of short stories by the authors on the 2003 Caine Prize shortlist and I enjoyed. It confirmed my belief that there is a lot of African talent out there. I've since realized that there's a whole series of collections of each year's nominees work available on the African Book Centre website http://snipurl.com/ng6t ...I'm going to order myself the rest when I can.....
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Third term shenanigans,Big Brother Nigeria, changing spots of the US leopard and Lagos at the South Bank Centre
Can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I've been on here- day job pressures have meant that I have hardly had time for myself, let alone blog. And yet so much has happened and continues to happen......
In Nigeria, the third term shenanigans continue apace, the latest development being the recent passing by voice vote of the proposed constitutional amendments by the infamous Mantu committee of the National Assembly......on a different front, Big Brother Nigeria has opened with the various housemates vying for a 100 000 dollar prize. I've never understood the fascination with Big Brother, having not watched any of the series shown in the UK since I arrived here. I tried once, but sitting for ten minutes watching a group of people lying on sunloungers and not saying or doing very much soon had me bored out of my skull. It's interesting how here, although everyone condemns the show as mindnumbingly dull and voyeuristic, you can't avoid the hype- in the newspapers (and not just the tabloids), on the radio, everywhere you go, people keep talking about it, and so whether you watch it or not, you get sucked into the drama. Perhaps, the good thing about Big Brother Nigeria might be that it might provide some of the anthropological insights into contemporary Nigerian youth culture which sadly aren't really being documente elsewhere. Sex has always played a big role in Big Brother and so it will be interesting to see what happens in the Nigeria house and how the self-avowedly religious Nigerian public will react.......
A few days ago I had to go to the US Embassy to get a visa as I should be travelling there for work in a few weeks. The last time I had been there was in 2003 and much had changed- for the better. The staff were more humane, the time spent queuing outside in the cold had been reduced, free tea and coffee were on offer as well as a sandwich bar and more toilets. While I was having my index finger prints taken, I placed my finger on the wrong slot and was almost shocked when the officer gently asked me "Please, sir could you move your finger upwards?" In 2003, one tended to be barked at in quasi-military tones. Could it possibly be that the anti-American sentiment sweeping the world has wrought these changes? Who says all hope is lost.......Now I'll have to wait and see how the Homeland Security treat me when I actually arrive there in a few weeks, as an unimpressed English friend argues that my positive experience is probably as a result of the London Embassy staff absorbing European courtesy...... I refrained from retorting that my encounters with the British Home Office and immigration haven't exactly been marked with courtesy, barring the few occasions when I flew business class (courtesy of an upgrade) and was then whisked through the fast-track channel and treated with great courtesy....amazing the things money can buy.......
The South Bank Centre in London has two Lagos events coming up soon as part of the London African Music Festival- the Lagos Massive contemporary revue show on the 25th of March http://www.rfh.org.uk/main/series/52.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/africaonyourstreet/event.shtml?eid=232621
and Gbenga Adelaja's Lagos City Orchestra and Queen Salawa Abeni on the 28th of May......
In Nigeria, the third term shenanigans continue apace, the latest development being the recent passing by voice vote of the proposed constitutional amendments by the infamous Mantu committee of the National Assembly......on a different front, Big Brother Nigeria has opened with the various housemates vying for a 100 000 dollar prize. I've never understood the fascination with Big Brother, having not watched any of the series shown in the UK since I arrived here. I tried once, but sitting for ten minutes watching a group of people lying on sunloungers and not saying or doing very much soon had me bored out of my skull. It's interesting how here, although everyone condemns the show as mindnumbingly dull and voyeuristic, you can't avoid the hype- in the newspapers (and not just the tabloids), on the radio, everywhere you go, people keep talking about it, and so whether you watch it or not, you get sucked into the drama. Perhaps, the good thing about Big Brother Nigeria might be that it might provide some of the anthropological insights into contemporary Nigerian youth culture which sadly aren't really being documente elsewhere. Sex has always played a big role in Big Brother and so it will be interesting to see what happens in the Nigeria house and how the self-avowedly religious Nigerian public will react.......
A few days ago I had to go to the US Embassy to get a visa as I should be travelling there for work in a few weeks. The last time I had been there was in 2003 and much had changed- for the better. The staff were more humane, the time spent queuing outside in the cold had been reduced, free tea and coffee were on offer as well as a sandwich bar and more toilets. While I was having my index finger prints taken, I placed my finger on the wrong slot and was almost shocked when the officer gently asked me "Please, sir could you move your finger upwards?" In 2003, one tended to be barked at in quasi-military tones. Could it possibly be that the anti-American sentiment sweeping the world has wrought these changes? Who says all hope is lost.......Now I'll have to wait and see how the Homeland Security treat me when I actually arrive there in a few weeks, as an unimpressed English friend argues that my positive experience is probably as a result of the London Embassy staff absorbing European courtesy...... I refrained from retorting that my encounters with the British Home Office and immigration haven't exactly been marked with courtesy, barring the few occasions when I flew business class (courtesy of an upgrade) and was then whisked through the fast-track channel and treated with great courtesy....amazing the things money can buy.......
The South Bank Centre in London has two Lagos events coming up soon as part of the London African Music Festival- the Lagos Massive contemporary revue show on the 25th of March http://www.rfh.org.uk/main/series/52.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/africaonyourstreet/event.shtml?eid=232621
and Gbenga Adelaja's Lagos City Orchestra and Queen Salawa Abeni on the 28th of May......
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