I keep my phone permanently on vibrate, because I've learnt I can't trust myself to remember to switch it off. I learnt this bitter lesson after a particularly embarassing incident when I was doing my postgraduate degree and a very distinguished professor had come to teach us. So we're sitting in this cavernous lecture theatre, and I'm stuck right in the middle of one of the rows.
Back then I used to keep my mobile phone in my back pack- now I carry it on my person always- except when I go to bed. So Distinguished Professor is just launching into a particularly elegant part of her discourse, when my phone goes. She smiles wryly as first, as does the rest of the class, and then as I scramble through the different pockets of my backpack looking for the phone, the smiles fade. Then there's silence from everyone except my phone which won't stop chirping.And I can't beat a hasty retreat as half the people on my row will need to stand up to let me pass. I finally found the phone and turned it off, but made two vows then- always to keep my phone on vibrate and never to sit in the middle of a row if I can help it.
I've finally got into Vikram Seth's Two Lives- I'm lugging it everywhere I go at the moment. His depiction of the lives of his Indian dentist uncle and the German (Jewish) woman he married is harrowing. I'm reading about his aunt in the immediate post war years and having to come to terms with the fact that her mother and sister were exterminated in the death camps while friends stood by and watched. Reading the letters from some of her friends describing the hardships they face in post war Germany, I feel like yelling- "Yes, but you're alive!" Seth writes searingly of how he becomes unable to enjoy his favourite German composers while he is going through material for the book- all beauty apparently tainted by the evil. My recurring question of what makes ordinary people, turn against their friends and neighbours, as in Nazi Germany and in Rwanda, continues to haunt me.....
The cabinet reshuffle in Nigeria bemuses me - so many theories, so many analyses. I'm pleased that the universally acclaimed Obi Ezekwesili is moving to Education- it's time we started putting some of that money we've saved to use in improving the education and health of the people. But she is to do that in addition to Solid Minerals? And Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala moved to Foreign Affairs, but "retaining headship of the economic team?" Nasir El Rufai is also running two ministries- what Obasanjo should be doing is finding more people to support his technocrats not devolving everything to a small team.....The saddest thing is the lack of transparency which breeds rumours and gossip. Or perhaps that's what this is supposed to achieve...I'll be looking forward to reading Ngozi's memoirs.....
As we approach the summer season and I brace myself for the onslaught of friends and family here on the annual Nigerian summer junket, the news that the Nigerian Government has issued a warning to travellers to the UK to beware of conmen seems to have ruffled feathers in the BBC who suggest it's a tit for tat thing. But it isn't. Anecdotally I know quite a few friends who've had bags and laptops stolen, and they've all seemed slightly perturbed by the fact that the perpetrators are white.....so I say to them did you think white people do not steal? A friend of mine, quite well educated and a middle level professional in Nigeria was shocked on his first visit to London last year to see white people begging on the street. When I see reactions like these, I worry about the lingering effects of what we used to call "colonial mentality"
David Cameron, having finished a fight with Gordon Brown about who was the real football fan,now uses the phrase "big up" in an official speech. Just a normal turn of phrase at Eton I presume....
Friday, June 23, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Unfair summer clothing rules, drooling over Galvin and Vikram Seth's Two Lives
It's been a hectic few days dashing here there and everywhere and the summer doesn't really help- ever been on a busy train carriage with broken down air conditioning, with your feet sticking to the insides of your shoes and you wishing to kick them off but not daring because you fear the stench? I think women are a bit luckier as far as summer office dressing is concerned, they can dress down and even wear sandals without looking totally and utterly unprofessional. What I'd really love is to just wear shorts and sandals and a short sleeved shirt.....
Great meal at the weekend, at Galvin, the London bistro owned by the two Galvin brothers who have worked in virtually every top restaurant in London and which has been getting rave reviews. I had a delightful crab salad to start followed by confit of duck and they were both great. The simplicity that is the ethos of the place ran through from the unstuffy staff to the food and the wine and best of all the prices. I'll certainly be going back....
On the reading front I got into Vikram Seth's Two Lives this week. As an avid Seth fan- I've loved all his books, A Suitable Boy, An Equal Music and even The Golden Gate, his California novel in verse that I resisited for a long time because I couldn't imagine getting into a novel in verse. I eventually read it and loved it- it's witty and fun and literally unputdownable...but I must say I'm struggling with Two Lives. It's interesting but ever so slightly reportorial.....if there's such a word. But I'll keep going.....
Had interesting conversations with friends visiting from Nigeria over the weeknd...there does seem to be a sense that this time around we want a true leader, with a vision, not just someone from a particular area or religion or interest group......
Great meal at the weekend, at Galvin, the London bistro owned by the two Galvin brothers who have worked in virtually every top restaurant in London and which has been getting rave reviews. I had a delightful crab salad to start followed by confit of duck and they were both great. The simplicity that is the ethos of the place ran through from the unstuffy staff to the food and the wine and best of all the prices. I'll certainly be going back....
On the reading front I got into Vikram Seth's Two Lives this week. As an avid Seth fan- I've loved all his books, A Suitable Boy, An Equal Music and even The Golden Gate, his California novel in verse that I resisited for a long time because I couldn't imagine getting into a novel in verse. I eventually read it and loved it- it's witty and fun and literally unputdownable...but I must say I'm struggling with Two Lives. It's interesting but ever so slightly reportorial.....if there's such a word. But I'll keep going.....
Had interesting conversations with friends visiting from Nigeria over the weeknd...there does seem to be a sense that this time around we want a true leader, with a vision, not just someone from a particular area or religion or interest group......
Friday, June 16, 2006
Sad over a closing shop and swinging football loyalty
Walking to work this morning, I notice that the Korean/Asian deli/supermarket that opened just a couple of months ago on my regular route has closed. I looked through the window and it was empty, all the furniture taken out. It seems like only yesterday the shelves were bursting with exotic fruit and vegetables, and I was bound to catch a whiff of something as I power walked past its entrance....Seeing it closed made me feel sad in a way, not because I ever went in, but I just liked the thought that it was there and it was open and that perhaps one day I could pause and buy a Korean pear for my lunch.
To be honest, I'm not surprised it closed, even though I willed it to stay open. It was situated on a small lane not really near to anywhere- and there was no obvious immediate market... I should have guessed the minute the signs went up saying that they now did lunch- a tiny table was squeezed in and places with cutlery laid out along it, but it was too cramped, too small to tempt any of the office folk from around who on their lunch hour, liberated from their desks, want to luxuriate in space.....
Watched the England Trinidad match yesterday. At the beginning of this World Cup I'd promised myself I was going to support England- I live here,have friends and family here and Nigeria isn't playing this year; Plus none of the African teams particularly inspired my support.....and it worked well for the Paraguay match. I was able to yell with the best of them at "our" boys to raise their game.....and joined in the screaming as we celebrated our lacklustre victory...
But yesterday with Trinidad, I could not help it- I think it was something about my instinctive sympathy for the underdog- but even though I started out supporting England, a little bit of me thought- winning for the English team will be a so what moment,what with pundits predicting a drubbing for the Trinidadians. But for these boys, holding England to a draw would be truly magical- can you imagine the celebration?
And when it looked like the boys were going to hold England to a draw, and as England players lost chance after chance, my sympathy slowly swung towards the Trinidadians...sadly (or happily) the last ten minutes of the match turned the world back to rights with two goals pushed in by the English and the drream of a giant slain by a dwarf crumbled.... I hope the English team raise their game and inspire me to cheer them in the Sweden game
To make up, I tucked into Ayelet Waldman's Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, a tale of contemporary stepmotherhood set in New York (what's with me and this new New York love? I wonder) which was smart,daring, bold, funny and ultimately uplifting....Roll on the weekend!!
To be honest, I'm not surprised it closed, even though I willed it to stay open. It was situated on a small lane not really near to anywhere- and there was no obvious immediate market... I should have guessed the minute the signs went up saying that they now did lunch- a tiny table was squeezed in and places with cutlery laid out along it, but it was too cramped, too small to tempt any of the office folk from around who on their lunch hour, liberated from their desks, want to luxuriate in space.....
Watched the England Trinidad match yesterday. At the beginning of this World Cup I'd promised myself I was going to support England- I live here,have friends and family here and Nigeria isn't playing this year; Plus none of the African teams particularly inspired my support.....and it worked well for the Paraguay match. I was able to yell with the best of them at "our" boys to raise their game.....and joined in the screaming as we celebrated our lacklustre victory...
But yesterday with Trinidad, I could not help it- I think it was something about my instinctive sympathy for the underdog- but even though I started out supporting England, a little bit of me thought- winning for the English team will be a so what moment,what with pundits predicting a drubbing for the Trinidadians. But for these boys, holding England to a draw would be truly magical- can you imagine the celebration?
And when it looked like the boys were going to hold England to a draw, and as England players lost chance after chance, my sympathy slowly swung towards the Trinidadians...sadly (or happily) the last ten minutes of the match turned the world back to rights with two goals pushed in by the English and the drream of a giant slain by a dwarf crumbled.... I hope the English team raise their game and inspire me to cheer them in the Sweden game
To make up, I tucked into Ayelet Waldman's Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, a tale of contemporary stepmotherhood set in New York (what's with me and this new New York love? I wonder) which was smart,daring, bold, funny and ultimately uplifting....Roll on the weekend!!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
June 12 and railway signs and a Labour meltdown?
It was only after I'd put up my last post that I realized it was June 12 and I felt I ought to say a word or two about it. Thirteen years ago, on this date, Nigerians voted in what many agreed was the freest and fairest elections ever held in the country...I remember that day vividly and the excitement building up to it- who can forget the campaign jingle "MKO is ouuu..rrr man O! Pity that all that joy and promise was cut short by Babangida and his pals for reasons best known to them...which brings me to one of my frustrations with Nigeria- the absence of good quality investigative journalism.
Why thirteen years after June 12 do we still know so little about why that election was annulled?
Why is there no national monument to MKO Abiola, who (like him or loathe him) became the symbol; and a martyr for Nigerian democracy?
Perhaps it is because of our poor collective memory that we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past....
Saw a sign in a train station in Valencia at Easter. It read "Please be aware that not everyone in this station is a traveller. Take care of your belongings" or words to that effect. How much more elegant and restrained than London Underground's brash "Thieves and pickpockets operate in this station, please take care of your belongings"
It seems not a day goes by now without the announcement of some new New Labour government "scandal" or another- yesterday it was the scandal of tax credits being paid to immigrants who did not qualify for them, today it was about the Assets Recovery Agency set up to confiscate the assets of convicted criminals- but which turns out to have cost far more to set up and run than it has ever collected....I'm not quite sure if there is a vast media conspiracy dripfeeding these negative stories on a continuous basis, or whether the government is in such a shambles as it appears to be......whichever it is, I fear that this constant barrage will do the Labour government lasting damage.....are we perhaps witnessing the last days of a Labour government in Britain? I suppose the answer is that there's time enough before the next elections for things to turn around...but I'm not holding my breath...
Just finished Jake Arnott's truecrime and Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, so have been immersed in a London rather different from what it is now....but no less engrossing. I suppose that is one of the skills of a good writer, the ability to recreate a time and place so vividly it seems real...
Now reading Nicole Krauss' A History of Love- It's quirky and different and I can see why it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize
Pity none of the African teams at the World Cup have won their first matches so far, I can hear you say what did you expect, but hey we're all allowed to dream.....all eyes on Tunisia tonight to hopefully give Saudi Arabia a drubbing....
Why thirteen years after June 12 do we still know so little about why that election was annulled?
Why is there no national monument to MKO Abiola, who (like him or loathe him) became the symbol; and a martyr for Nigerian democracy?
Perhaps it is because of our poor collective memory that we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past....
Saw a sign in a train station in Valencia at Easter. It read "Please be aware that not everyone in this station is a traveller. Take care of your belongings" or words to that effect. How much more elegant and restrained than London Underground's brash "Thieves and pickpockets operate in this station, please take care of your belongings"
It seems not a day goes by now without the announcement of some new New Labour government "scandal" or another- yesterday it was the scandal of tax credits being paid to immigrants who did not qualify for them, today it was about the Assets Recovery Agency set up to confiscate the assets of convicted criminals- but which turns out to have cost far more to set up and run than it has ever collected....I'm not quite sure if there is a vast media conspiracy dripfeeding these negative stories on a continuous basis, or whether the government is in such a shambles as it appears to be......whichever it is, I fear that this constant barrage will do the Labour government lasting damage.....are we perhaps witnessing the last days of a Labour government in Britain? I suppose the answer is that there's time enough before the next elections for things to turn around...but I'm not holding my breath...
Just finished Jake Arnott's truecrime and Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, so have been immersed in a London rather different from what it is now....but no less engrossing. I suppose that is one of the skills of a good writer, the ability to recreate a time and place so vividly it seems real...
Now reading Nicole Krauss' A History of Love- It's quirky and different and I can see why it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize
Pity none of the African teams at the World Cup have won their first matches so far, I can hear you say what did you expect, but hey we're all allowed to dream.....all eyes on Tunisia tonight to hopefully give Saudi Arabia a drubbing....
Friday, June 09, 2006
Second thoughts on NYC, not so summery feeling and Google trawling
Been away a while- in New York- which is slowly growing on me.
I didn't take to it the very first time, something about the vast numbers of towering buildings crammed into such a small place sparked off a claustrophobia-like feeling in me- hardened city lover that I am- But, following this, my third visit, NYC is beginning to grow on me.
Been back a while now but twice in the last month when I tried to blog, blogger was down...unfortunate timing..
Anyways...
The sun is out, real summer is here and everyone is as usual relishing it. In the square outside various bodies are sprawled in varying degrees of undress, united in the universal English ritual worship of the sun, a ritual you cannot understand until you live through your first dark, dank, winter. I must say I'm beginning to think summer's overrated, frankly- sweaty feet,the lethargy that the heat confers on you,itchy eyes, throat and face (if like me you suffer from hay fever)....the list goes on. I suppose it's the idea of summer that we love so much...not really the real thing
Been reading a prodigious amount. Of note were Rachel Cusk's In the Fold- a beautifully balanced English social commentary which is one of the successful examples of where a writer manages to convey a deeper meaning without distorting the beauty and pace of the story..., Leila Aboulela's Minaret which again successfully presents a sympathetic almost subtly proselytizing picture of Islam but because the story and language flow so well, it doesn't grate quite in the way that you would imagine the proselytizing might.
Also enjoyed Gerald Donovan's Doctor Salt, a kafkaesque commentary on many social issues, psychiatry, drug companies, contemporary American society- witty and spare- it read well....As did Romesh Gunesekera's new book The Match which is different in style from Reef his other book that I've r
Looking forward to reading Wole Soyinka's You Must Set Forth at Dawn, which (unusually for me) was the ONLY book I bought in New York....but somehow nothing elseseemed to capture my attention while I browsed in Barnes and Noble. Perhaps I timed my visit wrong- maybe this is the famine season for American literature. I did try to get two other books - Caine Prize nominated Laila Lalami's Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and Emily Raboteau's The Professor's Daughter without any luck- they weren't in stock. I know I should just buy them off Amazon, but frankly I prefer doing my book shopping live, so I can browse through, flick through and dillydally before I finally decide to buy or not...call me Luddite if you like...
Over in Naija, the hustling for the now obviously soon-to-be-vacant Aso Rock continues apace - with even third termites (an apt appellation borrowed from Thisday's Simon Kolawole) who had sworn that no one else but Baba Obasanjo could rule Nigeria post 2007, jumping into the race....
And in the UK, I am beginning to fear that Labour might actually need to find someone else other than Gordon Brown to give David Cameron a good run post-Blair. The problem is as I see it, that everyone is disillusioned with Blair, and Cameron offers a fresh (even if blank and policy free) alternative. Those Labour supporters who have a strong historical aversion to voting Tory don't hold the deciding votes- it's the more easily persuadable middle of the roaders that do. And when it comes to a contest for the hearts and minds of these fairly fickle bunch between dour Gordon and smiley Dave, guess who's going to win.....
I notice Google's cofounder Sergey Brin has finally admitted that the company had compromised its principles by yielding to censorship in China.When I blogged on this a while back http://snipurl.com/ro5f , a nice anonymous person posted a link to an article which they claimed "provided some perspective". I remember marveling at what I immediately assumed was an exercise in damage control by some corporate bods- trawling the blogs, to find blogs critical of Google and posting helpful balanced links on them....Nice work if you can get it
I didn't take to it the very first time, something about the vast numbers of towering buildings crammed into such a small place sparked off a claustrophobia-like feeling in me- hardened city lover that I am- But, following this, my third visit, NYC is beginning to grow on me.
Been back a while now but twice in the last month when I tried to blog, blogger was down...unfortunate timing..
Anyways...
The sun is out, real summer is here and everyone is as usual relishing it. In the square outside various bodies are sprawled in varying degrees of undress, united in the universal English ritual worship of the sun, a ritual you cannot understand until you live through your first dark, dank, winter. I must say I'm beginning to think summer's overrated, frankly- sweaty feet,the lethargy that the heat confers on you,itchy eyes, throat and face (if like me you suffer from hay fever)....the list goes on. I suppose it's the idea of summer that we love so much...not really the real thing
Been reading a prodigious amount. Of note were Rachel Cusk's In the Fold- a beautifully balanced English social commentary which is one of the successful examples of where a writer manages to convey a deeper meaning without distorting the beauty and pace of the story..., Leila Aboulela's Minaret which again successfully presents a sympathetic almost subtly proselytizing picture of Islam but because the story and language flow so well, it doesn't grate quite in the way that you would imagine the proselytizing might.
Also enjoyed Gerald Donovan's Doctor Salt, a kafkaesque commentary on many social issues, psychiatry, drug companies, contemporary American society- witty and spare- it read well....As did Romesh Gunesekera's new book The Match which is different in style from Reef his other book that I've r
Looking forward to reading Wole Soyinka's You Must Set Forth at Dawn, which (unusually for me) was the ONLY book I bought in New York....but somehow nothing elseseemed to capture my attention while I browsed in Barnes and Noble. Perhaps I timed my visit wrong- maybe this is the famine season for American literature. I did try to get two other books - Caine Prize nominated Laila Lalami's Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and Emily Raboteau's The Professor's Daughter without any luck- they weren't in stock. I know I should just buy them off Amazon, but frankly I prefer doing my book shopping live, so I can browse through, flick through and dillydally before I finally decide to buy or not...call me Luddite if you like...
Over in Naija, the hustling for the now obviously soon-to-be-vacant Aso Rock continues apace - with even third termites (an apt appellation borrowed from Thisday's Simon Kolawole) who had sworn that no one else but Baba Obasanjo could rule Nigeria post 2007, jumping into the race....
And in the UK, I am beginning to fear that Labour might actually need to find someone else other than Gordon Brown to give David Cameron a good run post-Blair. The problem is as I see it, that everyone is disillusioned with Blair, and Cameron offers a fresh (even if blank and policy free) alternative. Those Labour supporters who have a strong historical aversion to voting Tory don't hold the deciding votes- it's the more easily persuadable middle of the roaders that do. And when it comes to a contest for the hearts and minds of these fairly fickle bunch between dour Gordon and smiley Dave, guess who's going to win.....
I notice Google's cofounder Sergey Brin has finally admitted that the company had compromised its principles by yielding to censorship in China.When I blogged on this a while back http://snipurl.com/ro5f , a nice anonymous person posted a link to an article which they claimed "provided some perspective". I remember marveling at what I immediately assumed was an exercise in damage control by some corporate bods- trawling the blogs, to find blogs critical of Google and posting helpful balanced links on them....Nice work if you can get it
Thursday, May 25, 2006
"Home made" restaurant food and a dash of Naija politics
Oh, last week I also read the rather charmingly titled Is it Just me or Is Everything Shit? The Encyclopaedia of Modern Life. It had me rolling with laughter on the plane with its opinionated rants on various issues from Tony Blair to pre-washed vegetables to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera....and while reading I fell into the authors style of thinking. So when I walked into a restaurant in Venice and saw an item on the menu that said home made spaghetti, I thought to myself that's another abused word in modern life. You go into a restaurant and they have home made this or home made that on the menu- like the chefs prepared it at home and brought it in?? As the Americans would say gimme a break.....
I haven't talked about Nigerian politics in a while, partly because I'm still shellshocked at the way the Third Term brouhaha collapsed like a pack of cards. And as much as I was opposed to the third term, there's a bit of me that can't help thinking....now what? I know, I know...there are glimmers of hope what with talk of an Utomi candidacy and an Okonjo-Iweala candidacy, but I can't help but feel that at the end of the day, the small elitist cabal that has long held sway in Nigerian politics, unless the Nigerian people unite as the people of Anambra state did and resist all attempts to rig the 2007 elections. If Obasanjo can sort out a smooth transition to a credible successor, I promise to overlook all his failings henceforth....
On the subject of criticism, I get tired of people who suggest that all criticism, especially of "baba" Obasanjo is bad criticism. I am NOT anti-Obasanjo, I have no vested interests beyond my Nigerian citizenship and I acknowledge wholeheartedly what he has achieved- from securing a period of relatively peaceful civilian rule to paying off the debt, the GSM licences and so on. But to whom much is given, much is expected and Obasanjo had a whole lot of goodwill and could have done so much more....why for instance isn't there a similar health, education and science team to match his economic team?
I haven't talked about Nigerian politics in a while, partly because I'm still shellshocked at the way the Third Term brouhaha collapsed like a pack of cards. And as much as I was opposed to the third term, there's a bit of me that can't help thinking....now what? I know, I know...there are glimmers of hope what with talk of an Utomi candidacy and an Okonjo-Iweala candidacy, but I can't help but feel that at the end of the day, the small elitist cabal that has long held sway in Nigerian politics, unless the Nigerian people unite as the people of Anambra state did and resist all attempts to rig the 2007 elections. If Obasanjo can sort out a smooth transition to a credible successor, I promise to overlook all his failings henceforth....
On the subject of criticism, I get tired of people who suggest that all criticism, especially of "baba" Obasanjo is bad criticism. I am NOT anti-Obasanjo, I have no vested interests beyond my Nigerian citizenship and I acknowledge wholeheartedly what he has achieved- from securing a period of relatively peaceful civilian rule to paying off the debt, the GSM licences and so on. But to whom much is given, much is expected and Obasanjo had a whole lot of goodwill and could have done so much more....why for instance isn't there a similar health, education and science team to match his economic team?
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Image is everything and a good library haul
Woke up this morning to the news that the Tories are leading Labour in opinion polls at the moment- no surprises there, but apparently for the first time, voters are rating the Tories higher than Labour on issues like health and education and not just their usual areas of immigration and crime. This brought to mind a conversation I had with a friend a few weeks ago. She's English, working class girl made good and has always been an ardent Labour voter, even though she's fairly high powered in the City....but two weeks ago, she told me she was going to vote Tory in the next elections. The question I asked her is the same one I would like to ask the thousand or so people polled last week:
I am as fed up with Tony Blair as any of you, but pray tell me what alternative policies the Tories have put forward beyond trying to be all things to all people? On health? On education? Even on the environment, beyond the cycling and arctic touring stunts, what? The numerous policy review commissions that Cameron set up are yet to report back, so on what is this sudden swing to the Tories based on?
The answer of course is image......in a media obsessed world, image is everything and it may well sweep the Tories into power at the next elections...
Have had a fantastic raid of the local library and have come away with Manju Kapur's new book Home which I just finished. Her depiction of an Indian trading family reminded me very much of the machinations that went on in a prominent Nigerian family who were friends of my parents....no decisions were personal- from who you married to how many children you had, to what car or clothes you bought your wife- all had to be sanctioned by the grand family council and the patriarch, otherwise you were cut off penniless, and isolated from the lucrative family business......
Other prized hauls this week include Romesh Gunesekera's new book, The Match, Freakonomics, Naomi Alderman's Disobedience set in an Orthodox Jewish community in North London and Vikram Seth's Two Lives.....
An interesting week lies ahead, reading wise
I am as fed up with Tony Blair as any of you, but pray tell me what alternative policies the Tories have put forward beyond trying to be all things to all people? On health? On education? Even on the environment, beyond the cycling and arctic touring stunts, what? The numerous policy review commissions that Cameron set up are yet to report back, so on what is this sudden swing to the Tories based on?
The answer of course is image......in a media obsessed world, image is everything and it may well sweep the Tories into power at the next elections...
Have had a fantastic raid of the local library and have come away with Manju Kapur's new book Home which I just finished. Her depiction of an Indian trading family reminded me very much of the machinations that went on in a prominent Nigerian family who were friends of my parents....no decisions were personal- from who you married to how many children you had, to what car or clothes you bought your wife- all had to be sanctioned by the grand family council and the patriarch, otherwise you were cut off penniless, and isolated from the lucrative family business......
Other prized hauls this week include Romesh Gunesekera's new book, The Match, Freakonomics, Naomi Alderman's Disobedience set in an Orthodox Jewish community in North London and Vikram Seth's Two Lives.....
An interesting week lies ahead, reading wise
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Apologies to Nigeriaworld
Have just realized the reason I wasn't able to get on to Nigeriaworld over the last few days was because of my office putting in a new firewall...so from PCs outside work I can access Nigeriaworld ok....pop-ups and all...
By land, rail, air and sea, a challenge for CNN and another oil-fuelled tragedy in Nigeria
Okay, I've got a few minutes in between workshop sessions, so I better drop a few lines. By the time I arrived in Venice last night, under a full moon, I had travelled by all the major means of transportation available to man, bar space travel. From a meeting outside London at noon, I'd taken a taxi to the train station, caught a train to London, got the tube to the airport, flown to Venice and taken the Alilaguna (waterbus) to a stop 5 minutes from the hotel where we're staying- we walked the last 5 minutes....
The first workshop sessions this morning have been interesting and there have been lots of opportunities for "networking", so it's all good. Apparently I got in too late last night to join in the semi-drunken revelry around the poolside that passed for the culmination of the welcome party...no great loss it seems, especially as I look at some of my bleary eyed colleagues struggling to stay awake this morning....
On CNN this morning, news of a pipeline explosion in which over 150 people were supposed to have died. The reporter had on a Mr Fagbemi (I think) from Amensty International, who spoke about the corruption that pervaded all levels of government. She tried to restrict it to the state and local government levels,quoting some unsourced statistic that 30 out of 36 state governors were corrupt but he insisted, rightly that all levels of government were involved-including the federal. Why the international press and community are taken in by Obasanjo's spurious anti-corruption war is still a mystery....Some questions I would like answered are- "Which companies are responsible for importing refined petroleum into Nigeria? Who are their shareholders? How do they get the authority to import? Is it through a transparent process?" I challenge CNN to provide us with this information...
In spite of attempts to lay the blame on criminals and conniving villagers for the explosion, the guy from Amnesty went on to lay part of the blame on the oil companies who have over the years refused to adopt what is standard practice for them in other parts of the world-burying their pipelines underground........ a practice clearly outlined and condemned in The Next Gulf:London Washington and the Oil Conflict in Nigeria....... I suppose Nigerian lives are cheap, and the Nigerian environment not worth protecting. So in collusion with their partners in the Nigerian government, they continue their rape of Nigeria's resources, while ordinary Nigerians pay the ultimate price....
The first workshop sessions this morning have been interesting and there have been lots of opportunities for "networking", so it's all good. Apparently I got in too late last night to join in the semi-drunken revelry around the poolside that passed for the culmination of the welcome party...no great loss it seems, especially as I look at some of my bleary eyed colleagues struggling to stay awake this morning....
On CNN this morning, news of a pipeline explosion in which over 150 people were supposed to have died. The reporter had on a Mr Fagbemi (I think) from Amensty International, who spoke about the corruption that pervaded all levels of government. She tried to restrict it to the state and local government levels,quoting some unsourced statistic that 30 out of 36 state governors were corrupt but he insisted, rightly that all levels of government were involved-including the federal. Why the international press and community are taken in by Obasanjo's spurious anti-corruption war is still a mystery....Some questions I would like answered are- "Which companies are responsible for importing refined petroleum into Nigeria? Who are their shareholders? How do they get the authority to import? Is it through a transparent process?" I challenge CNN to provide us with this information...
In spite of attempts to lay the blame on criminals and conniving villagers for the explosion, the guy from Amnesty went on to lay part of the blame on the oil companies who have over the years refused to adopt what is standard practice for them in other parts of the world-burying their pipelines underground........ a practice clearly outlined and condemned in The Next Gulf:London Washington and the Oil Conflict in Nigeria....... I suppose Nigerian lives are cheap, and the Nigerian environment not worth protecting. So in collusion with their partners in the Nigerian government, they continue their rape of Nigeria's resources, while ordinary Nigerians pay the ultimate price....
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The universality of football, villain of the day and a new discovery
From the office window I can hear the sounds of boys playing football in the alley next door. It reminds me of Naija- ever so often the ball slams into the wall with a thud, or the boys yell, and then I think football has no language- this could be anywhere in the world....
Nigeriaworld's still down and still no word on why....
The debates (or-stand-up-and-be-counted process) continues in the Legislature in Abuja. My villain of the day is Abdul Oroh, who was a "human rights activist" and a lawyer who was active in the coalition of civil society organizations that fought against the military who was reported as being among the legislators who to quote the Nigerian paper "dodged the issue". How someone can execute such a stunning volteface, only heaven knows. From human rights campaigner a few short years ago to apologist for tenure extension. Perhpas my old man's right-there must be something in the water in Abuja......
Stumbled across the frankest Nigerian blog ever- A Disillusioned Naija Girl- the posts are long but riveting. The author may come across as wacky, quirky, bitter or whatever, but she certainly qualifies for inclusion in my search for Nigerians off the beaten track....http://nijaoffspring.blogspot.com/
Over here, Tony Blair's attacking the ruling of a judge in a bid to appear populist merely underlines his desperation.....anything to connect with middle England...
Here's a message to Blair and his pal Obasanjo- it's time you both took a break permanently, you've earned it, and it'll do wonders for your increasingly haggard appearances.......(perhaps that's stretching it a bit especially in OBJ's case, but one can hope)....
Off to Italy tomorrow for work, will try and blog from there, but may be too busy...ciao
Nigeriaworld's still down and still no word on why....
The debates (or-stand-up-and-be-counted process) continues in the Legislature in Abuja. My villain of the day is Abdul Oroh, who was a "human rights activist" and a lawyer who was active in the coalition of civil society organizations that fought against the military who was reported as being among the legislators who to quote the Nigerian paper "dodged the issue". How someone can execute such a stunning volteface, only heaven knows. From human rights campaigner a few short years ago to apologist for tenure extension. Perhpas my old man's right-there must be something in the water in Abuja......
Stumbled across the frankest Nigerian blog ever- A Disillusioned Naija Girl- the posts are long but riveting. The author may come across as wacky, quirky, bitter or whatever, but she certainly qualifies for inclusion in my search for Nigerians off the beaten track....http://nijaoffspring.blogspot.com/
Over here, Tony Blair's attacking the ruling of a judge in a bid to appear populist merely underlines his desperation.....anything to connect with middle England...
Here's a message to Blair and his pal Obasanjo- it's time you both took a break permanently, you've earned it, and it'll do wonders for your increasingly haggard appearances.......(perhaps that's stretching it a bit especially in OBJ's case, but one can hope)....
Off to Italy tomorrow for work, will try and blog from there, but may be too busy...ciao
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Deja vu everywhere, the misuse of anti-corruption laws and standing up publicly
I've written often in the past few months of the feeling of deja vu that I experience each time I read about what's going on in Abuja with regard to pushing through a third term for Obasanjo. I have drawn direct parallels to my experience in Abuja in 1997 when many of the same pundits pointed to the increase in Nigeria's foreign reserves under Abacha and the "stability" that the country had enjoyed to advocate why no one else but Abacha could or should continue as President. Today, many of these same pundits are rolling out similar arguments in support of Obasanjo. The truth is that no-one holds a monopoly on wisdom or good governance and if Obasanjo and his supporters put in half the effort they are putting into this ill-advised manouevre, to finding and preparing a credible successor, they would be a lot better off.....
But there is deja vu elsewhere, with Blair's current situation in the Labour Party being compared to the last days of Margaret Thatcher in the Conservative Party....
Meanwhile across the pond, the neo-con hawks are marshalling many of the same arguments they used a few years ago to justify going to Iraq against Iran...
It's amazing how we human beings fail to learn from history-even fairly recent history......
Today's news from Abuja suggests that because the Senate President has insisted that the legislators must vote openly in favour or against the constitutional amendment, all contracts awarded since he became Senate President are being investigated by the "Independent" Corrupt Practices Commission. It is this use of the anti-corruption agencies as a weapon of blackmail that breeds doubts in the minds of people like me about the sincerity of Obasanjo when he insists that he is committed to tackling corruption...
Personally, I think the idea of having all the legislators publicly stating their position on the 3rd term issue is fantastic. Each morning, since the debate started, I read through the list of Nigerian legislators who have spoken and see what line they have toed. I have had a few shocks- Tokunbo Ogunbanjo, an erudite and urbane lawyer who is now a Senator has spoken in favour of the constitutional changes....It's good that the debate is public so that the Nigerian people and future generations know exactly who has betrayed them.......
By the way, Nigeriaworld is still down for the 3rd day running....and there's no word on why...if anyone has got a clue, drop me a line and let me know
But there is deja vu elsewhere, with Blair's current situation in the Labour Party being compared to the last days of Margaret Thatcher in the Conservative Party....
Meanwhile across the pond, the neo-con hawks are marshalling many of the same arguments they used a few years ago to justify going to Iraq against Iran...
It's amazing how we human beings fail to learn from history-even fairly recent history......
Today's news from Abuja suggests that because the Senate President has insisted that the legislators must vote openly in favour or against the constitutional amendment, all contracts awarded since he became Senate President are being investigated by the "Independent" Corrupt Practices Commission. It is this use of the anti-corruption agencies as a weapon of blackmail that breeds doubts in the minds of people like me about the sincerity of Obasanjo when he insists that he is committed to tackling corruption...
Personally, I think the idea of having all the legislators publicly stating their position on the 3rd term issue is fantastic. Each morning, since the debate started, I read through the list of Nigerian legislators who have spoken and see what line they have toed. I have had a few shocks- Tokunbo Ogunbanjo, an erudite and urbane lawyer who is now a Senator has spoken in favour of the constitutional changes....It's good that the debate is public so that the Nigerian people and future generations know exactly who has betrayed them.......
By the way, Nigeriaworld is still down for the 3rd day running....and there's no word on why...if anyone has got a clue, drop me a line and let me know
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Missing Nigeriaworld, and musing on terrorist piss-taking
For the second day running, Nigeriaworld, arguably the most popular and comprehensive Nigerian news and current affairs website is down. It's strange how easily you become attached to a website. I'm used to going there first thing to read all the Nigerian newspapers. As it's down, I've had to go the individual papers' websites which is a whole lot less efficient. I wonder what the problem is. Initially when I tried getting into Nigeriaworld and failed and then tried the Thisday and Guardian websites without any luck, I wondered if it was some conspiracy related to the third term manoeuvrings in Abuja....but then I was able to get into the Guardian and Thisday websites and realized that nothing earthshaking had happened as yet. The inability to get any sort of information about why the site is down, is frustrating, as I'm sure it is for thousands of others. Plus, the owners of the site must be losing money judging from the inordinate number of pop-ups that littered the site when it was still up.....in any case I hope they're back online soon....(sans pop-ups)
On the radio this morning, lawyers for a man found guilty of terrorist acts in Jordan, but currently living in the United Kingdom, are reported to be fighting to prevent his being deported to Jordan as they say he is likely to be tortured or killed there. Even though the Jordanian government has assured the UK government that this will not be the case, his lawyers insist that the agreement between the two countries is not worth the paper it's been written on.
I kind of understand the sentiments behind the lawyers' arguments and the importance of upholding the rule of law and civil liberties, but even my best liberal instincts can't help but feel that someone, as the English so eloquently put it "is taking the piss"....
On the radio this morning, lawyers for a man found guilty of terrorist acts in Jordan, but currently living in the United Kingdom, are reported to be fighting to prevent his being deported to Jordan as they say he is likely to be tortured or killed there. Even though the Jordanian government has assured the UK government that this will not be the case, his lawyers insist that the agreement between the two countries is not worth the paper it's been written on.
I kind of understand the sentiments behind the lawyers' arguments and the importance of upholding the rule of law and civil liberties, but even my best liberal instincts can't help but feel that someone, as the English so eloquently put it "is taking the piss"....
Monday, May 08, 2006
Weekend FT, current reading,dreaming of an ipod phone, and Blair's arrogance
I read the Financial Times this weekend- lots of my friends and colleagues recommend it as the UK paper to read for unbiased news- the other major papers take decidedly ideological viewpoints. I'm not sure I agree that the FT is unbiased if such a thing as an unbiased newspaper exists, but I do enjoy their Saturday edition especially the magazine and weekend sections. Good then to see in this week's Saturday FT two Nigeria- related stories, one describing a fashion show organized in Lagos in aid of the World Food Programme which featured Deola Sagoe of Odua Creations. In the article it said Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey are fans of her clothes.....I remember when she started designing not so many years ago and how she always made clear that her vision was global, not local- looks like her doggedness and commitment are paying off- more power to her....
The other was a not entirely-unsympathetic review of the latest volume of Wole Soyinka's memoirs- You Must Set Forth at Dawn http://snipurl.com/q6es . Having enjoyed his Ibadan the Penkelemesi Years, I'm looking forward to this....
At the moment I'm reading City of Falling Angels, the new book about Venice written by John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. As I'm due in Venice for work later in the week, I thought it'd be a good time to read it..so far so good. His earlier book partly inspired me to visit Savannah in Georgia a few years ago where I was stunned to discover that the book and the film together had led to a multi-million dollar boost in tourist business for the city..... Maybe I should write a book about Abuja....
At the conference I attended in the US not too long ago, I spotted lots of people with Apple laptops designed along the same lines as the iPod- that sleek white curviness....that has set me wondering- how come no-one's designed an iphone yet? A mobile phone designed along the lines of an ipod would be a market hit and would I suspect leave the Motorola V3 lying in the dust...but perhaps it exists already and I just haven't stumbled across it yet......
Blair continues to battle for his political life...... a friend asked me yesterday why I was so anti- Blair and I said it was summed up in one word- arrogance. I am under no illusions that David- I'll stand for whatever you want me to- Cameron will be any better, but Blair and his New Labourite chums cannot just continue taking the electorate for granted..... I hope they come to their senses soon...
Meanwhile Mark Oaten blames going bald at thirty and a mid life crisis for cheating on his wife with a rent-boy- honestly, what does he take the good people of Winchester, his constituency for?
The other was a not entirely-unsympathetic review of the latest volume of Wole Soyinka's memoirs- You Must Set Forth at Dawn http://snipurl.com/q6es . Having enjoyed his Ibadan the Penkelemesi Years, I'm looking forward to this....
At the moment I'm reading City of Falling Angels, the new book about Venice written by John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. As I'm due in Venice for work later in the week, I thought it'd be a good time to read it..so far so good. His earlier book partly inspired me to visit Savannah in Georgia a few years ago where I was stunned to discover that the book and the film together had led to a multi-million dollar boost in tourist business for the city..... Maybe I should write a book about Abuja....
At the conference I attended in the US not too long ago, I spotted lots of people with Apple laptops designed along the same lines as the iPod- that sleek white curviness....that has set me wondering- how come no-one's designed an iphone yet? A mobile phone designed along the lines of an ipod would be a market hit and would I suspect leave the Motorola V3 lying in the dust...but perhaps it exists already and I just haven't stumbled across it yet......
Blair continues to battle for his political life...... a friend asked me yesterday why I was so anti- Blair and I said it was summed up in one word- arrogance. I am under no illusions that David- I'll stand for whatever you want me to- Cameron will be any better, but Blair and his New Labourite chums cannot just continue taking the electorate for granted..... I hope they come to their senses soon...
Meanwhile Mark Oaten blames going bald at thirty and a mid life crisis for cheating on his wife with a rent-boy- honestly, what does he take the good people of Winchester, his constituency for?
Friday, May 05, 2006
Lost phones, coincidences and local elections
Two days ago I lost my phone. I had just got out of a taxi and as it drove off, I realized my phone had slipped out of my trouser pocket. Unfortunately I was too late to get the taxi details. I had been having an interesting conversation with the cab driver who was "of Asian heritage" and so I was pretty sure he would bring it back- if only he knew how. It's amazing how lost and disconcerted losing your mobile can make you. I'm far from addicted to my phone and yet I who as a child could reel off all the numbers of my nearest and dearest (plus a few more) now only have a few numbers in my memory- they are all in my phone memory- so I could call my parent's landline in Nigeria, but not their mobiles, I could call the office and one or two other people and that was it. To make matters worse I was involved in work that meant moving around a lot and so had to keep ringing the office to make sure I wasn't missing anythings while I obsessed about all the messages that were disappearing into the ether. I tried ringing my phone, but since it's permanently on "Vibrate", I was sure the taxi driver wouldn't notice....so reluctantly I rang up the police and my phone company to report the loss. I wasn't going to let the insurers weasel out this time.... a couple of years ago, I lost my phone and the insurance refused to pay saying I had reported it more than 24 hours after the event. It drove me mad, especially as I had tried cancelling the insurance and was told I was locked in for a year. Trust me,as a Naijaman, I made noise up to ringing the office of the Chief Exec of the phone company (found the number on the internet) and generally made life very unpleasant as aresult of which I was given a new phone gratis (as a gesture of goodwill) but it still rankled that the phone had not come from the insurers....call me obsessive but I hate rip-offs.....
Anyway all's well that ends well- had a call tyesterday morning from the phone company, the cab driver had handed the phone in at one of their shops and so I'll go and pick it up. Meanwhile the replacement handset from the insurers is on it's way- I've agreed to send it back once I receive it.... Funnily enough yesterday afternoon at the tube station I saw a mobile phone drop out of someone's pocket- I dashed after her and drew her attention, and returned the phone to the young lady who nearly kissed me in her relief...I said to her I know how it feels- It seemed like an odd coincidence...
Exciting times yesterday with the UK local elections. One of the "privileges" I've always appreciated is the fact that virtually as soon as I arrived in the UK, I was eligible to vote, courtesy of being a citizen of the "Commonwealth"... I voted nice and early for the Lib Dems, largely because I could not bring myself to vote Tory,no matter how charming and cuddly David Cameron appears and because I was disgusted with Labour's arrogance, insensitivity, and stubbornness. From Patricia Hewitt patronizing the NHS and members of the public to Tony Blair stubbornly clinging to policies that everyone is against and sweeping away all complaints,or requests to reconsider under the carpet of thoughtless opposition to reforms....Glad to see the massacre, perhaps it'll make the Labour party sit up and think. I think the Lib Dems did badly because Ming Campbell isn't on the radar at all- at least Charles Kennedy had a distinctive and constant media presence.....perhaps they'd have been better off with someone younger and more dynamic.....Talking of which, the photographs of the Camerons and the Blairs going to vote were a knockout blow- There's charming Dave and Samantha, laid back wearing shirtsleeves and a summery shift dress, looking like the ordinary Londoner (even if the average Londoner hasn't been to Eton and isn't the step daughter of a Lord) and there were Tony and Cherie all dolled up to the nines in corporate gear- and Tony wearing a BLUE tie- I'd noticed that the convention here is that on election day, politicians tend to wear their party colours- blue for the Tories, yellow for the Lib Dems and red for Labour. Cameron wore a blue shirt with folded sleeves, Blair, a blue tie with red spots- perhaps that's the real colour of new Labour- Blue with flecks of red.....
Anyway all's well that ends well- had a call tyesterday morning from the phone company, the cab driver had handed the phone in at one of their shops and so I'll go and pick it up. Meanwhile the replacement handset from the insurers is on it's way- I've agreed to send it back once I receive it.... Funnily enough yesterday afternoon at the tube station I saw a mobile phone drop out of someone's pocket- I dashed after her and drew her attention, and returned the phone to the young lady who nearly kissed me in her relief...I said to her I know how it feels- It seemed like an odd coincidence...
Exciting times yesterday with the UK local elections. One of the "privileges" I've always appreciated is the fact that virtually as soon as I arrived in the UK, I was eligible to vote, courtesy of being a citizen of the "Commonwealth"... I voted nice and early for the Lib Dems, largely because I could not bring myself to vote Tory,no matter how charming and cuddly David Cameron appears and because I was disgusted with Labour's arrogance, insensitivity, and stubbornness. From Patricia Hewitt patronizing the NHS and members of the public to Tony Blair stubbornly clinging to policies that everyone is against and sweeping away all complaints,or requests to reconsider under the carpet of thoughtless opposition to reforms....Glad to see the massacre, perhaps it'll make the Labour party sit up and think. I think the Lib Dems did badly because Ming Campbell isn't on the radar at all- at least Charles Kennedy had a distinctive and constant media presence.....perhaps they'd have been better off with someone younger and more dynamic.....Talking of which, the photographs of the Camerons and the Blairs going to vote were a knockout blow- There's charming Dave and Samantha, laid back wearing shirtsleeves and a summery shift dress, looking like the ordinary Londoner (even if the average Londoner hasn't been to Eton and isn't the step daughter of a Lord) and there were Tony and Cherie all dolled up to the nines in corporate gear- and Tony wearing a BLUE tie- I'd noticed that the convention here is that on election day, politicians tend to wear their party colours- blue for the Tories, yellow for the Lib Dems and red for Labour. Cameron wore a blue shirt with folded sleeves, Blair, a blue tie with red spots- perhaps that's the real colour of new Labour- Blue with flecks of red.....
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Black Wednesday for Blair, sensing deja vu
Just sitting in a quiet room at the end of the day- everyone else has left the office and I'm just finishing off when I am drawn to open this blog up and again drop a few lines....
Yesterday is being reported in the media as Tony Blair's black day, what with his Deputy (the linguistically challenged John Prescott) admitting to an affair with one of his secretaries.....just goes to show New Labour is just as capable of sleaze as the Tories....to Charles Clarke the Home Secretary being asked to resign because about a thousand foreign criminals have been released from prison over the last year without being deported as they ought to have.....to Patricia Hewitt....she of the hectoring, deluded "This is the NHS' best year ever" being booed and slow hand clapped out of the Nurses' conference in Bournemouth....
With the local elections coming up next week, it's not a good time for Blair or New Labour....Nor is it for his warmongering ally Dubya whose opinion poll ratings seem to have gone into free fall...perhaps there is some justice after all.....
Just finished The Next Gulf- a book about Oil, London, Washington and Nigeria, which makes pretty scary reading (if you're Nigerian). It could have been better written but the questions it raises about the US' strategic interests in Nigerian (and West African) oil merely suggests that all our agitation as Nigerians over third term is besides the point- the real script is being written elsewhere....
And we know that for the US, and the UK ...as long as the oil keeps flowing, they will shut their eyes to everything else....
I've never forgotten the Abacha days when even the "sainted" Bill Clinton announced in South Africa that the US would recognize any Nigerian leader who had emerged through a democratic process, even if they shed their military uniform to do so...I remember how depressed I was that day.....
There is much these days in Nigerian happenings to remind me of the Abacha days- amazing how human beings can literally repeat the mistakes of history step by slow, mind numbing step..... Segun Adeniyi's article today in Thisday and Chief Awoniyi's letter to Obasanjo remind me of the final last minute warnings to Abacha....
Yesterday is being reported in the media as Tony Blair's black day, what with his Deputy (the linguistically challenged John Prescott) admitting to an affair with one of his secretaries.....just goes to show New Labour is just as capable of sleaze as the Tories....to Charles Clarke the Home Secretary being asked to resign because about a thousand foreign criminals have been released from prison over the last year without being deported as they ought to have.....to Patricia Hewitt....she of the hectoring, deluded "This is the NHS' best year ever" being booed and slow hand clapped out of the Nurses' conference in Bournemouth....
With the local elections coming up next week, it's not a good time for Blair or New Labour....Nor is it for his warmongering ally Dubya whose opinion poll ratings seem to have gone into free fall...perhaps there is some justice after all.....
Just finished The Next Gulf- a book about Oil, London, Washington and Nigeria, which makes pretty scary reading (if you're Nigerian). It could have been better written but the questions it raises about the US' strategic interests in Nigerian (and West African) oil merely suggests that all our agitation as Nigerians over third term is besides the point- the real script is being written elsewhere....
And we know that for the US, and the UK ...as long as the oil keeps flowing, they will shut their eyes to everything else....
I've never forgotten the Abacha days when even the "sainted" Bill Clinton announced in South Africa that the US would recognize any Nigerian leader who had emerged through a democratic process, even if they shed their military uniform to do so...I remember how depressed I was that day.....
There is much these days in Nigerian happenings to remind me of the Abacha days- amazing how human beings can literally repeat the mistakes of history step by slow, mind numbing step..... Segun Adeniyi's article today in Thisday and Chief Awoniyi's letter to Obasanjo remind me of the final last minute warnings to Abacha....
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Springtime, Place of Reeds, a clutch of new Nigerian writing & Nigerwives
Watching the trees in the square opposite blossom into frothy whiteness, combined with the warmth I feel in my winter coat(time to consign it to the wardrobe soon), together with my sneezing in the morning,all confirm that spring is here....Now I know why the English worship the sun so much- you have to live through a dank dreary winter with darkness falling at 4 to understand the exhilaration.....
Off to Spain tomorrow for a well-deserved (even if I say so) Easter break....I'm reading Caitlin Davies' Place of Reeds- she's the daughter of English novelists Margaret Foster and Hunter Davies- and the book is her account of her marriage living with her Botswanan ex-husband in rural Botswana. It's a good but not great read so far, slightly dry and somehow it seems lacking in colour and seems to skirt round issues. It's also fairly critical of her husband and his family, and I slightly wonder- what did you expect- for instance not understanding why her husband who she met in the US as an Afro-haired hippy cuts his hair the day before he goes home to Botswana because "people will talk". I suppose for someone like me living between two cultures, it isn't so surprising, but am slightly irritated by what appears to be her naivete. She refers often to racism in Botswana but does not explore these deeply enough, especially considering that her husband is the son of an Afrikaner South African and a poor rural farmer Botswana woman....anyway I'll see if it gets better as I go on...
Going back to Nigerian writing, I notice that Nigerian novelist Chris Abani, he of Graceland fame has a new novella Becoming Abigail
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/nigeria/abanic1.htm out, as does Segun Afolabi, Nigerian winner of the Caine Prize last year. Afolabi's A Life Elsewhere, a collection of short stories makes its debut this month http://snipurl.com/p4ps. Wole Soyinka treats us to another volume of his delectable memoirs, You Must Set Forth at Dawn follows the acclaimed Ake, Isara and Ibadan this month http://snipurl.com/p4pv. And Chimamanda Adichie is set to follow the success of Purple Hibiscus with Half of a Yellow Sun http://snipurl.com/p4q4 later this summer. Early next year we can expect Helon Habila's Measuring Time http://snipurl.com/p4qd.... It's good to see new Nigerian authors moving beyond the one book stage, and wait with bated breath to see if they live up to their earlier promise....
Stumbled across this website for Nigerwives, http://www.nigerwivesnigeria.com/ an organization of foreign women married to Nigerians....growing up they always appeared slightly elitist- in that odd pathetic way in which in Nigeria, anything "white" or Western had a slight cachet attached to it...Nevertheless they did lots of great charity work especially with the blind and provided an extended family network for their members in Nigeria. Good to see they're still going strong....
Off to Spain tomorrow for a well-deserved (even if I say so) Easter break....I'm reading Caitlin Davies' Place of Reeds- she's the daughter of English novelists Margaret Foster and Hunter Davies- and the book is her account of her marriage living with her Botswanan ex-husband in rural Botswana. It's a good but not great read so far, slightly dry and somehow it seems lacking in colour and seems to skirt round issues. It's also fairly critical of her husband and his family, and I slightly wonder- what did you expect- for instance not understanding why her husband who she met in the US as an Afro-haired hippy cuts his hair the day before he goes home to Botswana because "people will talk". I suppose for someone like me living between two cultures, it isn't so surprising, but am slightly irritated by what appears to be her naivete. She refers often to racism in Botswana but does not explore these deeply enough, especially considering that her husband is the son of an Afrikaner South African and a poor rural farmer Botswana woman....anyway I'll see if it gets better as I go on...
Going back to Nigerian writing, I notice that Nigerian novelist Chris Abani, he of Graceland fame has a new novella Becoming Abigail
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/nigeria/abanic1.htm out, as does Segun Afolabi, Nigerian winner of the Caine Prize last year. Afolabi's A Life Elsewhere, a collection of short stories makes its debut this month http://snipurl.com/p4ps. Wole Soyinka treats us to another volume of his delectable memoirs, You Must Set Forth at Dawn follows the acclaimed Ake, Isara and Ibadan this month http://snipurl.com/p4pv. And Chimamanda Adichie is set to follow the success of Purple Hibiscus with Half of a Yellow Sun http://snipurl.com/p4q4 later this summer. Early next year we can expect Helon Habila's Measuring Time http://snipurl.com/p4qd.... It's good to see new Nigerian authors moving beyond the one book stage, and wait with bated breath to see if they live up to their earlier promise....
Stumbled across this website for Nigerwives, http://www.nigerwivesnigeria.com/ an organization of foreign women married to Nigerians....growing up they always appeared slightly elitist- in that odd pathetic way in which in Nigeria, anything "white" or Western had a slight cachet attached to it...Nevertheless they did lots of great charity work especially with the blind and provided an extended family network for their members in Nigeria. Good to see they're still going strong....
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Thinking of stopping, memory sticks and Tony Allen
Back again after another period away. I keep wondering whether these now infrequent visits mean I should give up on blogging entirely. There just does not seem to be enough hours in the day. I remember I used to say to people "You will always make time out for what really matters to you", and so I wonder if my inability to find time to blog (in my increasingly busy day) means that at some subconscious level, blogging's lost its appeal for me. On a conscious level I certainly miss it and wish I did it more often....
Dashing about on work, my memory stick has come in very handy. I can start a presentation or a report at work, save it to my memory stick, continue working on it on a laptop on the train, take it home and continue on the desktop, take it to a friend's and continue on their desktop.....the opportunities are seemingly endless. And to think that these small things can pack so much power.....perhaps one day we will just have minuscule memory sticks implanted into our fingers and we can take our stuff wherever we go......
Just finished Andrew Miller's The Optimists, an excellent book which I finished in one sitting. It's about a British photographer who witnesses a Rwanda-like massacre in an unnamed place and is haunted by it after returning to England.....he goes to some length to state that the story is NOT set in Rwanda and I'm not entirely sure why. In any case, I've been inspired to get his Booker Prize shortlisted first book, Oxygen which I start this week.....
This morning, quite a long segment of BBC Radio 4 Today's programme was devoted to Tony Allen, Fela's former percussionist, and the number of Western musicians who said their work had been inspired by him. Granted, I had never heard of half of them (including someone (Brian Eno? who invented something called ambient music) but they certainly seemed very well regarded by the Today programme.....it was good to wake up to some Afrobeat on a grey English April morning though.....and they plugged the Tony Allen Lagos No Shaking CD http://snipurl.com/p1bo
Dashing about on work, my memory stick has come in very handy. I can start a presentation or a report at work, save it to my memory stick, continue working on it on a laptop on the train, take it home and continue on the desktop, take it to a friend's and continue on their desktop.....the opportunities are seemingly endless. And to think that these small things can pack so much power.....perhaps one day we will just have minuscule memory sticks implanted into our fingers and we can take our stuff wherever we go......
Just finished Andrew Miller's The Optimists, an excellent book which I finished in one sitting. It's about a British photographer who witnesses a Rwanda-like massacre in an unnamed place and is haunted by it after returning to England.....he goes to some length to state that the story is NOT set in Rwanda and I'm not entirely sure why. In any case, I've been inspired to get his Booker Prize shortlisted first book, Oxygen which I start this week.....
This morning, quite a long segment of BBC Radio 4 Today's programme was devoted to Tony Allen, Fela's former percussionist, and the number of Western musicians who said their work had been inspired by him. Granted, I had never heard of half of them (including someone (Brian Eno? who invented something called ambient music) but they certainly seemed very well regarded by the Today programme.....it was good to wake up to some Afrobeat on a grey English April morning though.....and they plugged the Tony Allen Lagos No Shaking CD http://snipurl.com/p1bo
Friday, March 31, 2006
Conversation with my friend
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....
"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....
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.....
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