Worth only my silence....

"It is only a fool that does not know that ...we are living in a state of anarchy."

- Femi Kuti [Award-Winning Afro-beat saxophonist]

Nigeria's Presidential and Senatorial elections happened on Saturday, the 21st. I personally did not deem it fit enough for a current mention on this blog. I once learned that, "Silence is strength. All else is weakness." I will match the insane corruption of those elections with the silence of disdain. Things will change for the better - and, regardless of the corruption, this change is inevitable.

Please Listen to a down-to-earth soundbite of Femi Kuti giving his thoughts on Nigeria. I concur entirely with everything he says.

Enough said!

An Ode to Death

Yesterday, a sad fellow took a gun and shot over 45 people at Virginia Tech University. He killed 31 people immediately. The rest he succeeded in putting into the hospital...some in critical condition. He left everyone worse than he met them. I gave up a part of my life coming to grips with death. After all these years, I realized that the attention-seeking, crass self-believing, devil-may-care, indiscriminate Intangible called death is also immutable. As you can see, we did not come to grips on anything - except agreeing to disagree. I refuse to give it any more attention than these lines.

Here, below, is John Donne's poem that I promised a few posts ago. I'm sad that it is now so apt. It was not my intention.

No Man is an Island

No man is an island, entire of itself

Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind

and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls

It tolls for thee.

-- John Donne (1572-1631)

Elections, Death...Milestones.

The Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria literally whitewashed the opposition in last weekend's state elections! This map shows just how much political territory the PDP garnered. Make no mistake, it only justifies their position as the most corrupt political party in the world.

Killings, riots, sorrow, tears and blood have followed this win. The opposition is up in arms and no one is under the illusion that the PDP has won fairly or with merit. The Police are under siege in numerous parts of the country. I fear for the cheapness of their lives as a misplaced footnote in 'the Nigerian cause'...whatever that may be. It is the bane of our underdevelopment - to be outmaneuvered by the illegitimate and the illiterate. President Obasanjo must be grinning to his ears. It is a shame to see that our political process has not improved in 8 years of 'democracy'.

However, brightness! The Supreme Court has reasserted its independence by approving Atiku Abubakar to run for President. While I disagree - prima facie - with the Supreme Court's rationale on this approval, I shall have to reserve my judgment until I read the text of their reasoning. If I were more famous, I'd probably get flamed for 'dissenting'.

I must say that regardless of all the negatives emanating from shoddily conducted elections and the widespread violence, I believe there are upsides to these elections. I think Nigeria has moved forward in its democratic growth. Granted, our electorate is still uncouth in huge respects. However, I predict that the level of political consciousness will lead to progressively more activity in the minds of many. Such consciousness will bring forward people with some genuine interest in making Nigeria more than a byword. I am hopeful that more dreamers will find the light and the path.... I truly believe....

On milestones. I gave out over 1 million Naira today. In a single act. It happened so quickly that I didn't know when it was done. It happened so so quickly that, only after I had given it out did I realize that I actually had it. I did not have it yesterday. I did not hear applause when it happened. Indeed, it happened, not with a bang...but with a whisper.

Elections in Nigeria!

My Gosh! I have been soooo remiss!

How did I fail to inform your good selves that Nigeria's elections (gubernatorial) took place today?! Preparing for these exams is literally driving me bonkers. Well, at least, now you know. The elections for the states' Houses of Assembly also held today.

There have been reports of violence in certain parts of the country. Port-Harcourt, River State has been most reprehensible. Police stations have been burnt and voter's cards have been stolen prior to the elections. I guess the thieving candidate's rationale is that, if he'll get very few votes, the least he can do is ensure his adversaries get none at all!

Ingenious thinking - when you consider it dispassionately.

In Delta State, they went one better by burning down the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC]. I wonder how that brings the voting closer to the perpetrators. As Nigerians, we are disenchanted by the government. So, government property is government's property - not public property. If we burn the INEC office, the government loses! It's Nigerian logic and it assuages an otherwise helpless mind.

I saw this picture-slide on the Financial Times. It shows a town called Aba, in the Eastern part of Nigeria. I am always torn on whether to praise or criticize the one-sidedness of the perspective international media give Nigeria. One would think Aba was a slum from those pictures. In fact, Aba has a concentration of some of the richest Nigerians! On the other hand, I imagine that showing Nigeria as a rich nation undermines concerns about the glowing disparities in human capital and wealth distribution in Nigeria. Anyways, international coverage of Nigeria is a matter for another day.

I am confident of the positives in these elections. The ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will find itself undermined by its inability to lift its candidates to victory. Many states will be close calls - which will naturally lead to more activity in the courts. However, one thing is certain - power will change hands. I hope this means that we will inch closer to the rule of law.

*John Donne's poem in a later post.

*Pictures Courtesy of Yahoo! Photos.

Beautiful Lyrics

I love classics!

This week, I have received 2 emails with a difference: they both came with a poem attached! One was from Lenny Schmolka arising from his class ramblings in Mergers and Acquisitions. The other was from a wonderful, old friend. And impressive poems they were too - one of my old favorites by Elizabeth Browning, and the other by John Donne; a poem that I so believe in.

So, in celebration of beautiful lyrics, I have reproduced the poem by Elizabeth Browning below. I couple Mrs. Browning's poem with another of my old favorites. I will save the poem by John Donne until my next post. This other poem below is by Christina Rossetti. I include it because it shares similarities with Mrs. Browning's depth, elegance, grace, and love-theme writing created with such sensitivity that only women can encapsulate in words.

I think you may find a chance to reassess your meaning of love going forward.

SONNET XLIII

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears of all my life! - and, if God choose

I shall but love thee better after death

- Elizabeth Barret Browning (1806 - 1861)

SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE

REMEMBER

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve;

For if darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

- Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

A million milestones

I once read that in order to consider one's life a success, one has to accomplish 3 things:
write a book; plant a tree; and, raise a child.
I think the writer's meaning is that a successful life is composed of things that live beyond us and add to the betterment of the world we live in.

As a younger man, I came up with my own milestones to define success. And being Ibo, naturally, each of them is defined by money! In fact, they are all defined by a single amount of money - one million! And here is what I consider the definition of a successful life. I shall consider my life successful when I have done all of these things at its right time -

1. The day I earn 1 million Naira from all the works of my hands;
2. The day I earn 1 million Naira from a single work of my hands;
3. Giving out a total amount of 1 million Naira over the course of my life;
4. Giving out 1 million Naira to a single cause;
5. Earning $1million from all the works of my hands;
6. Earning $1million from a single work of my hands;
7. Giving out $1million over the course of my life;
8. Giving out $1million to a single cause from which I can get neither direct nor indirect benefits.

I have long stopped believing in unmeasurables when it comes to improving this society that we live in. And there is something magical about six zeros behind an integer that equates to achievement in my mind.

A parable:
A rich man had made a huge fortune in a foreign country. He received numerous awards and prizes for the fame of his work. And, he returned to his own country for a short visit. In the course of his visit, he had the opportunity to give a speech to a semi-literate crowd in his old village. On the podium, he said, 'I am so glad to have come so far and for having received so many accolades. I received the Nobel prize and the millions of dollars for my lifelong research.'

For effect, he picked up a little boy from the crowd. He asked the little boy, 'would you like to win the Nobel prize someday'? The little boy shook his head. The rich man - taken aback - said, 'well, what would you like to do then'? Disarmingly, the young man said, 'I would like to give someone millions of dollars for their lifelong work'.

I took the moral of that story...whatever it was.

Have you had a wonderful week?