Interview Thursday: 1st Person of the year - WAFFARIAN!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. I believe in my heart that this year will be a glorious one in our lives. I present to you the first person of the year 2009 to feature in "Interview Thursday" series. She is no other than our own WAFFARIAN. A Nigeria gal in foreign land (lol). She is a true person that I have come to admire. She has no bone for insincerity. She tells it as it is. She gives her perspective on Nigeria and women in governance. And she believe in a greater Nigeria. Yes we CAN!

What part of Nigeria is Waffarian from?

Tamsk you very much for that question. (make I clear throat). There were two constants in my life when I was growing up. Saturday village trip and Catholic mass on Sunday. In 1978, a young man moved his wife, two year old son and new born daughter to the then booming oil town of Warri. His purpose was to live as close to his mother as possible and spend every possible free moment in the land of his ancestors. And that is how for the next ten years of my life, I spent every fucking Saturday in Illah, Oshimili North local government area, in Delta State. That is the land my father is buried and on that land shall I build the foundations of my village school. Hehehehehehehehe.

How do you come across your blog name?

Tamsk you again for that question. The name of my blog was originally “waffy girl in Europe”. I admit it was not so creative but at that time, all I saw in blogville was those kind of names, like “naijagal” or “Londonnaijagal”, you know, names like that. I wan feel among na, na im me too, I nak dem my own, “waffy girl”…haba! People trip na. Oh…ehen, then after a while, I decided to change it from “waffy girl” to “The Waffarian”. I felt I wanted to be more neutral and it worked. I have since met bloggers that thought I was male! Hehehehehehe.

What word best describe your personality?

Damnnnnnnnnnn. This is hardcore. I swear one word no fit describe me. I don think tire. Abeg, this question too hard. I don skip am. Wetin? Na exam?

I don't know how long you have left Nigeria for, but I will like to know if you belief as a voice from Diaspora in our leadership efficiency and sincerity of purpose?

The truth is that those leaders were not elected by the people and therefore cannot represent the people. Until Nigeria can conduct fair elections and people are free to vote for whoever they want, I do not think we will ever have the right leaders. Most of the governors were voted in a haze of violence and corruption. Some states had more votes than their population. Votes were counted in centers that were never opened. How in the world am I supposed to believe that such people would be sincere? It’s like a prostitute praying in church for more customers. It is not logical. It makes no sense.

What do you think we need to make Nigeria a better place?

I believe very much in the power of POSSIBILITY. People ask me all the time that with all the negative things I write about Nigeria, how can I still be positive? . It is because I see the possibility of what Nigeria can become. I see the things we can do, I see what we have. I see the brains, the manpower, the resources. We have great POTENTIAL to be so much more than we are. However, we need to acknowledge the truth of how things really are. You cannot change things if you pretend or ignore things around you. First of all, we have to see what is bad, then we can begin to think of how we can make things better. Without acknowledging the problem, how can we find a solution? To make Nigeria a better place, we must all be willing to do something, no matter how small. We have to start somewhere. Small goals that are possible. I think every single person has a role to play. If all you can do is not throw dirt out of the window, then do that part. If you can encourage others on your bus not to do that, that is also something. You might think it is a small thing but imagine hundreds of people all over Nigeria each telling passengers of a bus not to throw dirt on the road…that’s already a movement!

Could Nigeria development be achieved without women's involvement in leadership?

Never! Right now in Africa, we are the key to saving that continent. I strongly believe that in the next couple of years, more women will take on leadership positions and be successful at it. Forget about Madam Etteh and that other craise woman. That Senator woman. Those ones na mistake. I think men have had their shot, they have shown us what they can do. We thank them very much for their efforts. We might not know the right path yet, but we definitely have identified the WRONG path. They should give us space jare! Let us show them what we can do.

How do you think women can be more involved in Nigeria politics?

By the same word you just used. Getting involved! Unfortunately, it is not as easy as it seems. Most political parties are run by God fathers. I promise you that they already know who the next governor of your state is. That is why; I would like to see a political party formed only for women. Yes, I know, very ambitious. But please, tell me, why should we vote for a man when we can vote for our own? There are about 68 million women in Nigeria! We have a population of about 140 million, so let’s say we make up about 50% of the population. Do you realize how much power we have in our hands? I would love to see a party dedicated for the sole purpose of working towards helping women who believe they have a role to play in the Nigerian society. A party for Women by Women .Recently, I have been following the progress of this political party and I have been greatly inspired by it (Feminist Initiative). Also, the recent dream of Barack Obama has made me even more ambitious with this project. If anybody is interested or thinks this is something they would also like to work towards, please contact me.

What role will you like to play in Nigeria's development?

Hahahahaha! I think I just answered this question in the above question! That is a dream I have. I realize it will take a lot of hard work and years….fucking years….but…YES, WE CAN!

Can Waffarian tell us a few things about her life?

Hahahahahah! My life is dry at the moment. All I do is read, write and sleep…. I am fucking dry. I swear. Nothing exciting lately…my Vjayjay is on a lockdown so no more penis stories. But once things pick up, I‘ll get back to you!

What is bloghsphere to you?

I don’t know anymore….it used to be this safe place where I could write whatever I wanted. This place where my thoughts could flow and I could be myself. I remember when I first started blogging, I was so excited to read people that had the same thoughts like I did…that were going through life and seeing things like I did…it reassured me that I was not the only one having such thoughts. I always believed everybody was like I was. They just wanted a place to write. A place that was all theirs. That was my priority with my blog and still is. I jus wanna write! However internet like any other place that human beings dwell in, is full of shit as well. I still do my blog rounds and even though I do not leave as many comments as I used to, I never fail to visit my favorite blogs and I am always happy to see new blogs. However, it is not as “relaxing” a task as it used to be. Before, I just used to click away and land on any blog. It did not matter to me. I read whatever. I don’t do that anymore. Now I know the specific blogs I wanna read.

Thanks for your time and attention.

E don finish?

Lol. There will be part 2, I hope.

Click here, here, here and here for women/feminists achievements in 2008