Interview Thursday. Insight into Afrobabe's thinking

She is SMART, she is Liberal, She is a sexologist (lol) and she is down to Earth. Articulate AFROBABE is sharing with us this Thursday. Standing ovation everyone!

Your blog shows a lot of sex images but you do write about different issues. What I will like to know is if your blog is a SEX blog? If it's not, what exactly does Afrobabe intend her blog to be?

Hmmm tough one, I don't know if I can honestly answer this question because Afrobabe herself doesn't know.

I started the blog at a time when I was in between relationships and trying to get back into the dating stream. It was initially titled "The story of an African girl in search of love" and featured the men I went on dates with. Well, that didn't bode too well as a guy I seriously liked found the blog and stopped seeing me because he didn't want to be a story. He felt my story would be one sided and people wouldn't know what motivated any actions I wrote about…That hurt a lot because I actually liked him and I changed it to "The story of an African girl" and just talked about anything humorous. Funny enough he sent me an email recently after about a year of silence saying he was beginning to see blogging in a different light… No, I didn't reply him, couldn't give him the opportunity to hurt me that much again...

The pictures, I just like naughty pictures and felt my blog was a way to always have them where I could see them rather than search through them in my inbox and to my great surprise I found out I wasn't the only one with strange tastes out there… Loads of freaky people!!!

Did I answer the question??? Don't think so…errrmmm NO, I wouldn't say my blog is a sex blog. That said, I do seem to mention sex a lot. Maybe we can call it a shagged up blog!!!

How do you get all the erotic pictures for your blog? Are they made specially for Afrobabe?

LMAO….No, the pictures are not made specially for me. I initially got them from emails that friends forwarded then when I started the blog I would search for them online and now I have about a million unused ones sent to me by people who read my blog.

From the comments have seen you posted on other people's blogs, you sound to me like a liberal and pratical person. Am I right? Who is Afrobabe?

Afrobabe at a glance is a casual smart person, the type you meet on braids and jeans and teeshirt or on corporate attire. Meeting me you would never guess I was Afrobabe….I am liberal minded, If you want to be a single mother it's all good to me, if you want to be gay it's a way of life. I believe people have the right to be who they want to be.

Practical and impulsive is what I would describe myself as. I don't sit around debating how good an idea is before doing something…Most often I do it then realise its not a good idea but at least I tried….

Can you let us into your future ambition and what you do at the moment?

At the moment I am a Business risk analyst and up to about a month ago I was the head of risk in the firm I worked with, went on an unplanned vacation and met a termination letter for breach of contract on my return…lol…At first I was confused but then confused doesn't pay the bills so I quickly started learning how to trade on forex, (Foreign exchange market) I have now doubled my initial capital in the space of 2 weeks. My future ambition is to sit back and travel the world while my money works for me. Hopefully forex is the way forward.

It was a general belief that Nigerians are the worst criminals in the word, what's your take? How can you describe Nigerian both home and in the diaspora?

Working in business risk has brought that fact home. My job involved dealing with money in and money out of accounts, I would check the source the money came from and where it was being withdrawn to. I.e. why is Mr Smith depositing his account with a credit card in Miss Jane's name and then trying to withdraw it immediately through a cheque. I would freeze the account and demand ID for both Mr Smith and Miss Jane before any other movement. Trust me, 50% of the fraud we were able to stop was perpetuated by Nigerians 30% by women with Nigerian boyfriends or husbands. It got so bad that I unconsciously flagged any account that had a Nigerian name on it. This included email address with names such as femo@something.com

My take on it is that we the innocent are paying for that view big time.

How do you see Nigeria as a country and its people?
Nigeria to me is and will always be home, I am still looking for the foreign man I intend to marry and take back home with me. Hope it works…Nigeria is a place where there is nothing like fake documents, all documents are legit. Nigeria in my mind is the bar beach, suya, Gordon spark, elegant native dresses, men who respect women, men with a vision and focus, A place where the community raises the children, it is sweet sensation and Mr Bigs. A place where one cannot be lonely and the people are nosy…in a good way, well until they tell your parents they saw you kissing some guy!!!

Nigeria is a lovely place ruled by a bunch of jackasses. The people are friendly and happy despite all obstacles placed in their way.

Women have being stereotyped in so many negative ways? Do you think these stereotypes are justified?

I believe we have brought this on our selves…me inclusive. You wouldn't exactly blame anyone for calling me a sex addict after reading my blog would you? On one hand I am saying take me serious and on the other hand all my blog seems to pass across is sex! Maybe we should try more to be who we are and show our convictions as forcefully as possible, as women of virtue. That is the one great thing I admire in Jaycee and Uzezi

Hmmm, I will sure not find it funny if you were called a sex addict because of your blog. That will be so judgemental. I don't believe women brought this stereotypes on themselves. This will be a discussion for another day

Gender discriminations have affected a lot of women from being the best they can be, how can we avert this situation?

I think we women have a big role to play in this. When we stop seeing ourselves as a weaker sex then and only then can we stand up and take our rightful places in the society. Let no one tell you that you can't buy that particular car or work as an engineer or some other silly thing just because you are a woman. I once saw a woman mechanic being interviewed on Newsline back in the days in Lagos and I remembered the immense pride I felt. I remember my dad laughing at her and me thinking…but she is very courageous to do what she actually loves doing.

I know her story Sandra Aguebor. She has trained a lot of lady-mechanics. MTN sponsored her at some point to train more women.

Can you name 5 female bloggers you admire and why?

This is a hard one as there are so many female bloggers that I absolutely love to death but I'll try.

1. Guerreiranigeriana and Parakeet :Their writings make you wonder at things we have come to take as the norm, they make you think, make you wish you could do something about a certain situation. I call them thinking bloggers.

2. Solomonsydelle: Any woman who can manage three active children and still worry about the state of the nation demands admiration.

3.Vera Ezimora and Shubby Doo:For the sheer fact that even though they try to cover how smart they are by writing about everyday humour they still manage to make you wish you had written that or at least though about it!

4. Badderchic, Shonavixen and Ibiluv: Because they have the courage to be bad without caring about being stereotyped.

5. Fantasyqueen, NigerianDramaQueen, Smaragd and bumight:They make me wish I was a girl and could start all over again.

Na 5 be that abi?

No, this is called 5 in 10 (lol)

Where in heaven's name do I put all the great women I have met here???

Standtall only asked for 5 na? Sorry o

What can we look forward to in blogsphere as far as Afrobabe is concerned?

Afrobabe will try her best to remain herself, I will continue to blog according to my mood. Who knows, I might one day start talking about the state of the economy and the way forward and I may one day know who they are talking about when they mention Ribadu or know the states and capitals of Nigeria, I might even become an activist like you and start doing good deeds!!!

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