WHEN WILL ENOUGH BE ENOUGH? By Akpoveta Valentine 'tejiri

When a new species is discovered, the scientific world usually is caught up in a frenzy of excitement, seminars are held, papers are read, dissertations are written, studies are carried out, experiments are made and, often, the discoverer is given the chance to name their discovery. Maybe an award too, plus recognition.

I may not necessarily feel bad if I don't get the awards and recognition for my great discovery- though I won't reject them if offered. But I reserve and will NOT give up my right to name this amazing species I have discovered.

HOMO RESILIENTUS

A round of applause please...

These species are found mostly in the African continent although several have been sighted in every imaginable place you can think of. Trekking through the Sahara, hiding as stowaways in ships, swimming the Atlantic, you name it, they are most likely there. My studies have proven that they are, however, located primarily around geographical coordinates 10 00N, 8 00E and number about eight-score million.

These species are one of the most interesting to ever study especially for a number of reasons.

If you want to find fishes, go to water bodies.

If you want to find kangaroos, go to the Australian forests.

If you want to find polar bears, you go to the Arctic regions.

If you want to find HOMO RESILIENTUS, go to RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS IN AFRICA!

Karl Marx must have had this specie in mind when he said in his famous quote, 'Religion is the opium of the people'.

They conveniently ignore the fact that they are endowed with creative powers and have given brains, and expect some unseen, white-bearded, flowing-robed, benevolent power to do their thinking for them. They pray as if there's no tomorrow and pray again for a better tomorrow. They pray for work and pray in order to avoid work. They pray when they should be acting and pray again when faced with the consequences of their inaction. They are more prayerful than the perpetual praying-mantis. And yet their level of religiousity is not commensurate with overall morality and best practices.

But that's not all.

This species comprise some of the most hopeful creatures I have ever had the singular opportunity of setting my two eyes upon. They hope for the possible and hope for the impossible. They hope for a better future when faced with a pathetic present. They hope for a magical messiah. They hope for divine punishment for enemies- real or perceived (their village old mama inclusive). They hope for everything remotely hopeable and hope never to lose their ability to hope. They have evolved a special place in their cerebral cortex called the Hope Gland which instantly releases juices that enable them escape into the utopia of 'e go better one day' when threatened with imminent challenges. They do not work to get to the better day, no way. They only hope to see that brighter day. Afterall, why work when you can hope?

My studies are yet to ascertain which is greater, their ability to pray or their ability to hope. And when time seems to be inevitably running out? They simply hope for paradise to compensate them for their gross lack on earth. Hope indeed springs eternal.

But by far the greatest attribute of this creature is the origin of their name- RESILIENCE. One definition puts it as "the ability to spring back into shape, to withstand or recover from bending, from stretching, from being compressed, from difficult situations."

Treat them in every harmful way possible and they'd just 'resilient' themselves back. Fifty years of competing with a pendulum, going back and forth without recording significant positive progress and yet they're ever resilient. Bomb some of them- resilient. Rob them blind off their rights- resilient. Deprive them off jobs- resilient. Dupe them in the name of governance-resilient. They are not resilient to a fault. They are resilient beyond a fault, resilient to a million faults.

When one of these species with a visage akin to that red-bottomed baboon said sometime in 2007, something like, "I understand that some people are complaining about the last election, that it was not free and fair and was massively rigged. For all that feel so, you will have another opportunity to vote... in four years' time.' The rest of this species who had heard this remained... You guessed right! RESILIENT.

When you push this specie to the wall, they won't turn and fight. They would break down the wall and keep 'resilienting' away.

For the resilient, enough is never enough until it may be too late.

And just before I rounded up my research, I decided to check my DNA, and nearly fainted in shock! I was one of the HOMO RESILIENTUS!

I end with a simple prayer...

'May God save us from ourselves'

Radical positive change never occurs in countries where courage is in short supply.

In remembrance of Sara Baartman or just simply degrading Black People?

And this is how the Swedish Minister of culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth deemed fit to remember Sara Baartman who was exhibited as freak show attractions in the 19th-century ... Not only is this a further degrading mutilation of Sara Baartman as was done to her during her life and in her death but also an insult to the black people!!!

Accents and the Tragedy of Self-Hate! by Yemisi Ilesanmi

Yemisi Ilesanmi nailed the need to claim authenticity of one's accent in her latest blog post. I found this quite fantastic... Here is an excerpt:

I recently started Video blogging and with it came the barrage of opinionated comments on my looks, appearance and quite interestingly, my accent!

I have never been self conscious about my accent. I started making guest appearances on National TV programs almost two decades ago as a young human rights activist and vocal feminist. I remember the first time I appeared on one of the ‘posh’ Women’s programs which at the time passed as a feminist TV show, I was immediately approached after the show by the popular “polish’ presenter who told me “Yemisi you were really brilliant on the show, only thing is if we could get you to lose the accent”. Well, it happened that the presenter also ran a ‘Finishing school’ for girls ... hmm do not ask me why a “feminist’ TV show presenter had a “Finishing school for girls’’… well, this is Nigeria we are talking about, and feminism , like many assumed “imported” ideology comes with its colonial baggage!

Anyway, she was so impressed with my points but not so impressed with my accent that she offered me a free session in her 'Finishing school' to get rid of my accent. I remember asking her why I would want to be rid of my accent, I wasn’t self conscious about my accent, especially since Nigeria is a diverse country with many local dialects and accent is one of the ways you know where a particular person is from. Well, I was told getting rid of my accent would be great for my profile, I declined her ‘priceless’ offer and insisted that I’d rather keep my accent as it is an integral part of my identity .

I have since gone ahead to speak at many national and international events, sometimes with heads of states and diplomats present. I have made a few speeches at UN meetings, appeared on a live televised round table debate with Tony Blair and some other world leaders, but I never for a minute felt self conscious about my accent, and well, my audience never really complained and in some cases, they seemed to appreciate what I had to say. Shows you should choose your audience well!

In 2009, I attended a student exchange program in Indian; I was the only black student in a group of white students. I noticed that the first thing most, if not all, of the Indian lecturers did was to apologize for their accents! I thought that was unnecessary if not outright pathetic. I mean, I paid some serious money for a Masters degree in a UK university, none of the very white, very accented lecturers ever bothered to apologize to me for their British accents, rather, whenever I ventured to speak in the class (and yes, I couldn’t be kept shut) , I at least, made sure I spoke slowly enough for them to get the gist of my comments but did they ever extend such courtesy to me? Hell no! And I am pretty sure the exchange lecturers in UK did not apologize for their British accents to the exchange Indian students sitting in UK classrooms. So why did the Indian lecturers feel they had to apologise for their local accents to the exchange, mainly white students group? Well, somehow I knew (don't ask me how!) that even though i was a member of that group, they weren't apologising to my black ass for their Indian accents!

In fact, the default setting is, being an English speaking white person means ‘No accent’ and if at all, it is considered a ‘superior’ accent to what is coming out from a brown or black mouth! Of course having only lived in UK for 3 years, I am still trying to identify the myriads of British accents; from the Manchester accents, to the Lancashire, to the Scots, to the… oh forget it! Yet, I am by default, the one who is supposed to apologize for my accent because I am black and from Africa. Nope, we all have our accents and none is superior to the other...

For the complete article visit her blog

My Igbo by Donald Molosi

we may all be created equal

but truth remains that

no one be like you.

it is the essence of a dream sweet and real

that my last would be my first and

your mind would impassion me.

that before you, i had never etched anyone’s name

onto the floor of my heart; that i had never breathed gently...

...that before you no one had ever

had all of me - unbolted my heart and

safely held it in theirs.

no one be like you.

for all that is physical, they may all be created equal.

but you remain the essence of what eludes the body.

simply the essence.

Donald Molosi will be a guest blogger on this blog for a couple of weeks, watch this space for exciting posts!

New Dreams! Breeze,Thoughts and Confidence

Air in my lung
Breeze on my face
Smiles on my cheeks
Thoughts in my head
Confidence in my voice
Great purpose in my walk
I stroll on the boulevard of new dreams
I don't have to walk, smile or think alone

Subsidy, Leadership and Change: Managing Change as a Leader by Atoyebi Oyelere

Ken Blanchard, the author of the popular book “One Minute Manager” while commenting on a book (Who moved my cheese) by Spencer Johnson said “Everyone knows that not all change is good or even necessary. But in a world that is constantly changing, it is to our advantage to learn how to adapt and enjoy something better”. My belief is that the essence of leadership is initiating and managing change.

If I can say it a thousand times more, I would continue to say it the way it has always been said, the menace of underdevelopment in Africa is basically an outgrowth of the bane of incompetency in leadership. As the fight for the removal/continuance of the subsidy of petrol (PMS) enters the fifth day, my reflections have not been about the economic justifications or moral sanity of the whole episode of the drama, the imbroglio and brouhaha generated, but from the angle of a student, I’ve garnered practical lessons in leadership:

1. You don’t introduce change as a leader where you are not trusted. The basis for every credible leadership is trust and before any meaningful journey could be embarked upon, credibility is the first point of reckoning.

2. Wisdom is the diligent combination of the correctness of a decision and the appropriateness of the timing for the implementation of such decision. If I could go mathematical: Wisdom= 80% Appropriate Timing+ 20% Correctness of the decision.

3. A change imposed is a change opposed….an organization can only change when enough people in it change. If you can work on people’s mind long enough, then you can make the necessary impact (change) in their situation after they have seen where they fit in, in the big picture. If people carry the mindset of Egypt into Canaan, they would soon change Canaan into Egypt. Capital development without human (manpower) development is a waste of resources.

4. Leaders don’t just set goals, they set standards…Any leader who demands from others, what he himself has not shown to sacrifice is only seen as a tyrant, no matter the “nobility” of the cause he/she proves to be pursuing. The defining characteristic of a leader is sacrifice….not what you acquire, but that which you give.

5. Leaders have a clear sense of communication. It is when the people see how change can make things better that they get more interested in making the change happen. It is when the desire for the new level is greater than the comfort the status quo offers that change is birthed!

6. Leaders know that defining changes that are very critical to his people are not made drastically. They are gradually introduced over time. Also, major changes are not made in times of instabilities or upheavals. You don’t need a prophet to tell you that such change would be opposed. It is puerile to make major economic decisions in times of political and social hullabaloo, not to talk of precarious security situation. Insecure people would never support change!

7. If someone calls you a donkey, don’t pay any attention to it, but if five people call you a donkey, go buy a saddle. When change is being resisted, it is either you are wrong or they are hurt. I believe leaders who have shaped their world are always in the minority, but they are never detached from the feelings of the majority, except the decision to be made is a personal one.

8. Americans rejected the privatisation of social security despite former President George Bush’s country-wide advocacy for it. Bush latter shelved the policy. Leaders are sufficiently grounded and understand the game well enough to know that just like in a team sport, personal awards and accolades are a CONSEQUENCE rather than an OBJECTIVE. Leaders don’t lose if they give in to the wish of the people “temporarily” to later win in the end; it is just an avenue to show how paramount the interest of the people is to them.

9. Honesty is still the best policy…any leader who applies the principle of double standard WOULD NEVER gain the trust of his people…if there are cabals in any organization that are above the rule, then the revolt by those classified as under the rule is only a function of time. The scale of injustice is never permanently at rest, it is like a pendulum, many at times activated by the wind of change!

As we occupy our dear country till the desired change comes…Please let us learn from what you are learning at this critical period of our nation

FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVER: OCCUPY LONDON 2012

If we have our own working refinery, we wont even be talking of subsidy, if we have working electricity the cost of production will not go up unbearably every time there is an increase in fuel price, if there is economic development with focus on people freedom, employment, social security and human security there wont be unnecessary hardship on the people of Nigeria.Agricultural sector is still neglected remember? The late Obafemi Awolowo must be sad about this. If we even take this argument further, if our 'leaders' can start the sacrifice by cutting their salaries and other benefits and pumping the money saving from this into the country's development, they will be such good heroes. If our 'leaders' have a slight clue on tackling corruption starting from themselves and reforming our security sector, may be we can start listening to their legal, economic or moral justification to remove fuel subsidy. Nuf said!