Everything & Anything

You all probably wonder what happened to me over the holiday period. No, I did not travel to some exotic holiday location (though I visited Hawaii, Rio, Bali, Istanbul two consecutive nights in my dreams). I was without help - one nanny went off before the holiday period, purportedly to return on Boxing day. Well, it's January 6 and I have not seen or heard from her. The other staff went off on the 28th and are due back this evening. I have been cook, nanny, steward, odd-job man, jungle gym and clown for the last 10 days. Oh, I forgot mom and wife. In Nigeria, all women experience this at the yuletide "holiday" period. I am sure that as at this week, most of us are looking forward to nannies returning and children going back to school. And wondering if there is a holiday weekend coming up so we can escape somewhere, ALONE, for a few days. And if there's no holiday, can't we just not show up for work - call in sick - one friday or monday so we can take an extend...

Finally! 2010 is here. For Nigeria, we had a Vision 2010. Whatever happened to that? Oh, It's now Vision 2020. Oh well, at least we are awake to the reality of our "goal-post moving" nation. Remember the series "Space 1999"? How wrong could they have been? The future was supposed to be filled with flying vehicles (the kin accident wey go dey happen no go get part 2 o!), bubble covered cities, inter-galactic travel and inter-stellar conflicts. Well, cars are yet to fly, bubbles are still coming out of kiddie toys and inter-anything travel is still restricted to slogans on the sides of the danfo, coaster and hybrid buses you see on the highways! And, imagine the number of resolutions made in sober and drunk moments at the turn of the year. And, six days into the new year, how many of those resolutions are no longer resolutions but are now "something-I-will-do-next-year-God-willing" items? Or how many of them are even remembered? I don't make resol...

Much as I feel the anger toward the hapless Mr Abdulmutallab - after all, I'm Nigerian and a traveller too - I am wondering why we are all so surprised at America's reaction. They are well known for 'fire-brigade' approaches to terrorist incidents and for blanket punishment for any crime or threat committed or perceived. They have the "punish-the-whole-class-for-one-student's-misdemeanour' approach. The logic is to ensure the whole class police themselves! They have branded us "terrorist prone" NOT terrorists. They KNOW we are not terrorists but they have, for decades, been looking for an excuse to search us more thoroughly and humiliate us without consequences. Now, stupid, poor-little-rich-lonely-misunderstood wannabe suicide bomber boy (who did not have the good manners to die from his burns or something) has given them a great excuse. Unfortunately, America has the right to protect her shores, people and nation and anyone who CHOOSES to go ...