Nigeria

Google’s 2010 Zeitgeist makes for interesting read.. The summary from Google: In the year of Nigeria’s 50th independence celebration, it was unsurprising that terms like “Nigeria” and “Goodluck Jonathan” ranked highly in the search trends. But the nation’s imagination was certainly captured by social networking, with “2go” topping the fastest rising list, and “Facebook” being the second most popular search by volume. Nigerian musicians “Terry G” and “Dagrin” also attracted significant online interest. ...

I miss the old days. Growing up on a University campus in Nigeria, books were my salvation and the BBC World Service was the information source. We didn’t have decent television (it was an archaic black and white National television set with aerials that never worked), didn’t have the internet, was the weird kid on the block, and generally stuck out like a sore thumb. I got my nose in books, the bulk of which were boring, ponderous, academic reads. ...

And I am learning to say no I let out in the night A bitter or a hopeful voice - Montserrat Abello I’m currently reading “Dance the Guns to Silence” a collection of one hundred poems in memory of Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni 8. So far so good, but the poem I like the most is ‘And I am Learning to Say No’ (from which the above quote comes) by Montserrat Abello - its short, simple, resigned and dare I say quietly defiant - which is how I like poems :). I found, thanks to google, some other works by her here. Perhaps I am drawn to it because in many ways toughening up, learning to say no to people, is one of the major failings I think I have had in my life. ...

This provides some background to this and this (number five) She still wore her hair in a ‘fro… still wore only lip gloss… still wore a yellow shirt and black pants….still followed Liverpool… still had the dimple on her left cheek…. still wrote with her left hand… still kept a big jar of peanut butter in her fridge….still laughed at my inane jokes…still hummed whilst making her mean stew! I could be forgiven for thinking that time had stood still…. and it was the first day again….. only she was more grown up… More alluring.. more woman less girl… ...

A poem I wrote many years ago – when i was still a beardless teenager way back in Nigeria.. Enjoy… Waiting for forever. We had our hopes, we had our dreams, We somehow believed,in words and swords, We somehow believed, that one more coup, That some more troops, Would consign to the past, the pains we felt forever. Somehow we believed, in sugar coated tongues, In “fellow country men”,In “khaki covered men” To wipe away the past, like a bad night’s dream forever.. ...