Friday, February 29, 2008

Naija - One time cures

Nigerians can be funny, I swear. The other day I came across a container of what looked like dishwashing liquid. Like most Naija things, it had a wide range of applications.
The label proudly advertised that the liquid can be used for cleaning bathroom tiles, kitchen utensils, floors, cars, washing clothes and even for bathing! Imagine having your bath with dishwashing liquid. Anyhow, it's still a bubble bath. Talk of multipurpose soap. When will we stop offering all-in-one solutions?

It reminds me of those "Doctors" you see in buses when travelling. Those guys have drugs thast can cure every ailment on earth. From Typhoid to Syph, Fibroids and even aids, just name it, they have it. Usualy, they claim that all these things can be cured with just one wonder drug in a small brown bottle. And the whole bottle would probably cost about N300 only. Taking such stuff sounds like the surest way to get seriously sick.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

A shout out to Naija bloggers

I got a little scare during the week. My computer got infected with some exotic viruses (when I say exotic, I really mean it). I see viruses all the time, but this wasn't the usual brontok scare. It's crazy what viruses can do, and how powerful some of them are.
Some guy popped his flash drive into my laptop, used it to work, and left the thing still plugged in. It turned out that the flash drive was REALLY infected, and by the time I got back, my computer was like a virus zoo. I've got a good antivirus program (NOD32), and by all standards, it's as good as all the big names. This time though, before I could complete a system scan, the worm disabled the antivirus program and took over the system. Luckily I was able to restore the computer to an earlier date, and everything went back to normal. Funny that this should be happening to me, I felt I was pretty good at the whole computer security thing.

On the blogging scene, I've come across some really interesting Nigerian blogs of late, and they're impressive. It's really amazing how blogging has caught on in this country. There are some blogs of note, like Naija Fine Boy, Linda Ikeji, Catwalq (nice style), Funmi Iyanda's Blog, Calabar Gal, and the craziest of them all; Ubong Da. There are other Nigerian blogs, but then, I just can't list them all. Ubong Da's blog is really interesting, pity the guy just doesn't want to update anymore. Some of these guys are so consistent, they make me feel lazy. I don't know where they get the energy to post almost every day from.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Tribunal nullifies senate president's election

Once in a while this blog tilts a lot towards the political side of things. It can't be helped though, with the kind of changes and upheavals going on in the country right now. Another bombshell was dropped by the judiciary.
The election of the current senate president, Senator David Mark,was nullified by the election tribunal, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was given orders to conduct fresh and credible elections in the two local government areas which are currently under contention, (Agatu and Okpokwu) within 60 days from the day of judgment.
The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) contender, Alhaji Usman Abubakar, challenged the return of Senator David Mark on the grounds that he (Abubakar) had the majority of the votes cast in seven of the nine local governemt areas of the senatorial district, and that the results from the two controversial local governments (Agatu and Okpokwu) were cancelled.
Well, that leaves the senate president in a very uncomfortable situation.
The outcomes of the cases handled by the election tribunals in the country have given the Nigerian judiciary more credibility, and we hope the current trend of upholding justice continues. It is really commendable.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Of militants, soccer and spraying of the Naira: King Sunny Ade vs Charles Soludo

It's been a week again. What on earth is happening to me? I need to improve my blogging attitude.
Val's day came and went, and with it a whole lot of uproar. I spent the entire week in Calabar. Quite a beautiful place I must say. I always enjoy popping in there to rest once in a while. Those guys sure know how to keep their town clean. And the fine girls...well, no wonder Calabar has lots of tourists.

I don't know if it's writer's block or something, but all of a sudden, blogging seems like a very big task. I haven't been able to shake off that feeling, and even when I tried to blog on Saturday, I got depressed by the 4-0 mauling of Arsenal by Man United. The United boys literally took them apart at Old Trafford and it wasn't funny to watch.
I'd better shift from the football talk. My passion for the game keeps threatening to turn this blog into a running football commentary. Anyway, that's the beauty of a blog; the flexibility.

On the National front, there's some noise about one of the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) leaders, Comrade Henry Okah, who was extradited to Nigeria last Thursday. The militant group claims that Henry Okah was beaten up and shackled before being flown out of Angola where he was arrested and detained since September, last year, to an undisclosed location in the northern part of Nigeria. MEND is now threatening that there will be more attacks on high-ranking military personnel in the country. Almost routine stuff.

There's something funny though, I came across an article in the Vanguard, where King Sunny Ade (KSA) claims that the spraying of the Naira is part of Nigerian culture. What bollocks! Nobody can lay claim to a culture of deliberately defacing and mutilating his national currency. Whether it is as a result of spraying in parties or wrong handling, there is no excuse for mutilating money. KSA has called on the CBN and the government to review the new aw, claiming that sprayed money isn't necessarily trampled underfoot. Well, maybe he doesn't trample on his, but I have seen plenty others do just that. And even the idea of pasting Naira notes on a musician's sweaty forehead still makes no sense. If it is wrong, then it is wrong. Simple.

Instead of spraying cash on performers or celebrants during occasions, why don't people package the money in envelopes and present them to the beneficiaries. Simple, isn't it? And it's definitely a better tradition. Sorry, KSA, but the spraying has to stop.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Egypt wins the African Cup of Nations

Yesterday, the 26th Africa Cup of Nations ended and a costly mistake from Cameroonian captain Rigobert Song, cost his team the Nations Cup Trophy. The Pharaohs of Egypt beat the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon by one goal to nil at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Ghana.
The African Cup of Nations finals is always an interesting event, and yesterday's match proved to be no different. It was intense and entertaining.

The Cameroonians played against a technically sound Eqyptian team, who put in all they had for the game. Even though both sides played well, the Egyptians constantly posed a genuine threat to the West Africans.
With a team which was made up of relatively unknown players, the North Africans managed to hold their own during the entire competition, and still went on to win in the finals.

The first half ended goalless with a fine performance from Samuel Eto'o. Cameroonian goal keeper Kameni also had a fine game but in the second half of the game, the players began showing signs of fatigue. All it took was a mistake from Rigobert Song for the Egyptians to score and secure their victory. Song graciously lost possession of the ball to Zidan and Abou Terika Egypt calmly tucked the ball into the net.
Egypt has now won the Nations Cup back-to-back, and this is no easy feat for any team.

On the whole, I would say the Egyptians fully deserved their win, because they played wonderfully and were consistent. They seemed to be all over the field at once, and their speed and skill with the ball was just too good. I feel bad for our fellow West Africans, but then every game must produce a winner and a loser.
I know Rigobert Song must feel bad for being the cause of the loss, but then we all make mistakes once in a while and getting blamed for such a loss isn't a nice way to end your international career.

Here in Nigeria, as far as some people are concerned, the Nations Cup ended when the Super Eagles were ousted by the Black Stars of Ghana, and since then, they have shown little enthusiasm for the later stages of the competition. During the finals, a guy who sat close to me even remarked, albeit jokingly, that Rigobert Song and Geremi Njitap were playing like Nigerians! (so much for national pride).
Vogts and the NFA need to hear such remarks. Maybe it'll finally set them thinking straight.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Blogging blues

I woke up this morning, and it felt just like a Saturday morning. Here I was at my laziest best, and getting on my feet was quite a hard task.
Now of all the tasks I had planned in the back of my mind to accomplish today, blogging definitely wasn't included in the list. There are days when blogging isn't so much fun (ask some of us). Sometimes it feels just great to read someone else's blog for a change and take a break from your own crazy ramblings.
To beat the early morning blog blues, all I did was get a cup of coffee, get on the computer and hop round the Nigerian blogosphere. It turned out to be quite an interesting trip, and I must say, a very rewarding one also. I ran across all sorts of Nigerian blogs, with various articles and flavours. Blogging actually seems to be catching on in this country of ours, and that's a nice development.

Now on to other things. There's not much Naija gist out there right now. There's some talk of the NFA giving Berti Vogts the sack, in the wake of his poor performance. Not that I care anyway, I'm tired of their antics.

Gotta run off now. Will be back to post more stuff later in the day.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Tu Face Idibia robbed again - what has this guy done?

Not much has happened on the Naija scene these few days, apart from the odd bit of news here and there. The only interesting incident is the reported attack made by armed robbers on Tu Face Ididbia, one of Nigeria's hottest musicians.
From what we hear, Tu Face, or 2Baba, was robbed two days ago, at Anthony Village, Lagos, where the robbers made away with his jeep.

This is about the third time that 2Face has been robbed in one year. Quite a sad turn of events for the music star. This is getting too much. Tu Face might end up running away to Ghana or somewhere else in the sub-region. At least the poor guy will have some peace then.

Nigerian robbers, wetin dis guy do una sef? If this is what it means to be a celebrity, then I might reconsider my celeb status.