No Coughing, Sneezing or Farting in Aircraft Cabins Please!

Quite an interesting weekend I've had.
I had to travel and I decided to use Aerocontractors, naturally, because they are the only airline in my opinion that gives a minimum of wahala.
So I boarded the outward flight, we got airborne and everything was peachy until this dude sitting behind started to cough. Now this was not just some ordinary cough, this was some TB-grade Sh*t and the guy just kept at it for the better part of 40 minutes without bothering to cover his mouth. if you ask me, I'd say he was intentionally trying to infect everyone with whatever kind of cough he had.
I couldn't ask him to stop coughing so I settled in and tried to ignore him. No way, dude increased the tempo. Haba Oga! Why such 'evils'?
I remember thinking at one point that God will most surely reprimand all the wicked people who fart in pressurized cabins or disburse exotic germs via coughing or prolonged sneezing.

Flight over, fast forward to a couple of days later...I've got a bad cough and a runny nose. Oga see what you did? Hope you're proud of your handwork.

I then got on the return flight (Aero again) and straight away I knew there was a problem. The pressure in the cabin was crazy and it just kept increasing (at least that's how it seemed to me).
At the end of the flight, I had a bad headache, my left ear hurt like hell and I couldn't hear well.

Now the weekend's over and all I've got to show for my adventure is an annoying cough and partial hearing in one ear. Way to go.

Some motivation to take you through the day

Do your best at doing what you do, and accept that the rest is as it is. Hold yourself to the highest standards, while letting go of your need to place judgments on others.

Free yourself from the burdens of anger and resentment. No amount of negativity can change what has already happened.

Tap into life’s immense abundance by gracefully and gratefully accepting what is. Give richness and meaning to that abundance by putting it to good use with focused effort and persistence.

Nothing is achieved by getting uptight about things that don’t really matter anyway. Let it all be, take it all in, and put all your focus and energy into making a positive difference going forward.

Make life good in every moment by allowing life’s goodness to be and to grow. Instead of fighting against what has already come to be, make a point of finding the value in it all, and in making that value grow.

From here, you can go anywhere. Let this moment be, and rise from it into the reality of the very best life you can envision.

— Ralph Marston

The Thirst For Power - Destroying Humanity

The world is a funny place, where people and nations are moved around like chess pieces at the whims of the powerful ones among us, for their own selfish interests.

They might act like they have your best interests at heart, but sometimes what we think is a good cause might be a finely tuned and well orchestrated scam.

Greed is a cancer, and it has eaten so deep into the fabric of society that it has reduced men to the level of beasts who do not value the lives or well-being of others.
All they see are opportunities for acquisitions and power. All they feel is the need to stay in control and crush anything that crosses their paths.
They constantly play people against each other to achieve their aims, and while some of us may realize after a while that we are being used as pawns, others sadly, may never realize that fact.

And so it continues, in a vicious cycle; the battle for supremacy. 

One thing is apparent though, and that is the fact that this world needs love for the human race to survive, a lot of love. May God help us.

Back? Not sure

It's been a while since I paid any attention to this blog. As far as I was concerned, my blogging days were past.
Somehow, it seems that's one decision I haven't been able to stick to.

Once in a while I still get those increasingly rare flashes of inspiration and that urge to pour out what's going on in my mind. Problem is, where do I do that? Paper has never really been my thing, so I guess it's back to my trusty old blog.
I'll try to be consistent, but again, I can't promise much ;)

A government against the people

It's a government of some people, by some people, and definitely against some other people.
I don't see any sense whatsoever in the Federal Government's plan to spend N19 billion on a new Petroleum Training Institute in Kaduna, when the already-existing Institute in Effurun (Delta State) is not really functional.

I think it's unjustifiable, and quite insulting to the people of the Niger Delta.
How do you abandon a petroleum institute in the country's main oil-producing area, and then dole out billions to build a new institute in a place where there is absolutely no hope of even smelling oil?

At the same time, the "Federal" government is calling for peace in the Niger Delta. Calling for militant youths to lay down their arms, and receive amnesty. In essence, calling for the youths to stop protesting and sit back and watch callous actions such as this take place.
The youths might be going about it the wrong way, but it still doesn't change the fact that the Niger-Delta needs to be developed.
From what we have seen so far, Yaradua obviously has no regard for the feelings of the people, nor does he seem to have any plans to develop the troubled Niger-Delta region.

The proposed Petroleum Training Institute in Kaduna will probably be transformed into a Petroleum University, while the one in Effurun will be abandoned.

I don't want to turn this post into a long rant, it's just that I'm too ticked off by the direction that our leaders are taking. You just can't promote peace by flaunting your power in such a fashion.
May God help us, and save us from such people.

A Legend Is Gone - Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)

King of Pop, Michael Jackson died yesterday at UCLA Medical Center after being taken there from his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.

According to his brother Jermaine, "It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known". Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.

His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At the time of his death, MJ was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.

We'll miss him, that's for sure. R.I.P. Michael.

Economic principlez, LOL!

Got this off another blog. Very funny, just had to share it :)

YORUBA ECONOMICS
You have two cows
U kill them both
And then throw an owambe party!

IBO ECONOMICS
You have two cows
U make very good counterfeits of them
And sell for the price of the real cows!

HAUSA ECONOMICS
You have two cows
You rear them till they are four
Make sure ur kids rear cows too
And just maintain!

TRADITIONAL ECONOMICS
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.
You retire on the income.

INDIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You worship them.

PAKISTANI ECONOMICS
You don"t have any cows.
You claim that the Indian cows belong to you.
You ask the US for financial aid,
China for military aid,
British for Warplanes,
Italy for machines,
Germany for technology,
French for submarines,
Switzerland for loans,
Russia for drugs,
Japan for equipment.
You buy the cows with all this and claim exploitation
by the world.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk
of four cows.
You profess surprise when the cow drops dead.
You put the blame on some nation with cows &
naturally
that nation will be a danger to mankind.
You wage a war to save the world and grab the cows.

FRENCH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so that they live for 100 years,
eat once a month and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
They are both mad cows!

ITALIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You don"t know where they are.
You break for lunch.

SWISS ECONOMICS
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You redesign them so that they are one-tenth the
size of an ordinary cow and
produce twenty times the milk.
You then create cute cartoon cow images called
Cowkimon and market them worldwide.

RUSSIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 17 cows.
You give up counting and open another bottle of vodka.

CHINESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment, high bovine productivity
and arrest anyone reporting the actual
numbers.

NIGERIAN ECONOMICS:
You have two cows
You eat one and claim it was stolen
Call in the Police to investigate
Police arrests everyone living within 100km
Torture them thoroughly until someone admitted to kidnapping the cow
The police then collect one cow each from everybody arrested
You have your cow back and the Police force now owns a
cattle farm!

Nigerian bus driver kills four Barca supporters

You be Barca "fans"? Me I be Man-U "fans" o! Ha, after wetin una do us, just pray make I no catch u for "bending corner" when nepa take light - I go do you strong ting!

Okay, the next time my team loses a match, I'm really gonna get pissed and do something. I'll probably jump into my bulldozer, crank it up and drive straight into the nearest PDP secretariat. Yeah, I know they're not a rival club, but right now they seem to symbolize everything that's wrong with Nigeria to an extent.

Anyways, PDP aside, we're in the news again. And for all the wrong reasons.

A bus driver in Rivers State (a Man United supporter) decided to vent his frustration on some innocent people. Apparently ticked off by his team's loss of the Champions League title to Barca, the guy drove past a group of jubilating Barca supporters, made a u-turn and then plowed into them, killing four and injuring more than 10 people.

Seriously, this is getting annoying. Our football fever is rapidly turning into a case of cerebral malaria! Lots of people are taking their love for the game too far.

First, the Arsenal fan who hung himself when they got knocked out, and now, this crazy danfo guy who obviously seems to have lost the plot. All those innocent people died just because some unstable punk decided he was in love with Manchester United (which he doesn't know the first thing about, and probably can't spell anyway!).

Your team loses once, and you kill four people? Thank God he isn't an Arsenal supporter - he would have become a serial killer!

It's scary, and also sad at the same time. Someone please tell those soccer fans out there, it's not a do-or-die affair. I enjoy being alive, and I'd like to remain that way. I think I'll just have to resort to watching football at home, even if it gets boring. At least I won't have to worry about domestic violence (everyone in my house supports the same club - and no, I won't mention it here :) ).

You don't become a fan because it seems fashionable to be one - you become a fan because you love the club, or for some other genuine reasons.

Anyway, that's one more splat for Dora Akunyili to clean off Nigeria's already battered image. That's one hell of a job she's got there.

The Prodigal Blogger Is Back

Hey there. It's been almost a year with no updates, and to say the truth, I'm a bit ashamed (one full year, for crissakes, what was I thinking?).

I'm still wondering what went wrong. I mean I couldn't even get myself to put up a single post. A personal blogging recession, that's what it was, but thankfully, my blogging abilities have been restored :).

Anyways, I'm back. Vive la NaijaRuns!

Back again

Sorry people, I've been off the blogosphere for so long. Every time I try to blog, I somehow find a way to dodge the task. Maybe it's because work leaves me fatigued at the end of the day. Right now, I'm sitting hunched over my computer, and it's 1 o'clock in the morning. The things bloggers do. I'm trying to get my lazy fingers to cpmlete this post. Don't blame me if I spell everything backward.
A whole lot has happened in the short while that I've been away, with various people around me trying to outdo themselves with attention-grabbing and sometimes downright outrageous acts.

I don't even want to say anything about the state of affairs in the country right now, before I start to sound like one of those political journalists or whatever they are called. I heard Baba Iyabo was told to come and explain how he spent the Power Sector money, and he became "sick". Atiku Abubakar, on his own part, suddenly could not find a flight from Dubai to Nigeria in time for the hearing, and asked for another opportunity to make his case. Good for them.

I have some scintillating news though. A 22 year-old Nigerian was sentenced to 18 months in prison for hacking into a NASA employee's computer. I'll write more about that later in the day. Right now I'm too groggy to type any more.

Before I go, here's a nice pic to make your day. Pictures like this remind me of just how unique Naija is. The slippers are obviously owned by a very careful individual. Talk of maximum security, lol.

Contractor Overpaid By N224 Million - Some things just don't make sense!

I've stopped trying to figure this country out. Seriously, it's a total waste of time. In a country with such vast resources as ours, it's a shameful thing to say that the missing Wings Aviation plane has still not been found.
Even more embarrassing is the talk about Fulani herdsmen being hired to look out for the plane's wreckage. There's even some whispers about herbalists or seers being asked to pinpoint the location of the aircraft. It's Crazy. NEMA should also employ squirrels and other animals to unite and find the missing plane, if that's the extent of their foolishness.
Such sorry situations just expose our inadequacies, and make us seem very incompetent. There's been a flurry of probes, allegations and counter-allegations going on in the power sector, and that on its own is another can of worms.

I read in one of the national dailies that a company handling the 561 megawatt station in Calabar was overpaid N224 million by the National Independent Power Project (NIPP), after collecting the actual contract sum of $151million.

How's that for starters? An extra N224 million.

The 561-megawatt power project is located along Calabar-Itu Road, in Onim Ankong, and was flagged off by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on March 6, 2006 and was to have been completed by November 2007. It still hasn't been completed.

The company in question is Marubeni International, a company that has been involved in the construction of the Kainji dam and other power projects in the country. According to the paper, as at the time of visit by the committee, less than 30 percent of construction work had been done on the project.

The National Independent Power Project (NIPP), in its records, showed that Marubeni had been paid the actual cost of the project and then paid an additional N224 million for reasons that could not be ascertained.

I think I am falling in love with the Yaradua administration - as long as they take steps to correct these mistakes that have been uncovered.

Cancun Punch Fest - Samuel Peter Beats Maskaev to Claim the WBC Heavyweight title

Last week was quite different. We were in the news a lot, and for the right reasons.
Mind you, when I say we, I mean Nigeria (Though I wouldn't mind being in the news a bit). This time, it wasn't about militants or scammers, or election tribunals and the various intrigues that continue to plague this democracy of ours. Rather, it was a different Nigeria that the world was shown. A country with billionaires and heavyweight ...I don't really know how to put that one.
Samuel Peters is much more than a heavyweight boxer. That guy is a punching machine, a bulldozer.
Last week I watched as he pummeled Oleg Maskaev into submission at the Plaza de Toros, Cancun's bullfighting ring and the venue of Mexico's first heavyweight title fight.

Peter stopped the Russian in the sixth round, pummeling him with 12 powerful punches to force a stoppage and claim the WBC heavyweight title.

The fight between Peter and Maskaev had been more than a year in the making, with a back injury to the Russian champion holding up the title clash. Seems Oleg finally got what was coming his way.

The four major heavyweight titles have been the exclusive preserve(there I go with big English again) of Eastern Europeans in recent years, and now an African has joined the ranks.

Aliko Dangote Is The World's Richest Black Man - Worth $3.3 billion

Okay, we're in the news again. Nigeria's own Alhaji Aliko Dangote made the Forbes list of the world's richest people. The Nigerian business mogul has been ranked as the 334th richest person in the world, and Africa's richest man. Dangote is richer than America's chat show host Oprah Winfrey, who has an estimated worth of $2.5 billion.

The only other African to make the list was South Africa's Patrice Motsepe, who is ranked 503 in the world.
The list features 1,125 billionaires, and Dangote's inclusion is a good sign for Nigeria, and indeed, Africa.

On the other hand, Bill Gates fell from first position on the list to third. His friend Warren Buffet is now the world's richest man with $62 billion. The second position is occupied by the mexican communications magnate, Carlos Slim Helu, with a net worth of $60 billion

Some people are of the opinion that Aliko Dangote may be worth more than $3.3 billion, since Forbes' evaluation did not cover non-quoted companies that are privately owned by the businessman. Such investments include Obajana Cement, Dangote Cement, Alheri Engineering, Port Terminal Operations, Transport and Oil & Gas.
Thumbs up for Aliko Dangote.

Beyonce sings the Nigerian Anthem

I was going through some sites the other day and came across this video of beyonce Knowles singing the Nigerian National Anthem.
Sounds quite nice anyway, more like a funky rendition of our otherwise formal anthem.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.