Normal stuffs looking awkward in Nigeria

Credits: Adian Pastol

It's been long I did transactions in the bank. Since the advent of internet banking, ATMs and the likes, 21st century guys hardly go to the bank. lol. I decided to visit three of the banks we have on campus last week and I noticed some changes that are normal but looked awkward to me.

I would not love to tarnish any brand here. I will represent the banks with bank A, bank B and bank C.

As I was about to enter bank A, I was asked to sanitize my hands. I was made to wash my hand with one brown liquid that I do not know the content but smells like bleach. I was then asked to place my hands under an automatic hand sanitizer that also poured some liquid on my palm. After that, my temperature was checked by a security man before entering the bank. All the members of staff at the door outside wore rubber gloves.

At first, I was like: WTF!!! I wasn't gonna spend 5 minutes in the bank and I already spent about 3 minutes outside? It looked awkward. I was feeling somehow with the whole process. As I was out, I thought.... this is what all companies in Nigeria should do to contain the deadly Ebola virus but they are not doing it. No wonder, it looked awkward but it's a normal thing.

I proceeded to bank B. Before I enter, the security man at the door greeted me. As I was inside the security door, it also greeted me. I met a security man when I got in that also greeted me. I got to the cashier to pay in and she also greeted me. As I was done with the transaction, the cashier greeted me. The security man at the door inside the bank and the security door also greeted me. The security man outside greeted me also.

At first, I was like: Won't they get tired of greeting and complimenting all their customers like this? It looked awkward. Later, I thought.... this kind of hospitality should be depicted by all companies in Nigeria. With this, you will be glad to go and transact or do business with them. But since very few does, it looked awkward.

In the case of bank C, they don't seem to care. I entered, transacted and left without getting any greeting, compliment or sanitization. I left and thought.... Yea, that is the true colour of Nigeria. In fact, no customer seem to care or complain about this. It looks normal but it is the awkward.

My coin for business owners: Customers are responsible for all the wealth you have garnered. Take care of them.

My name is Taslim OKUNOLA and I am progressive Nigerian youth.

Think out-of-the-box

"Think out-of-the-box", "Think beyond-the-box" they will always say but I keep wondering where the box is. How would I have supposed to know when and how to think beyond what I don't know? Is the box imaginary? Is it a boundary? Is it in my head? Is it somewhere in the world? I want to know where and what the box is to fathom how to think beyond it.

"The box" as used in the context is an imaginary boundary that encompasses the usual. It involves the norm. Thinking out-of-the-box literally means thinking beyond the usual; breaking from the norm. You know how it is being done; everyone knows how it is being done. People are tired of how it is being done. It takes "thinking out-of-the-box" to show people an unusual way of doing it which will interest them.

How are you planning to unlock your potentials and uncover your talent? You really need to think out-of-the-box in the planning process. Bring forth new and creative ideas that are appealing to the world. Actualize these goals of yours in a unique way. Show the difference in you. Let the world experience the genius in you. The brand new concept you have to offer is the sole thing that can pave way for you in this world of today.

Strive to be unique. Think out-of-the-box

My name is Taslim OKUNOLA and I am a progressive Nigerian youth.

Thanks for reading.

The Time Is Now

Do we want to wait another four years being ruled by old goons?
Do we have to wait another four years having old men and women representing us?
Do we have to wait another four years before we stop wallowing in our vague mentality?
Do we have to wait another four years before we wake up from our slumber?

Nigerian youths have to arise to look into the situation of this country. We are most concerned. We carry most percentage in the population. We understand our problem better. The problems of Nigeria rally round the problems affecting the youths such as unemployment, corruption, poor education, archaic form of governance, inadequate amenities among others. We need to be actively involved in the governance of Nigeria. The time is no other time than now.

The two key political parties of Nigeria have proven to support the notion of the old. The people with archaic ideologies which can not be categorized as experience. When the ideology of a leader is archaic and corrupted, what fruit will the nation bear? We do not need to be told before we realize that everything is wrong with Nigeria. Our economy is backsliding, insecurity of lives and properties is in vogue, development is stagnant (not even crawling), lots of things are happening. Do we want to continue wallowing in this pit of trash for the next four years? The time is no other time than now.

We need to arise to look into the condition of our dear fatherland. Let the youths be actively involved in the major governance of the country. Let’s go to the grassroots and mobilize support our own. Let’s support the youths with our votes and advice. We need to be at the upfront for positive change in the governance. When is the time? The time is no other time than now.

“Because I have nothing doesn't stop me from dreaming to have something. My fellow youths, don't just dream, but dream big. If El Rufai can make it accidentally without dream, you can make it bigger with dream. Don't listen to people who says u can't, and when they tell you your limitation, overcome the objection by telling them ‘YES I CAN’.” - Adetomiwa Adetilewa

Like A Tale At Night - by Beautiful Nubia

Lyrics Talk: I am so happy
So happy I haven’t eaten
In three weeks and a night
In your eyes I see confusion -
I’ve got seven sons
They live in our marbled mansion
Under a bridge at Falomo
I have a wonderful woman
She wears her suffering well
You can see her (if you look well)
At Agege with our last son
Under a multi-colored umbrella
Safe from the sun and the rain
Naked to the world.

I feel so secure
I’ve got friends in high places
Some are in heaven; others in hell
They died just as they lived
Despised and lonely
What more can a man ask for
Than a chance to have his body claimed
By the Task Force on Pollution
And be given a state burial?

We don’t whisper here
We sigh, we gasp, we moan
We cry, we shout, we groan
No, we don’t whisper here.
We don’t linger here
We run, we jump, we drill
We kick, we grapple, we kill
No, we don’t linger here
We don’t gather here
We crouch, we huddle, we bend
You’re hot, you’re cold, you’re dead
No, we don’t gather here
Who needs people, anyway?
Alone, I came to the world
Alone, I will leave.

I am so rich
So rich I feel like them
Our men in high places
Maggot-meal in flowing agbada
Why should I not be happy?
I’ve got seven sons
At Falomo, under bridge
I’ve got a wonderful wife
At Agege, under an umbrella
And now I’ve found me a new one
She’s only eighteen but she’s seen the world
What more can a man ask for?
Some coins, some rags, a bridge
To have his rotten body claimed
By the Task Force on Pollution
And be given a state burial
What more can a man ask for?
What more?

(First performed with guitar accompaniment in March 1999 at “ANA House”, Lagos.)

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The "Ebola and Salt Water" saga: a need for sensitization

A salt branded "Anti-Ebola"

It is no news that Nigerians woke up today in fear of the Ebola virus. People were called by friends while some got broadcast messages on social apps to use salt and warm water to bath this morning.

URGENT! URGENT!! EBOLA...PRECAUTION.
Salaam. I recieved a very urgent call @ ard 4 am that i should prepare hot water then mixed with salt. You can allow it to be warm...that will fit well for your body and then take a bath with it. The bearer said it is to prevent ‪#‎Ebola‬.... Please do it now and share! May it not be our portion o. Amin!

A comic pic about Ebola and Salt water

I didn't believe this alert at all. I searched Google about the relationship between Ebola and salt water, I didn't get any convincing answer. I went ahead to bath with cold water and went for my lectures. What baffles me most is that most of my friends fell for the broadcast without even researching about it. It is true that the disease is deadly and scary but is the information deadly and scary too? Why won't we research about an information before sending it out.

A group chat revealing how somehow believed it

I could remember while I attended the first even Google students training in my school, we were taught about "Online Reputation". The kind of information you post on your social media is part of what constitute your online reputation. Since then, I don't just rebroadcast anything. Why will I use my name to post something I'm not sure of? There is a need for sensitization

What I got this afternoon

A lady posted a confession on Nairaland:

I Started The Saltwater Ebola Cure Rumor I Truely Am Sorry by DRealGeesam1(f): 7:51am
My confession and apology

Dear nairalanders and everyone who have heard of the ebola Prevention "News", My name is Adesewa, I am coming out clean because what started has a joke has escalated into the unprecedented.
How it started
Yesterday i was with friend in her hostel, we were talking about this Ebola out break, when one of my friends, Funke (she introduced me to nairaland) brought the idea of Us playing a prank on our friends. The first suggestion was to tell people that aloe very could cure Ebola, but we thought it would sound too ridiculous so we forgot about it.

Later that even an idea came to me (i now regret that i did it).
I decided to send a BBM broadcast message to my friends, telling them that the Ministry of Health has asked everyone to bathe with salt and warm water and drink some of it.
I sent the message 7:08pm yesterday

Later this midnight i started getting calls and messages that i should drink salt water and bath with it.

All efforts to tell people that i was the one who started the joke failed. Only my friends who i mentioned earlier believed me. Even my mum could me this morning, i did not know what to tell her.

I am using this medium to beg you all to warn and tell everyone, before they drink salt and damage their health.

Please dont be hash on me. I know this has gone out of hand. I never knew it will be this serious. Some have even added to the original message i sent.

Check it out here

A call for proper mass sensitization

When I send the broadcast above out to my friends with the link, I thought to myself: "99.99% of them will believe it without visiting the link to confirm if it's true." That was just the same way they believed the first broadcast without researching about it.

I want to use this medium to task the Federal Ministry of Information and the Federal Ministry of Health. They should in turn task and monitor all the states' Ministries of Information and Health to work hand in hand with the local governments and wards to conduct proper and mass sensitization for everyone.

The sensitization should be in two folds:

1. Full details about the Ebola Virus and its disease; how it can be prevented and what to do to contain it.
2. How information should be treated before believing and sending it our to family and friends

I believe the Nigeria community needs great sensitization about these two things. This will ensure that this kind of rumour does not spread.

Information is power; it can transform and deform. Say NO to misinformation and embrace proper information dissemination.

My name is Taslim OKUNOLA and I am a progressive Nigerian youth.

#ThinkingAloud: The world should be in peace

Photo Credits: Wallpaper4Me

Yeah! I got the right photo for this article. Aren't we humans? Then, why can't we all live in peace and harmony?

I am wondering why there is war everywhere. I keep imagining that the way things are going, it might get to a point we will not be able to travel to any country apart from our own. It may even get to the stage that we will not be able to travel out of our town. There is enough war inside and outside the country. What is the matter?

Decades ago, John, a devoted Christian from the West and Jamal, a devoted Muslim from the East are best friends. They are always found with each other like a snail and its shell except they are in their places of worship. They found no difference. They always thought religion and tribe can never separate them.

Decades past and they were together. Not until recent times when some churches and masjids are preaching tyranny. They started reasoning with their clerics. Alas, they found the differences. John would think, "He never liked me, I thought he did but he never did. How would he like me when we are of different tribe and religion. I am from the West and I am a Christian!" Jamal also would think, " He never liked me, I thought he did but he never did. How would he like me when we are of different tribe and religion. I am from the East and I am a Muslim!"

Sweet friendship that was decades old started cracking. For the very first time, they exchanged words at their place of work. The tyranny has just begun. They couldn't reach a consensus on any matter again like they used to do. They started antagonizing one another. Are they becoming enemies? They were more than friends but the tides of religion and tribe have succeeded in washing away the friendship. They cannot understand themselves the same way they did decades ago.

Why has this happened to them? We live in a world of principles. These people you are following (Pastors and Imams) have their own principles. Some of them tend to be obsessed with these principles of theirs that they start preaching them to their followers. From there, an average follower listen, digest and start following the leader's principles even when they transgress their God's command. It only take an exceptional follower to think otherwise. These principles infused into the followers are the engines of differences in our society.

My advice to the people of the world: Listen to your clerics in your various places of worship BUT think of peace. Whenever they are preaching peace, think of peace. Whenever they are preaching violence, think of peace. When war is in the land, think of peace. When everywhere is peaceful, think of peace. It is only in peace that we can achieve our aim and goal in life. Let all of us always in all ways think of peace!

These are my thoughts. Yours might be different. I would love to hear from you through the comment box. #ThinkingAloud

PEACE is all I want! PEACE is what the world need!! Let's embrace PEACE!!!

P.S: This is my birthday month. August 29 is the day. Expecting birthday wishes from all the great readers of this blog; you can send gifts too ;-) ..Gracias!

Reminisce: The Biography of Nelson Mandela

Rolihlahla Mandela

Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in the village of Mvezo, Transkei, on 18 July 1918. His mother was Nonqaphi Nosekeni and his father was Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, principal counsellor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo. In 1930, when he was 12 years old, his father died and the young Rolihlahla became a ward of Jongintaba at the Great Place in Mqhekezweni.*

Hearing the elders’ stories of his ancestors’ valour during the wars of resistance, he dreamed also of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people.

He attended primary school in Qunu where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the name Nelson, in accordance with the custom to give all school children “Christian” names.

He completed his Junior Certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and went on to Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school of some repute, where he matriculated.

Nelson Mandela began his studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree there as he was expelled for joining in a student protest.

He completed his BA through the University of South Africa and went back to Fort Hare for his graduation in 1943.

On his return to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni the King was furious and said if he didn’t return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin Justice. They ran away to Johannesburg instead, arriving there in 1941. There he worked as a mine security officer and after meeting Walter Sisulu, an estate agent, he was introduced to Lazer Sidelsky. He then did his articles through a firm of attorneys, Witkin Eidelman and Sidelsky.

Meanwhile he began studying for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. By his own admission he was a poor student and left the university in 1952 without graduating. He only started studying again through the University of London after his imprisonment in 1962 but also did not complete that degree.

In 1989, while in the last months of his imprisonment, he obtained an LLB through the University of South Africa. He graduated in absentia at a ceremony in Cape Town.

Nelson Mandela, while increasingly politically involved from 1942, only joined the African National Congress in 1944 when he helped to form the ANC Youth League.

In 1944 he married Walter Sisulu’s cousin Evelyn Mase, a nurse. They had two sons, Madiba Thembekile "Thembi" and Makgatho and two daughters both called Makaziwe, the first of whom died in infancy. He and his wife divorced in 1958.

Nelson Mandela rose through the ranks of the ANCYL and through its efforts, the ANC adopted a more radical mass-based policy, the Programme of Action in 1949.

In 1952 he was chosen at the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign with Maulvi Cachalia as his deputy. This campaign of civil disobedience against six unjust laws was a joint programme between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. He and 19 others were charged under the Suppression of Communism Act for their part in the campaign and sentenced to nine months hard labour, suspended for two years.

A two-year diploma in law on top of his BA allowed Nelson Mandela to practice law, and in August 1952 he and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.

At the end of 1952 he was banned for the first time. As a restricted person he was only permitted to watch in secret as the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955.

Nelson Mandela was arrested in a countrywide police swoop on 5 December 1955, which led to the 1956 Treason Trial. Men and women of all races found themselves in the dock in the marathon trial that only ended when the last 28 accused, including Mandela were acquitted on 29 March 1961.

On 21 March 1960 police killed 69 unarmed people in a protest in Sharpeville against the pass laws.This led to the country’s first state of emergency and the banning of the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress on 8 April. Nelson Mandela and his colleagues in the Treason Trial were among thousands detained during the state of emergency.

During the trial on 14 June 1958 Nelson Mandela married a social worker, Winnie Madikizela. They had two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa. The couple divorced in 1996.

Days before the end of the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela travelled to Pietermaritzburg to speak at the All-in Africa Conference, which resolved that he should write to Prime Minister Verwoerd requesting a non-racial national convention, and to warn that should he not agree there would be a national strike against South Africa becoming a republic. As soon as he and his colleagues were acquitted in the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela went underground and began planning a national strike for 29, 30 and 31 March. In the face of massive mobilisation of state security the strike was called off early. In June 1961 he was asked to lead the armed struggle and helped to establish Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation) which launched on 16 December 1961 with a series of explosions.

On 11 January 1962, using the adopted name David Motsamayi, Nelson Mandela secretly left South Africa. He travelled around Africa and visited England to gain support for the armed struggle. He received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia and returned to South Africa in July 1962. He was arrested in a police roadblock outside Howick on 5 August while returning from KwaZulu-Natal where he had briefed ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli about his trip.

He was charged with leaving the country illegally and inciting workers to strike. He was convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment which he began serving in the Pretoria Local Prison. On 27 May 1963 he was transferred to Robben Island and returned to Pretoria on 12 June. Within a month police raided Liliesleaf, a secret hide-out in Rivonia used by ANC and Communist Party activists, and several of his comrades were arrested.

On 9 October 1963 Nelson Mandela joined ten others on trial for sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial. While facing the death penalty his words to the court at the end of his famous ‘Speech from the Dock’ on 20 April 1964 became immortalised:

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

On 11 June 1964 Nelson Mandela and seven other accused: Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni were convicted and the next day were sentenced to life imprisonment. Denis Goldberg was sent to Pretoria Prison because he was white, while the others went to Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela’s mother died in 1968 and his eldest son Thembi in 1969. He was not allowed to attend their funerals.

On 31 March 1982 Nelson Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town with Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni. Kathrada joined them in October. When he returned to the prison in November 1985 after prostate surgery Nelson Mandela was held alone. Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee visited him in hospital. Later Nelson Mandela initiated talks about an ultimate meeting between the apartheid government and the ANC.

On 12 August 1988 he was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After more than three months in two hospitals he was transferred on 7 December 1988 to a house at Victor Verster Prison near Paarl where he spent his last 14 months of imprisonment. He was released from its gates on Sunday 11 February 1990, nine days after the unbanning of the ANC and the PAC and nearly four months after the release of his remaining Rivonia comrades. Throughout his imprisonment he had rejected at least three conditional offers of release.

Nelson Mandela immersed himself in official talks to end white minority rule and in 1991 was elected ANC President to replace his ailing friend Oliver Tambo. In 1993 he and President FW de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize and on 27 April 1994 he voted for the first time in his life.

On 10 May 1994 he was inaugurated South Africa’s first democratically elected President. On his 80th birthday in 1998 he married Graça Machel, his third wife.

True to his promise Nelson Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term as President. He continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund he set up in 1995 and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

In April 2007 his grandson Mandla Mandela was installed as head of the Mvezo Traditional Council at a ceremony at the Mvezo Great Place.

Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life is an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived; and to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.

He died at his home in Johannesburg on 5 December 2013.

*Nelson Mandela's father died in 1930 when Mandela was 12 and his mother died in 1968 when he was in prison. While the autobiography Long Walk to Freedom places Madiba’s father’s death in 1927, historical evidence shows it must have been later, most likely 1930. In fact, the original Long Walk to Freedom manuscript (written on Robben Island) states the year as 1930.

***Source: Nelson Mandela Foundation's website

P.S: This is my birthday month. August 29 is the day. Expecting birthday wishes from all the great readers of this blog; you can send gifts too ;-) ..Gracias!