So I have managed to survive one of the 'emptiest' long weekends in Lagos. Thankfully there were one or two interesting things to do, and one or two interesting people to do them with. Like The broadway performance of Fela...
Fela was a great show, it was evident that the producers and organisers had taken the time to dot their i's and cross their t's, no stones were left unturned, there was no room for technical glitches. In terms of planning the show was 'excellent', save but the African timing (cant have it all, can ya). In terms of the actual show: the music was on point, the acting was ok (accents left a lot to be desired, but it was a musical so this was not a big issue), the dancers, no comment, if you saw it, you know. It was well executed, and those who saw it in New York, London, elsewhere could attest that it was to the same standard here.
(Devils advocate D), I can't help but think that if the show was organised, planned, directed, and performed by NIGERIANS it would have been a total flop. NEPA would've taken light, they will still be arranging chairs at 9pm for a show planned for 7, people wont have attended, the acting would've been forced, the "who's who" would have strolled across the front of the stage at leisure. It would've been shoddy. this is not meant in any way to knock Nigerians, the truth is we are capable of producing a show to the same standards, but as a people we have not yet imbibed "The Spirit of Excellence". And unfortunately the average Nigerian doesn't care for it, as long as it is done sha, the quality is of very little importance.
"Not to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse". Nigerians are a well traveled bunch of people, we see things beautifully executed around the world, we have people come and execute things perfectly here, despite our infrastructural challenges. We import well produced products, external manufacturers come here and produce their products with the same excellence, we arrive at organised airports worldwide, we dine in clean restaurants, we travel using timely metro systems, we watch well produced films, we go to fully furnished hospitals, send our kids to schools where the teachers can pass the tests they administer, etc etc. Nigerians know excellence, we just don't wish to implement the same here. I refuse to accept that we don't know how, I believe we don't find excellence something that is to be desired, we are content to accept that the job is done, even if it isn't done well.
Excellence is an attitude, it is knowing that there is pride in what you do, however small, it is seeking to do whatever task you are assigned to the best of your ability. Even if you clean the loos in your local government, or you are the MD of a bank, Excellence is doing your job as though everything depends on it, it is holding yourself responsible for a spill by the loo bowl, or for the profitability of your organisation. The great thing about excellence is that EVERYBODY can be excellent, it's just a choice, an attitude.
I have seen excellence in Nigeria, the logistical phenomenon that is "The Experience" shows that we can achieve excellence in Nigeria and by Nigerians. We just have to want it, teach it, and live by it.
Xoxo.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Easy Way Out
I really haven’t blogged in a very long time. I apologize. I am an overly cerebral person. Well that sounds a little obnoxious, what I mean is, I think a lot. But I really needed the liberty of not thinking for a little bit.
Making a conscious effort not to over think everything brought me to the realisation that in life we really make a big deal about everything, we turn the smallest things into larger than life issues, read too much into things, use 30 words in the place of the necessary five. The yorubas say “Address po ju ile lo” … i.e. The address of the house is far bigger than the house itself. We clothe simplicity in pageant, because somehow we have been trained to think that traffic will make the parade look bigger, and somehow that is far easier than facing the reality that it isn’t.
“I didn’t have the time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead” Blaise Pascal.
As Blaise Pascal implied, it is far easier to write a long letter than to write a short one, its far easier to dress reality in beautiful aesthetically pleasing distractions than it is to deal with that reality, its far easier to turn to a vice than to process an emotion. It’s far easier to take the easy way out as long as we make it look grand.
A friend sent out quite an interesting article earlier, It was about how your twenty-something’s are the years where you are meant to find yourself, experience everything you need till you get to the place you are meant to be, step out of your comfort zone, and how the most life shaping decision is “walking away from good-enough, in search of can’t-live-without”. It’s very easy to stick to the good-enough especially in Nigeria, than to step out into the unknown. To stay in an unfulfilling relationship because you don’t see any better options, to stay in a job that you hate and that doesn’t call on any of your skills because what you really want o to do won’t pay you as much, its easier to keep unhealthy friendships because you don’t want to attend events alone, all the while wrapping your discontent in vocabulary, fake smiles, and outlandish vices. But your happiness and fulfilment is in the unknown, however daunting that may seem.
Remain in search of your “can’t-live-without” and never settle for the “good-enough”, because easy as “good-enough” is, it will never be fulfilling, however much you rationalise it, make it look pretty, decorate it with the most complex of words.
Xoxo.
Making a conscious effort not to over think everything brought me to the realisation that in life we really make a big deal about everything, we turn the smallest things into larger than life issues, read too much into things, use 30 words in the place of the necessary five. The yorubas say “Address po ju ile lo” … i.e. The address of the house is far bigger than the house itself. We clothe simplicity in pageant, because somehow we have been trained to think that traffic will make the parade look bigger, and somehow that is far easier than facing the reality that it isn’t.
“I didn’t have the time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead” Blaise Pascal.
As Blaise Pascal implied, it is far easier to write a long letter than to write a short one, its far easier to dress reality in beautiful aesthetically pleasing distractions than it is to deal with that reality, its far easier to turn to a vice than to process an emotion. It’s far easier to take the easy way out as long as we make it look grand.
A friend sent out quite an interesting article earlier, It was about how your twenty-something’s are the years where you are meant to find yourself, experience everything you need till you get to the place you are meant to be, step out of your comfort zone, and how the most life shaping decision is “walking away from good-enough, in search of can’t-live-without”. It’s very easy to stick to the good-enough especially in Nigeria, than to step out into the unknown. To stay in an unfulfilling relationship because you don’t see any better options, to stay in a job that you hate and that doesn’t call on any of your skills because what you really want o to do won’t pay you as much, its easier to keep unhealthy friendships because you don’t want to attend events alone, all the while wrapping your discontent in vocabulary, fake smiles, and outlandish vices. But your happiness and fulfilment is in the unknown, however daunting that may seem.
Remain in search of your “can’t-live-without” and never settle for the “good-enough”, because easy as “good-enough” is, it will never be fulfilling, however much you rationalise it, make it look pretty, decorate it with the most complex of words.
Xoxo.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Nigeria Has Picked Its Poison
By now every "voting" Nigerian would have picked his poison.
*Enough Said*
Xoxo.
*Enough Said*
Xoxo.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Once Upon A Dream
Sleeping beauty is by far my all time favourite cartoon; actually it’s my favourite film or thing to watch, closely followed by love actually, and Shakespeare in love. I can watch Sleeping Beauty over and over and over again, but unfortunately I don’t own it anymore. Disney has this thing where they discontinue all their classics for 7 years and then release them again for a year, every 7th year I seem to miss it. (Another Easter present suggestion – I will be indebted to you forever).
The story is simple; Princess Aurora was cursed by the wicked fairy – on her 16th birthday she will prick her finger (“chuck” her finger if you like) on a spinning wheel and die, one of the good fairy’s then reverses it and says she will fall into a deep sleep until she is awaken by true loves kiss. Nevertheless Aurora is sent to live in the woods with her 3 fairy god mothers till she is 16 so as to protect her from falling prey to the evil fairy’s curse. Dancing in the woods one day she meets prince charming, the person she has dreamed about forever, and immediately falls in love with him:
“I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream,
I know you
The gleam in your eye is so familiar a gleam,
Yes, I know it’s true
That visions are seldom what they seem,
But I know you; I know what you’ll do,
You’ll love me at once
The way you did ONCE UPON A DREAM”
Yada yada yada, she pricks her finger falls into a deep sleep, prince charming eventually finds her, and gives her true loves kiss, they have a grand wedding and THE END, we hear nothing about the marriage.
This film must be the bible’s equivalent to a lot of Nigerian women. Everybody sha wants to marry prince charming, have a show stopping, grand wedding, the one that they have dreamed of, turtle doves released at “I do”, pews full of important people, all jealous eyes on the groom, all glammed up in their Ellie Saab dress, or in their $5000 per yard lace that they flew to Dubai to hand pick, face painted and eyelashes appended by nobody but Banke Mashida, the party to top all parties will follow, champagne pouring out of every nook and cranny, DJ on point, crowds dancing all night, 1000 Naira notes being sprayed, and the recent vogue is to have a retired American artiste close the night singing some mid-nineties ballad. Or a destination wedding in a garden somewhere, strict crowd control, everyone back home will be waiting to see the exclusive pictures on Bella Naija. But as my friend L.O pointed out, everyone is dreaming about the grand wedding, but she would rather think about the day after. When all your friends leave, your parents kiss you good bye, your siblings do the same, you are alone with this ‘Prince’ hopefully for the rest of your life. For all we know Prince Charming (Philip), may have been a wife beating, drunkaholic, who got sacked from his job, and was collecting the dole. We didn’t need to know, because in the film after the wedding it was THE END, in real life it’s just the BEGINING.
We all dream, but adrift in our foolish dreams, we seem to forget that at some point we will have to wake up, smell the coffee, live with the reality that our dreams led us to (LITERALLY). 4ACES recently posted something about having to edit our ‘lists’, they asked: is this a sign of maturity or is it just settling. I don’t think we have to change our dreams, but we have to also dream about the ever after, and decide what we are ready to compromise. It isn’t settling, but rather its maturity, and above all it is REALISTIC.
Sleeping Beauty will forever be one of my favourite things to watch, but every little girls trouble starts the moment she believes it is an Aurora and Prince Charming story she must have, or nothing.
Xoxo.
Friday, April 8, 2011
The luxury of a negative thought...
I don’t know if I should call it a yearning for more, or what, but I often allow myself the luxury of discontent, and general anger in a desire for MORE. Albeit that I don’t have an unfortunate life in any way, shape or form, relatively quite the opposite. It bemuses me that people in really quite destitute and almost hopeless situations are never ever, negative, or unhappy, they have such a great hopeful outlook on life.
I mentioned before that I sometimes (far fewer than I should / would like to) go out with the “Changing Our World Foundation” supporting them in the great work that they do in Obalande, and one thing I have noticed is that these people are extremely happy, and content. It will take a long time to forget the first home that I went into, to give out food, It was the home of an old guy, it was just one room, It contained his bed at the far end, An ‘antique’ sofa in the middle, a coffee table, and on the opposite end a stove with kitchen utensils, dotted around the one (very small room) were the sum total of his belongings. Yet he was the happiest old man ever. Speaking to him, and just watching his body language, he was CONTENT.
It begs the question, is negativity and discontent a luxury?
(Don’t say it, Cheesy Picture, I know)
Xoxo.
I mentioned before that I sometimes (far fewer than I should / would like to) go out with the “Changing Our World Foundation” supporting them in the great work that they do in Obalande, and one thing I have noticed is that these people are extremely happy, and content. It will take a long time to forget the first home that I went into, to give out food, It was the home of an old guy, it was just one room, It contained his bed at the far end, An ‘antique’ sofa in the middle, a coffee table, and on the opposite end a stove with kitchen utensils, dotted around the one (very small room) were the sum total of his belongings. Yet he was the happiest old man ever. Speaking to him, and just watching his body language, he was CONTENT.
It begs the question, is negativity and discontent a luxury?
(Don’t say it, Cheesy Picture, I know)
Xoxo.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
First From The Back
Has the entire world left Nigeria behind? I was tempted to title the blog “Africa is lagging”. But after a short conversation with a colleague on a project in Kenya this morning I quickly realised that while Africa is behind its peers on the global front, Nigeria is behind even its peers in Africa, but unfortunately the average Nigerian still believes that we are ahead.
Though its population and land mass is nothing in comparison to what we Nigerians boast of, Zambia has an up and running metro system; Niger and Ghana our neighbours have a power supply that is nearly never interrupted, though we are in the top 10 oil and gas producing countries globally, we don’t; Nigeria with the second largest economy in Sub Saharan Africa cannot compare to Kenya in terms of tourism; though a large number of Nigerian students graduate from the top business schools in the world (I personally know about 10 -15 people that will graduate from Wharton, HBS, INSEAD, Kellog, Fuqua this year) we cannot claim to have a transparent banking system, Nigerian doctors are consulted globally for their unique skill, yet women die daily in childbirth; We can boast of top class Engineers yet our roads rival those of countries that have recently come out of civil wars; and though we have brilliant programmers (at least 60% of the Nigerian educated people I have met over the last few years studied computer science) yet last weekend when I ‘voted’ for the first time in Nigeria I had to thumbprint on a piece of paper.
Nigeria right now is nothing short of an embarrassment, and that is to put it mildly. This weekend after my God mother called me to tell me she was waiting for me at our local polling station, I jumped out of bed and drove down. Apparently as I got there, accreditation was about to finish. Up until this point I truly did not know what I expected of the electoral process, alas I reached the front of the queue only for my card to be checked against a list, my finger marked with a felt tip pen, then the corper in charge tells me “ehnnnn, go and wait, we will soon begin” ... long story short, I waited in the scorching sun for God alone knows how long, was counted, queued, and was finally given a white piece of paper with a couple of logos printed on it (did I know which candidate was running under what party? Nope, were all the parties represented? Nope) at this point I was already feeling dizzy, but I sha managed to “press my hand” somewhere before in typical aje-butter fashion, fainted with a bout of sun stroke or whatever. It turns out that the whole process was for nothing, as the elections were cancelled not long after my dramatic performance.
From the sunstroke to the felt tip pen, to the pieces of paper apparently printed in Japan, this epitomises Nigeria. We have the resources (we spend 80 something billion on some voting machines), but we do not use them; We do not aim at improving the social and environmental aspects of our country (why should we be voting in the sun? Shouldn’t there be local government offices for this, I don’t think I ever voted in the streets in England), We don’t care much for internal control (how can a felt tip pen from goodies be what we use to accredit voters – next week I shall buy my own and accredit myself before I go, to reduce my waiting time). People may argue that the inefficiencies were built in to aid rigging, or what not, the issue is that we accept it, because year after year we use this primitive voting system without complain, and what’s more this mentality / acceptance of substandard is prevalent across every industry in Nigeria.
I have recently had the privilege of observing what I will call the “grass roots”, I may have been quite disconcerted by this at first (still am in all truth) but it has proved to be one of the most useful experiences (In Nigeria at least)because I have seen the heart of Lagos / Nigeria’s economy. Drifted off topic a bit, but what I am saying here is that in observing the way business is conducted, and work is done, it is so farrrrrrrr below global, and even African standards, and this sort of upsets me because Nigerians worldwide are implementing systems, documenting processes, innovating industries, yet back home our economy is suffering with archaic systems, processes, and governance.
Nigeria may be first at something, but it most certainly isn’t good governance, innovation, basic social welfare, good education, good transportation, and good healthcare systems. No, we are first at epically failing to keep up with the rest of the world. It will make me so happy when I see Nigerians using their skills and talents to transform Nigeria, as opposed to being consumed by the system, and conforming to the status quo. Having said that we can change things, shake them up, bring Nigeria to the 21st century, but things will go back to the same old, same old, because we have a culture of corruption, and we are adverse to change, however progressive. That’s a whole other topic in itself.
Xoxo.
Though its population and land mass is nothing in comparison to what we Nigerians boast of, Zambia has an up and running metro system; Niger and Ghana our neighbours have a power supply that is nearly never interrupted, though we are in the top 10 oil and gas producing countries globally, we don’t; Nigeria with the second largest economy in Sub Saharan Africa cannot compare to Kenya in terms of tourism; though a large number of Nigerian students graduate from the top business schools in the world (I personally know about 10 -15 people that will graduate from Wharton, HBS, INSEAD, Kellog, Fuqua this year) we cannot claim to have a transparent banking system, Nigerian doctors are consulted globally for their unique skill, yet women die daily in childbirth; We can boast of top class Engineers yet our roads rival those of countries that have recently come out of civil wars; and though we have brilliant programmers (at least 60% of the Nigerian educated people I have met over the last few years studied computer science) yet last weekend when I ‘voted’ for the first time in Nigeria I had to thumbprint on a piece of paper.
Nigeria right now is nothing short of an embarrassment, and that is to put it mildly. This weekend after my God mother called me to tell me she was waiting for me at our local polling station, I jumped out of bed and drove down. Apparently as I got there, accreditation was about to finish. Up until this point I truly did not know what I expected of the electoral process, alas I reached the front of the queue only for my card to be checked against a list, my finger marked with a felt tip pen, then the corper in charge tells me “ehnnnn, go and wait, we will soon begin” ... long story short, I waited in the scorching sun for God alone knows how long, was counted, queued, and was finally given a white piece of paper with a couple of logos printed on it (did I know which candidate was running under what party? Nope, were all the parties represented? Nope) at this point I was already feeling dizzy, but I sha managed to “press my hand” somewhere before in typical aje-butter fashion, fainted with a bout of sun stroke or whatever. It turns out that the whole process was for nothing, as the elections were cancelled not long after my dramatic performance.
From the sunstroke to the felt tip pen, to the pieces of paper apparently printed in Japan, this epitomises Nigeria. We have the resources (we spend 80 something billion on some voting machines), but we do not use them; We do not aim at improving the social and environmental aspects of our country (why should we be voting in the sun? Shouldn’t there be local government offices for this, I don’t think I ever voted in the streets in England), We don’t care much for internal control (how can a felt tip pen from goodies be what we use to accredit voters – next week I shall buy my own and accredit myself before I go, to reduce my waiting time). People may argue that the inefficiencies were built in to aid rigging, or what not, the issue is that we accept it, because year after year we use this primitive voting system without complain, and what’s more this mentality / acceptance of substandard is prevalent across every industry in Nigeria.
I have recently had the privilege of observing what I will call the “grass roots”, I may have been quite disconcerted by this at first (still am in all truth) but it has proved to be one of the most useful experiences (In Nigeria at least)because I have seen the heart of Lagos / Nigeria’s economy. Drifted off topic a bit, but what I am saying here is that in observing the way business is conducted, and work is done, it is so farrrrrrrr below global, and even African standards, and this sort of upsets me because Nigerians worldwide are implementing systems, documenting processes, innovating industries, yet back home our economy is suffering with archaic systems, processes, and governance.
Nigeria may be first at something, but it most certainly isn’t good governance, innovation, basic social welfare, good education, good transportation, and good healthcare systems. No, we are first at epically failing to keep up with the rest of the world. It will make me so happy when I see Nigerians using their skills and talents to transform Nigeria, as opposed to being consumed by the system, and conforming to the status quo. Having said that we can change things, shake them up, bring Nigeria to the 21st century, but things will go back to the same old, same old, because we have a culture of corruption, and we are adverse to change, however progressive. That’s a whole other topic in itself.
Xoxo.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Deo Dante Dedi
For the old Carthusian’s reading, which I hope is quite a few; the title will be very familiar, It was our school motto: “Deo Dante Dedi” – “Because God has given, I give”. Up until very recently I can’t say I paid very much attention to it. It was just a bunch of words that were under a logo on the front cover of the white book, and blue book (don’t remember if it was blue or pink, and I know Sol is gonna hurl abuse at me if it was pink ... I await your bb). But the absence of giving in Nigeria constantly reminds me of this very powerful motto.
Don’t get me wrong Nigerians are quite generous within their families. For some reason it is absolutely normal for an Uncle to bankroll his entire extended family, put clothes on their backs, food on their tables and pay for their education (It’s a cultural thing I hear). But when it comes to giving to others that they don’t know at all in unfortunate situations, we quite frankly don’t do enough of it. Not saying we don’t do it at all, we just don’t do it enough. Funnily enough, at the moment I am reading a book which suggests that financial aid is contributing to Africa’s situation, I agree it is better to give a man a fishing rod as opposed to a fish. But I am not talking just about giving in the financial sense; I am talking about giving of yourself, your time, your emotions, as well as your substance.
I believe that every skill we have, and all the finances we have were given to us (by God )for a reason, and that it far supersedes just a satisfaction of our own personal needs and desires, but it is meant to help others that need that skill, or will benefit from a financial donation. If you are a great singer, people listening to your music will be touched by it, that in itself is giving, but you can also set up a weekend singing group in a poor neighbourhood where an option of recreation may stop a decision to go and rob a more affluent neighbourhood. If you are an Entrepreneur that has built your business from the ground up, you can mentor young people with potential to be even better than you are. There are always opportunities to give even if it is reading to orphans once a week, giving hygiene talks to your local community, counselling young rape victims, the list is endless.
Because God has given to me in the many talents, privileges, and even in the weaknesses and setbacks, I shall endeavour to give back to others that can learn from my mistakes, through my talents, and because of the privileges I enjoy. I enjoin everyone to do the little they can, because it goes a long way. A life lived with this principle at the forefront of it will nearly always be a more powerful and fulfilling life than one that is primarily focused on its own selfish desires. I have been out with the “Changing our world Foundation” in the work they are doing in the Obalande community, and the time spent just to put a smile on someone’s face and give them hope is well worth it.
Xoxo.
Don’t get me wrong Nigerians are quite generous within their families. For some reason it is absolutely normal for an Uncle to bankroll his entire extended family, put clothes on their backs, food on their tables and pay for their education (It’s a cultural thing I hear). But when it comes to giving to others that they don’t know at all in unfortunate situations, we quite frankly don’t do enough of it. Not saying we don’t do it at all, we just don’t do it enough. Funnily enough, at the moment I am reading a book which suggests that financial aid is contributing to Africa’s situation, I agree it is better to give a man a fishing rod as opposed to a fish. But I am not talking just about giving in the financial sense; I am talking about giving of yourself, your time, your emotions, as well as your substance.
I believe that every skill we have, and all the finances we have were given to us (by God )for a reason, and that it far supersedes just a satisfaction of our own personal needs and desires, but it is meant to help others that need that skill, or will benefit from a financial donation. If you are a great singer, people listening to your music will be touched by it, that in itself is giving, but you can also set up a weekend singing group in a poor neighbourhood where an option of recreation may stop a decision to go and rob a more affluent neighbourhood. If you are an Entrepreneur that has built your business from the ground up, you can mentor young people with potential to be even better than you are. There are always opportunities to give even if it is reading to orphans once a week, giving hygiene talks to your local community, counselling young rape victims, the list is endless.
Because God has given to me in the many talents, privileges, and even in the weaknesses and setbacks, I shall endeavour to give back to others that can learn from my mistakes, through my talents, and because of the privileges I enjoy. I enjoin everyone to do the little they can, because it goes a long way. A life lived with this principle at the forefront of it will nearly always be a more powerful and fulfilling life than one that is primarily focused on its own selfish desires. I have been out with the “Changing our world Foundation” in the work they are doing in the Obalande community, and the time spent just to put a smile on someone’s face and give them hope is well worth it.
Xoxo.
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