OBAMA: NIGERIA'S BUSY BODY CLASS

Very recently in warri, I saw a sticky tag on a Mercedes Benz car with the inscription, Obama ’08 which got me thinking. While I was yet to appreciate the worth of such an exercise, an advert also on the Obama’s presidential bid, surfaced on the net work of Nigeria Television Authority offering dinner tickets worth hundreds of thousand of naira.
Obama, a black man with an African origin, recently took his campaign for the presidency of the United States to different parts of the world to acquaint the government and citizens of such nations with his position on issues which his country America, created and has succeeded in foisting on the rest of the world as a global problem like terrorism, HIV and AIDS, trade relation amongst many others. He did not consider any part of Africa, not even Madiba’s South Africa for a u-turn ala Manchester united recent treatment to Nigeria. One would have thought that with his country determination to harness the gulf of guinea ahead of China, through a security report of the region being a potential terrorist haven, that he would have come to expatiate on the high or low command that his country military has magisterially proposed for us. I guess that he considers that of little importance since they believe that they can always arm-twist the government to do their bidding.
I know that the Nigerian supporters of Obama are on to something. They are Nigerians and like to be called investors but they must know this, if they consider President Yaradua’s national assembly too inquisitive for asking questions about a mere $16 billion power project, then you should know that the one in Obama’s America probes into funny issues like gifts of ordinary wrist watch that we here prays would become our lot or hotel accommodation. That they are so “idle” that they have time to ask question about what we here would consider a private affairs like keeping concubines. That obama’s America does not celebrate those who obeys the law because it is a way of life there and is very strict in enforcing the laws against those who have a problem with obeying it. That contract is not awarded along party lines. It will in summary, not provide them with any kind of special favour or access to America’s economy. There, policies are made and followed to the letter.
I have no doubt in my mind that those involve in this busy body Obama for president campaign knows all this and even more and I am confident there is something in this venture for them; it might be that they hope the man on becoming President will, on their promptings, ask our own President to compensate them with positions or patronage of their choosing but I trust our President, he might humour these leaders of developed nations by affecting a subservient behaviour when soliciting their cooperation towards solving some of our problems, but would definitely scream a capital no when it comes to bending the rule of the game. It bears repeating. There is something in it for them and I do not want to believe that it is about mobilizing financial support that would end up in private purse but I believe there is something in it. They are too business minded to throw away their money and time on such seemingly notice me venture.
However, should it be that they are idle or do not know what to do with their money, I would advise that they look towards the homes for senior citizens or the orphans and find worthy causes there for such resources, there is the Kanu Hearth foundation. Should they have any problem with locating any of these classes, then they should consult a catholic priest or sister. There achievement in this regard is yet to be matched by any group any where in the world or better still, this contributor. This would be pleasing to God and they will find favour in the sight of the creator, for their soul.
Obama deserve our support not because he will cause any significant changes in America’s policy towards us as Africans or Nigerians but because he has a skin pigmentation that is somewhat like ours and therefore satisfies some psychological need in colored Americans which according to history were procured like goods from Africa. Any other suggestion about the worth of his presidency to Africans is a fallacy. He is an American, just like McCain if not more than.
Ilobi Austin. http://www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com/ resides in warri.

Manchester United condescending appearance in Nigeria

By Ilobi Austin

The proclivity of Nigerians to support or even conk out for matters with foreign origin is legendary. It is the dominant tendency among the youths and even some elderly including religious and political leaders to affect a foreign root especially, American. A bird eye view of the entertainment industry will reveal the truth of this assertion; listen to the Fuji genre that is suppose to be proudly Nigerian and you will come away with the impression of a nation of people with chronic inferiority complex.

Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, the country has witnessed the influx of celebrated personalities largely from the United States of America to take part as the main act in events mostly sponsored by blue chip companies. These personalities who come to compliment their Nigerian counterparts have in such events raked in millions and gotten treatments fit only for presidents and kings in the oil rich regions of the Middle East whereas, there Nigerian counter have received peanuts and gotten treatments that a more self- respecting nation would have riled against if melted out to their citizens in foreign lands. A Nigerian act that was already in the process of transforming into a brand could not accept the demeaning treatment he got in his native country and had to protest violently resulting, in a brawl with his non-Nigerian counterpart.

Recently, the promoters of the multi billion naira Tinapa Business and Holiday Resort, decided to piggy-back the two current football champions in the United Kingdom- Manchester united and Portsmouth football clubs. They arranged to have both clubs play against each other and against Nigerian club sides. While Portsmouth was already in the country and had engage one of the clubs, MAN U as it is popularly called, with a sizeable following in the country, decided to start their itinerary from South Africa where they had spent days.

Surprisingly and annoyingly, this same club that had no problem with spending nights in South Africa, a country with one of the highest HIV and crime rate in the world where an internationally renowned musical act had been murdered in the process of dispossessing him of his sport utility vehicle and where the security agents had proved incapable of containing xenophobic behaviour till date, that has resulted in unjustifiable destruction of lives and property, had by-passed all arrangement made to host them, moved straight from the airport on D-day and within the hour of their encounter with a fellow British club-Portsmouth, with their jerseys on and gone straight for the game.

The traditional almost cost-free autograph session for fans either at the airport or at hotel lobby that normally precedes such events was, in this instance, a dangerous gamble for them; even the usually policed press conferences, through which celebrities interface with their fans and the general public which would have provided them the opportunity of saying thank you to their Nigerian supporters was not considered necessary in this instance. What they simply did was to walk in to the pitch, play their match against Portsmouth and with their jerseys and sweating body, walked straight into a waiting bus, back to the airport and out of the country. The total hour spent by the club in Nigeria was less than three hours.

The promoters who had reckoned to leverage on a visit to the Tinapa site by the players and officials of both teams and the attendant publicity were to say the least disappointed. The question to ask is who arranged for such a contemptuous and arrogant display of importance to Nigerians in their home soil? Certainly, the promoters could not have packaged something that brought them nothing but opprobrium. I suspect that the management of MAN U must have had it at the back of their mind not to honour the understanding which they must have reached with the promoters with the consent of the British high commission who must have fed them out of proportion lies of insecurity in the country and particularly, the Niger delta area where Tinapa is. I am persuaded to believe that they must have considered themselves brave to have ventured into the country at all after all the misinformation.

I am confident that the state that Donald Duke handed over last year ranks amongst the most peaceful and cleanest in any objective contest among states in Africa if not the world. It has some of the most peace loving and hard working people you can find any. It is the state with the greatest disincentive for militancy and kidnapping in the Niger Delta. Nigeria, just like any other nation has got it challenges but those challenges must be exploited to ridicule her and dehumanize her people by foreigners who need us more than we need them. We are well aware that their wish for us is for us to continue to produce oil and never to venture into any other economic activities that would pose a threat to the survival of similar industry in their homeland.

In all, it serves MAN U Nigerian fans right. It is a common sight to see them adorn proudly the club jersey and noisily celebrate their victory; now, I am sure that they know that they are worth nothing to the club, that is, if the club actually knows that they exist as for me, I am for any club that I vicariously benefit from. I am for clubs in which our Nigerian compatriots earn the money they repatriate home to their people and perform acts of charity like Kanu Nwankwo of Portsmouth.


ilobi austin writes from warri. his aricles can be downloaded free @http://www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com








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PERSERVERANCE

The best means of defining a word is to give life to it. Perseverance that is, firmness or determination is here defined according to my personal experience. Here is my story.

I had purposed to write an e-book on stocks upon graduating from college and still waiting for what is called the National Youth Service Corp. This is a compulsory one year service to the homeland in Nigeria; by the way, I am a graduate of Business Administration with Accounting as my area of core competence from the University of Nigeria.

After assembling the most wanted data, I proceeded to write with a rented computer. Some ways into the first chapter, the public power supply to my area was disrupted by the thief of what the public power authority officials described as “feeder wire”. To reconnect the area, we were advised to provide the money needed to procure the stolen wires.
The proposal to pay for the reconnection was rebuffed by the residents as it is not the responsibility of the citizens to buy supplies for public authorities. This led to almost a four months power black-out in the community.
What to do; Give up and return the system to it owner? Well, I did return it after waiting for over a month since I had no power generating set but not long afterwards, another idea came to me. It was to re-rent the system and shift it to a friend’s apartment in another community. On moving the system there and still in the process of connecting it, power supply to their area was interrupted. Believing it would be restored within a matter of days, I left the system there, but to my surprise it lasted for close to a month before it was finally restored.

End of challenges? You bet. The system monitor refused to come up, so every thing about writing was rested since I could not afford another monitor and could not go to the owner with the sad story. For want of what to do, I started researching into other areas of interest and filing away the results hoping that something good would turn up and it did turn up as my sister, in consideration of my plight did arranged for a system for me.

The arrival of the system coincided with the restoration of power supply to my community after we had been forced by the realities of the situation to pay for the supplies.

It would seem pointless stating that I did finish the e-book and some other short reports on varied issues.
How many people can with incapacitating conditions, go for close to a quarter of a year with an idea of what they intend to do still in intact? That is perseverance.

Ilobi Austin can be reached at www.winnersdomain.blogspot.com or www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com