Izuu's Turn

I have been hibernating for a while now; observing rather than speaking, meditating instead of rationalizing. So many things going bad around the globe: from mass shootings to going on a killing spree with a truck. Sometimes I wonder whether humanity hasn't somehow degenerated into some primeval mode. On the other side of the spectrum is the mass killings from the sky, with drones and fighter jets. The same humanity that is being ravaged by myriad diseases and natural disasters still finds itself honing the skills for the production of weapons of mass destruction rather than collectively working towards finding a way to solve their other more salient challenges. I have always believed that much of the world's conflicts stem from the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Let's look at the balance of power amongst countries. The West against the rest of the world. The "West" also includes Europe and Australia which are not in anyway in the West, and ...

I was watching Pete Buttigieg on Fox TownHall the other day, and he made this interesting comment when asked about President Trump. He said that it is the nature of the grotesque that you just can't look away. That statement had multiple meanings for me. For instance, I could identify how it captures the entire gamut of all I've been saying about stand-up comedy and jokes because I am yet to know a joke that does not stir up the abnormal, the incongruous, denigration, in fact, in general, the grotesque. In spite of the negativities that they elicit, jokes still make us laugh, smile or even have a sense of wellness when they do not offend us. What is the grotesque? A few examples will suffice. I was at CDG Airport in Paris. I just finished using the toilet - I always do. Airport toilets always call to me whenever am passing through. Perhaps, I should even do an article on airport toilets I've visited. Maybe next time. So, I came out with all my hand luggage after doin...

The first time we arrived purposely to learn German, we were so enthusiastic. For me, I haven't really sat down to learn a new language, perhaps because there are no formalised institutions for learning Nigerian languages as in Germany. And that strikes me as odd! No one seems to have discovered that we could actually create formalised outlets for learning some, if not all, of our 250 languages. If that had existed, I could have spent time learning good Hausa formally in the six years that I spent teaching in Gombe.  But again, there is yet another snag: why would one pay, sometimes heavily, to learn a language that perhaps has little or no global presence? People have been learning German, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and they are now learning Chinese even in Europe. Why? The people who own those languages have some value or so they think, that those who are learning their language want. Take a look at English language. Even with Brexit, a lot of European nations are still sc...

I wouldn't have written about this if it wasn't for the manner my mind keeps returning to it. My wife and I went for "Wohnung Anziehen" in a little, prosperous-looking town called Heidesheim. Just off the train, we took a long walk because we weren't sure of how the only bus that operates in the town works. We also somehow wasn't sure of our way and the world's most trusted "Navi" wasn't much of a help since our internet connection chose that moment to go visit its ancestors. But that's not what am concerned about. We just finished our business with this beautiful family, and were standing at the bus stop - a 40+ minutes wait for the next ride into the city for our other appointment. There were no seats there. It's actually one of those bus stops on a narrow highway out of town which is usually marked out by just a signpost and nothing else. So our position was on the sidewalk, with a shrubby incline behind us and then the fenc...