Izuu's Turn

I've been bothered by this question for some time now. Adjoined to this, I also wonder: If everyone must have an FB account, must we all post comments? If your answer is yes, then must we all write in English given the rate at which misspellings and bad grammar (a lot of people spell grammer) have become the rule rather than the exception. Somebody recently posted a comment on my link (don't look for it, I have promptly deleted it) and I couldn't even read the stuff because it was too long and looked like, but one English at all. I was even tempted to post it here as an example. But I remembered that if you're not one of the culprits, if you check your own wall you will have ample evidence of this linguistic crime. Just as if the volume of English language bastardisation on FB isn't enough, I now ran into a blog that ... oh, my God, defies every logic of English language expression. I will give you a hint, I found while Googling the ABSU gang rape issue ...

I pray you'll find time to read this blog because it took me a while to get these out of him. One of the reasons he gave me is that when it comes to reading that you show no interest. And he is concerned about his children incase they take after you. He regrets the present situation and prays you will find love elsewhere. No. 2 is that you are too desperate to get married, not necessarily to him. How did he know? You talk endlessly about friends and family that just got, will get or are getting married. And you've told him countlessly about wedding colours you prefer. No. 3 You're too suspicious for his liking. He said that rather than call him you call his siblings in order to confirm that he truly went to visit them. No 4 You hardly watch the news. He was embarassed the day you asked in public whether David Mark is Nigeria, Prime Minister. No. 5 You take secret phone calls and he suspects you have other suitors you are lining up incase your plan with him doesn...

I may not be a financial expert, but I know that true wealth is money saved not money spent. Hence, I am not a fan of interminable wage increases in Nigeria (my opinion here only, believing my employers are too busy to read my blog). Seriously, our country would have been better off with much more funds saved for the "rainy day." But the real problem is not the incessant agitation for wage increases. It is rather the squandermania disposition of Nigerian political class. The workers' quest for more money is informed by the knowledge from the days of the military in uniform that money denied the workers is siphoned and placed selfishly in personal accounts abroad. So while politicians are devising how to steal more, they are not alone. ASUU, NLC, TUC, others are on their toes agitating how to reduce the volume of money being stolen regrettably for their (our) personal pockets. Of course, we deceive ourselves if we think that kleptomania left Nigerian politics a...

The urge to write about this has always been on my mind. But I have been deterred by the knowledge that oftentimes we unconsciously force our beliefs on others without considering that their experiences and ours are not the same. A person who lives in a society where you get water at the turning of every tap, may not understand that there are people who trek for miles to get their water even within so-called cities. A person who can have the police come to his/her aid because the neighbour's music is louder than normal, will not understand that people live in places where it could be safer to run into armed robbers than police. Growing up in societies where politicians cower when the people are not pleased, finds it hard to imagine that there are countries where political leaders practice modern feudalism. In essence, living all your life in splendour and comfort insulates you from the harsh realities of living which others are subjected to. For this second group, when ...

Since I watched the infamous ABSU gang rape video online, my itinerant mind has refused to take a nap. Five guys forcefully taking turns on their victim as if they were using a public toilet. And this is somebody's daughter, sister, cousin, niece, possibly aunt and then, mother to be. Perhaps in the future, a son of one of her assailants would ask her daughter out (hoping he doesn't get his father's rapistgene). But this girl's plight is not my primary concern here though I admit that what befell her is condemnable. Nothing she has done warrants such an assault. That said, my theory of rape is simple: Rape exists only in societies where other forms of rape (like economic sabotage, corruption, and sundry crimes) thrive and remain largely unpunished. It then follows that people are most likely to rape others (not only girls) in societies where impunity resides permanently. So, a society that corruption has festered and grown, is most likely to attract this...

They say where I come from that the one-eyed man is always king in the land of the blind. Since nothing was said about the country being ruled by 'fools' (by their own admission), I surmise that it should be a land full of imbeciles. Forgive my bluntness! If you do follow my logic, you will agree that fools do not rule over wise folks. So when our former (are they really no longer in control of power) rulers, and long serving ones at that, publicly call each other fools, who else will know better but themselves and perhaps other 'fools' who have ruled like them? How can a country being ruled by fools and foolishness, by association, ever attain any meaningful development? A nation where illiteracy is so high that even state governors cannot define development. A society where leaders cannot address their people without paper written by deceitful script writers and sycophantic harem of advisers. When leaders embezzle public funds to sate personal greed, how ...

I have spoken in English, you didn't listen. I tried vernacular without seeing any meaningful transformation in your attitude. My mangled French hasn't helped. Either I don't speak well or you don't hear well. Now, I've made up my mind to make this last effort to speak to you in country-man language. Dis girl! Dis girl! Dis girl! How many times I call you? Your papa don talk tire. Your mama join, come lose in voice. All because of your waka waka. We go run comot because of you? Your papa no fit pay rent for de two-room face-I-face-you for Ajegunle, but na VGC address you de circulate for city. Your mama no know road go Abuja but your mouth don reach every European capital wey your body no follow go. Your chief for village still de use 3310 while 'im wife de manage R220 but na Blackberry Torch you de request from your bobo. Nobody for your lineage get bicycle spoke, but pesin wey no carry Hummer no fit give you lift sef. Your carry-over for school still ...