ktravula – a travelogue!

Browsing ktravula – a travelogue! blog archives for July, 2010.

A Checklist for July

I feel guilty. I neglected this blog for much of the time this month, and that was because of two nagging issues: internet, and internet. I have concluded that Starcomms was actually a wrong choice of connection for me because I’ve been fond of using it at different places. Not having the connection spread of bigger networks like Multilinks and MTN, they charge more, and offer less. In my next life, or as soon as I find someone to buy this one off me, I will make a different choice. Starcomms is more expensive and offers less national coverage than the other connections. I’ve put this to test. In any case, there are still a few nagging things in my mind and I’ll try to say them before the month escapes from my grasp.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, July concludes my first twelve months of blogging on this portal. Alright, if blogs were babies, this one should by now have started mouthing “ba-ba-ba”. It is for this reason that I will also try to complete the pattern that has been the case since that auspicious night in Lagos in August last year when I made the silly decision to begin blogging :). It has been full of ups and downs. I’ve blogged sitting down on the dusty floor of a train station in St. Louis, on a delayed plane in New York, in a crowded bar watching the World Cup final in Ilorin, with a laptop battery on the verge of dying out in the absence of power, and even under the influence of several bottles of Satzenbrau in pleasant company. It’s been good. And let me confess, I have wanted to abandon it many times. But if I did, how would I survive it?

Now if this blog were a book, August 2009 would be the first chapter, titled THE ENTRANCE. The second month of September would be BLENDING IN. October would be IMMERSION while November would be DISCOVERIES. December was ADVENTURES WITH THE COLD and January SIGHTS. February would be tagged BREASTS & CHRIS, a whole dedication to the Mardi Gras in St. Louis and adventures with Chris, March would be CLASSROOMS, April would be LOSING RESISTANCES, May would be A FOOT IN TWO WORLDS, June would be BADAGRY, and July 2010 would be AROUND NIGERIA. Now that I think about it, it might make a thrilling read, if only a self-publication to distribute among friends, and not for the general public, just like that old one Drawing a Straight Line from Hamburng to Ibadan, never before seen by more than a handful of people.

I have not yet completely processed the lessons, the essence and the thrills of my short trip around Nigeria, perhaps particularly because it was so short and I’ve not yet giving myself the right reflecting space. No, no quasi-perfunctory visit would do next time. I may even need up to four to six months to have as much impact as I would have loved. Maybe volunteer in a local secondary school to teach the English language. Maybe teach them to act a play at their end of the year party. Maybe help construct a traffic sign of paint the zebra crossing at one of their community roads. I look forward in the nearest future to a longer immersion exercise in local communities in order to contribute in a more meaningful way to the lives of citizens. Jos is a special case, and as much as I tried, I was not able to reach the Red Cross officials this time. What have they been doing? How could one help?

All in all, it’s been a nice twelve months and I thank you for being there with me. I have just agreed to work with Nokia to promote their new product Nokia C3, so in the next couple of days, you will see Nokia related posts and quizzes one of which will earn one reader of this blog a Nokia C3 prototype to be presented at the launching in Lagos in August. (See this previous post.) From what I hear, this is open only to residents in Nigeria. So if you are interested, and/or you know anyone interested in winning the prototype, stay tuned to this page. All you would need to do is to be the first to answer a set of questions coming up in the next few days.

Well, happy end of month, when it comes. I am hoping that my last post for this month will be a poem rather than (or in addition to) the usual 10 reasons debate, but let’s see how that turns out. Let us look forward to August with peace. And who knows, maybe it will bring all required good.

PS: I’ve submitted two of my photos for a “Democracy Photo Challenge.” You may see them here and here. You may kindly leave a comment there too. Who knows what I may win for audience choice.

Out With The Old?

Henry is running around the house with his brother and I yell at them to stop with the noise. They ignore me, taking over the administration of the living room. Their mother is in one corner enjoying the whole noise, or at least indifferent to it. By now, she is used to the ordeal of living with two young boys under ten. I’m on the computer and all I need is my serenity so I shout again. “Hey boys, unlike your grandmother, I don’t mind you running around as fast as you like, but please don’t make any noises.”

“It is Henry.” the brother screams.
“No, It is Oyin.” the other responds, and they resume the noise and the demonic speed all around the house.

I am peeved and I shut down my laptop and relocate to a different part of the house.

You see, this is exactly how people get old: new ones are born and they are so cute, and they take over all the attention in the house. They’re smart, they’re agile, and they are vulnerable. Yes, yes, they’re babies, and nephews, and nieces. And before you know it, the old guy is no longer the cutest boy in the house. Once upon a time, it was Laitan and I running around a far larger compound than this with dust on our brows and heels. Now she’s all grown and taken, Ha, and another aeon has gently replaced us.

This is exactly how people get old. What on earth happened here?

Nokia and Me

I’ve used one Nokia phone after another since GSM came into Nigeria so I could say that our relationship has grown over years, from the old 3310 that never broke even after falling from a two-storey building or being run over by a car, to my current Nokia N70 that has often made my friends wonder if I used a Blackberry because of being able to reply mails as soon as they come in. I’ve resisted all my friend’s poaching efforts to get me into Apple or Android, and I’m proud to say that I’ve largely succeeded. In any case, I hear that there’s a new Nokia coming out, and I am looking forward to it.

One major benefit that Nokia has over all other phones that I’d wished I could use is that you could buy it without being tied to any network, they are affordable and durable, and… well, they are Nokia: less hype, more performance. I’ve used my N70 for over three years now and it has fallen down countless numbers of times from great heights. It still works. I’ve planned on getting the Maemo that came out late last year, but if the C3 lives up to its expectation, it just might be what I’m looking for. It looks like a Blackberry but it’s not hooked onto any network. What do you think? Have you heard about it? Have you ever used a Nokia? What do you think?

The C3 is a new Nokia phone to be launched in Nigeria before the end of August, designed to put messaging and social networking in the palm of your hand with access to Instant Messaging, social networking and email accounts, with Nokia Messaging.[1] The C3 also has a 2 megapixel camera, built-in Wi-fi, 2.4 inch screen, and support for 8GB of storage on a MicroSD card. (From Wikipedia). In the coming days, I’m going to tell you more about the product and the new promotion by Nokia to give blog readers the opportunity to win the product before it is launched. Stay tuned to this page.

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Conversations Around The Country: Ife

He must have spotted me from afar as I haggled prices with some of the other motorcycle operators in front of the University. Although I didn’t know exactly where I was going, I knew that starting with the lowest possible price is the best strategy of getting a good price. I had failed, and was heading into the University on a plan B when I was approached.
“Where are you going?” He said.
“The Opa Oranmiyan.”
“How much do you have?”
“180 naira. That’s my last offer. The other guys said 250 and I can’t afford to pay that.”
“But it’s quite far.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. Do you know the place?”
“Of course yes. I am an Ife native. Can’t you tell form my accent?”
“I thought so,” I said. “So shall we?”
“Alright let’s go.”
I mounted the motorbike to murmurs from the other guys and headed for the site of the famous obelisk. It was indeed far and worth the amount. The problem was that on getting there, the gate was locked. I could see the obelisk from a side of the fence but I couldn’t go inside. All I wanted was to be able to pose beside it, perhaps measure who is taller.
“Now what?”
“Do you really want to go in?” He asked in return
“Yes.”
“There is a way. I’m an Ife boy. Come with me.”
“Cool.”
We went around huts deep into the cluster of houses around the compound of the monument and found ourselves in front of a smaller gate far at the back. It was closed, and there were about a dozen women in front of their own houses directly opposite the entrance, and they were not going to allow us in without questioning.
“What happened to this gate ma.” He asked one of them after greetings.
“It’s locked now. You can’t go in. You have to use the main entrance.” She replied.
I could already feel a flurry of curious gazes around my stranger frame with a backpack and an ipod. Who on earth is this guy and what is he looking for? More: what has this motorbike man promised to show him to make him follow him this far off the road?
“Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll take you to the man in charge of the gate.”
“I would think that there is a place where we can pay, get tickets, and go in without any hassles. Why is it so difficult?”
“I don’t know. They open the gates at particular times of the year. When the time comes, you may enter. But not now.”
I observed to him that I found the obelisk different from what I’d seen in pictures. Even the surroundings seem renovated.
“Yes,” he concurred. “Last year, UNESCO or so provided money to turn it into a heritage site. You must have noticed the new toilet and office buildings within the compounds too. They are all paid for because of that renovation.”
“I see.”
“You must have noticed that piece of cloth around the base of the Obelisk. That’s put there by worshippers who come here at particular times of the year to perform sacrifices.”
We spent a few more minutes trying to see the person authorized to open the gates, without luck. The man then took me to an even closer part of the fence where I took much nicer photos. “If I had come here by myself, I’d have climbed over the fence into the premises. I’m just worried for you, because you’re not from the town.” He said.
On the way back to campus where he had picked me up, I asked him to verify the rumour that there are still human sacrifices in Ife today, especially during some major festivals. I’d been told that strangers to the town are usually the major victims. He laughed and said that I too had fallen to unfounded rumours. “No,” he said, “human sacrifices died long ago. Today they use goats and rams. Next time, try to come during the Olojo festival and you’ll see for yourself.”
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