ktravula – a travelogue!

Browsing the archives for the Observations category.

From Western Union

Dear Kola,

I hope this finds you well.  Thank you for all your twitter direct messages and posts to our Facebook page. I am the person that manages both accounts on behalf of the organization.

While we as a company are very troubled by the current situation in Nigeria, both Western Union and the Western Union Foundation, by policy, focus relief activity by providing support and aid to communities effected by natural disasters only.  For more information how we have helped the people of both Haiti and Chili (sic), I invite you to read the following press releases:

Chile: http://ir.westernunion.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=448621
Haiti: http://ir.westernunion.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=439225

I have enjoyed reading your blog and noticed you are collecting money to send for a donation via Western Union.  As a dissatisfied consumer, please let me extend the offer of a promotional code worth 50% off your next transaction. Please let me know if this is of interest and I will retrieve the code for you.

Western Union and the Western Union Foundation, through the Our World Gives program, continue to support programs and initiatives that provide communities access to better education and economic opportunity. One example of this support is the African Diaspora Marketplace project, which awarded 14 grants of $50,000 -$100,000 to 14 start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa. More information can be found at the following: http://ir.westernunion.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=437594.

Thank you again for reaching out to us.

Sincerely,

Brian

The Western Union Company

From Western Union was published on March 23rd, 2010, with the tags , under the Observations category. There are currently 3 comments on this article so far.

Sauce for the Gander

I have derived a certain pleasure over the past few days shooting the geese on campus. But, unlike what you might be immediately led to believe, I wasn’t shooting to kill, but to save. The weapon was nothing other than my Canon Powershot camera that has always gone with me everywhere I went.

But with these set of geese, there is the story: it is said that in Spring, or as soon as the weather warms up, the birds on campus take a break from their playground of the lake and build nests in cosy places where they can lay their eggs and successfully incubate them for the required period of time. Good so far? Yes. Except that in the case of a couple of these larger than life geese with long strong necks, they had chosen the apartment right in front of mine to build their nest.

Now, the goose family system is very different from humans, or from chickens, for instance. Cocks – like many specimen of humans – will ignore the hen as soon as mating is done and fertilization is over with. But ss soon as the females build their nests and start laying, the gander takes up the unenviable task of defending the region from any intrusion of any kind and size, and they do this with all their energy not caring if they died. The first time I came up a notice on campus that read that I should be careful when walking through the grass areas because geese could be nesting and could attack me, I thought it was a joke. But after two near vicious attacks at my own apartment, I have had a re-think. The male goose (called the gander) doesn’t even give the pedestrian the benefit of a doubt. As long as it gets the impression that you could be walking close to its bride’s nest, it would attack you viciously with its wings and beak. Go figure. What if you didn’t know? Who cares. When you seen a large mass of feathers flying towards you with a menacing sound, you will want to run for it as fast as possible. They have been known to fly at cars and cyclers as well.

So throughout this week – having been lucky to have the nest right across my window – I have been taking pictures of people getting attacked by the birds, and the reactions were usually the same: shock and horror. The students would stand still for a second, waving their hands at the bird in order to send fear into them, and would discover that rather than turn back, the gander was advancing menacingly. They would run, or walk slowly away leaving the bird triumphant. And some times, for good measure, the birds flew right after them. In some way, you could say that it served many of the students right for being silly enough to ignore the notice passed round all apartments in Cougar Village that:

“the wildlife on campus is protected by the Federal Laws… and will be nesting during this season. They can be aggressive, so it’s best to keep off where they might have nests. If a goose attacks you unprovoked, contact University Housing Staff or the University Police.”

On the other hand, like my friend in Dolton insists, I am human and I have a right to walk by anywhere I want without fear of attack by animals. This is why I pay tuition. It shouldn’t be for the University to offer protection to animals and not for humans. Yes indeed, right? Imagine this 911 call: “Hello, is that the police? I have just been attacked by a vicious gander on my way into my apartment. Please come with an ambulance.” Yet you can’t deny that the animals indeed have a right to nest without interference by humans. After all, they have lived in this area all their lives before humans came to erect University and apartment buildings. When does it begin to be ludicrous?

Today in the evening, Ben informed me that he heard that some folks had gone to remove the the geese’s eggs from the nest while the birds were away. I don’t know if this is true, or if it was done by the University in order to move them to a new location. I have however noticed that the two birds have returned to that same position again, perhaps to lay new eggs. But – perhaps to lend credence to Ben’s news – I’ve also noticed that the gander now paces around its usual spot with a dejected gait. Gone clearly are the wild strutting it was known for whenever people walked by. Now it just looks at everyone, sullen, without the slightest interest, or spirit. And I feel pity for him.

Sauce for the Gander was published on March 21st, 2010, with the tags , , , , , under the Observations, Soliloquy category. There are currently 10 comments on this article so far.

10 Questions for the Traveller

10. Why do you focus on Nigeria a lot these days?

A: Are you kidding? Nigeria has been in the news even before I started talking, but if you prod me a little bit more, I might tell you that it’s because I’m going to return there in less than three months, and I am interested in its success. Staying back in the US is not only not an option, it is escapist and does not really count as progress. There is a stipulation to spend at least two years in my country after this programme before any application for permanent residency in the United States afterwards. That way, beneficiaries of the Fulbright can get to contribute to their countries of birth and residence. The better Nigeria gets then, the better for me.

9. Are you really looking forward to going home?

A: Yes, actually.

8. What will you miss the most about the United States?

A: I’ll miss the friends I’ve made.  I’ll miss my host parents, Papa Rudy and Laverne Wilson, I’ll miss Chris and his adventurous spirit. I’ll miss Olga even though we don’t see each other much these days. I’ll miss my students, my office, and my wonderful Professor Mattson who shares the space with me. I’ll miss my department and Belinda, its beautiful head and Sherry its cool and sometimes mischievous secretary, and also my friend Catherine in the language lab for allowing me trouble her many times. I’ll miss the genuine smiles and laughter I get from colleagues, and I’ll miss the days of uninterrupted superfast internet access. There are so many lovely people that will kill me for not mentioning their names here. I’ll mention them in due course.

7. What will you do when you get home?

A: I have a tentative plan, which is to go around my country to places I haven’t been before. I also hope to visit places I’ve been before but which hold a certain interest for me and for friends. I think I have only visited about seven states in Nigeria, out of thirty-six. I have a long way to go. I also hope to return to the University to complete my Master’s programme in Linguistics and/or Language Documentation. Would it not be better if I come over to do it in the United States along with a PhD? Maybe. We’ll see how that goes.

6.  I love those your photographic artworks. How can I get one?

A: I am raising money with them for Jos, Haiti and for Chile. If you’re interested in participating in the project, check out the very simple instructions here.

5. Creatively, how have you been keeping yourself occupied?

A: I’ve been reading extensively because I’m afraid that there will be too many books to carry home when I’m done here. I may have bought too many. So it will make more sense to read them now, and give them away. I’m actually worried that my excess luggage will be filled with books. I don’t know if I can handle that. I have also been writing: a memoir, poems, and translations. You’ll be the first to know when they get published.

4. Are there any more places you will definitely visit before you leave?

A: Yes. That will be New York from where I hope to depart to Nigeria.

3. How are your students doing this semester?

A: Never been better. They murmured when I told them that this time the final exams will not be to write a short story like the other folks did last semester. In their own case, they will be presenting a short drama or a Yoruba song for an audience of their mates and former students. I like the idea, and they’re catching up on it too. I’ve finished grading the mid-term exam and I’m happy that they actually know more than I give them credit for. They’re the best students ever. We’ve saw Chimamanda’s TED video again last week. It was the first time of seeing it this semester.

2. I like your blog. I hope you won’t stop writing. I want to contribute in the form of a guest-post. What should I do?

A: All you have to do is to send me an inquiry, or just send in the guest-post and let me look at it. You can find the previous guest-posts here. What kind of guest-post do I prefer? I don’t have preferences. I just want to read other people’s interaction with the world, either in poetry, prose or rants.

1. What do you think of the Libya’s president Colonel Gaddafi’s suggestion that Nigeria be split like India along religious lines so as to bring permanent peace and stability?

A: Not only is the idea sick and repulsive, it is shallow and lacks the right substance needed for any permanent solution. First, organized religion is one of the biggest problems of the world right now, so to make it the basis of state is not only dumb, it is retrogressive. There is no doubt that the North is mainly Moslem and that the south is mainly Christian.  However, the northern Nigeria is not totally Moslem, nor is the southern Nigeria totally Christian, and that is one of the causes of the Jos crisis. So this begs the question: where will the boundaries be drawn if such a division were to be made? At the Niger River? Where would Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, and Oyo States fall? And what purpose would it serve to have any part of the country run by a religion that has never been known to hold the elites and the politicians to the same standard expected of the poor uneducated citizenry. If the law is an ass, religious laws at levels of state are even dumber. What the country needs is to live up to its ideals of a true federalism where each component parts are autonomous to the extent of its fiscal responsibility and obligations. Organized religion is the enemy, as is ignorance, arrogance, and complacency.

10 Questions for the Traveller was published on March 20th, 2010, with the tags , , , , under the Observations, Soliloquy, Travelling category. There are currently 17 comments on this article so far.

Three Travelogues

I came across these three travelogues in the past weeks.

The Abujalogue: Abuja, Nigeria.

“The purpose of this blog is to keep friends and relatives up to date while we are living far away from home in Abuja, Nigeria. I encourage all of you to leave comments and post photos of your own. Ideally, this could be a place for us all to exchange information.”

The Uncatalogued Museum: NY, United States

“I’m Linda Norris. I work with museums and think about their place in the world. I’ll be working with Ukrainian museums as a Fulbright Scholar in spring 2010, a follow-up to last year’s work.”

Memoirs of a Nigerian Living Abroad: Dorset, United Kingdom

“One stop shop for controversy and entertainment.”

Three Travelogues was published on March 19th, 2010, with the tags , , under the Observations, Travelling category. There are currently 1 comment on this article so far.

Oh Yes!

“It’s been a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come“- Sam Cooke

One of the greatest demonstrations of freedom took place in Nigeria on Tuesday the 16th. It was a youth rally that had over a thousand young professionals storm the Eagle’s Square and the National Assemby complex (the Nigerian Senate building) to demand a change to the way the country is run and the direction to which it is going. It was tagged Enough is Enough. It was a popular uprising that the country has had coming for a long time. One stupid national event after another that has brought disgrace to the name of the nation has happened many times and for weeks, months and years it had been necessary for something to come along and break the cycle of citizen complacency. This was it, along with other rallies that have taken place in the past weeks. And this was extra relevant because it was organized by young people, the main beneficiaries of the inevitable future. On the short run, it won’t solve any problems. It will need to be sustained and backed with vigilance and active participation in governance at every level, but as a demonstration of the will of the people to challenge misrule and bad governance, this is one of the best recourse of an enlightened citizenry. Luckily, unlike what these pictures show, it was actually a peaceful protest – albeit a very angry one, as it should be.

I followed the rally from my laptop as early as 4am on Tuesday on twitter and via the live video feed until I finally slept off by 8am. One thing I can say is that the audio and video feeds I got didn’t give me the best and most accurate portrayal of the event and I was frustrated half of the way. But here now are some of the most memorable, and favourite, pictures from the event, obtained from Facebook today thanks to Ohimai Godwin Amaize, former campus journalist and one of the guys on the front row. What can I say? I am proud to be a young Nigerian, and I align with those bold to challenge the status quo. I hope that more rallies like this take place around the country, and I hope that the required change comes.

Yesterday, the acting president dissolved his cabinet, which on some level could be seen as the beginning of progress. Who knows?

Oh Yes! was published on March 18th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the News, Observations, Opinion category. There are currently 1 comment on this article so far.