ktravula – a travelogue!

To Western Union

Dear Brian/Western Union,
Thank you for your message, and thank you for liking my blog.
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While I appreciate your 50% offer that I will no doubt call to collect as soon as we have the first batch of donations to be sent to the Red Cross in Jos, I am writing to express a profound disappointment at your polite response. And while as a private organization you reserve the right of refusal to any proposal that doesn’t bring immediate financial returns or perhaps a photo opportunity with the likes of Wyclef Jean šŸ™ , let this be an expression of my consumer’s right of anger and disgust at your nonchalance and insensitivity to a humanitarian cause in a crisis ridden area of a country where you have at least one hundred and forty million potential customers/money receivers.
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Listen to it again: a hundred and forty million people live in that country, and Ā over half a million people alone in the region of the country where your help is now urgently needed. Do you care if that number falls into a new category of disenchanted customers who think that Western Union is just another private moneybag organization that cares about people only in times of peace, prosperity and security but desert them in their time of need? Forget the pens and air fresheners that we currently get on receiving money from abroad. I don’t care for those. Ā RIGHT NOW, the people of Jos need support, and as small a step as it is, allowing people to be able to send money to them free of charge from abroad even for a limited period of time already solves half of the problem.
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Did you see the pictures of the dead and the wounded women and children from the January and the March crises, or should I send them to you? Believe me, they are not pretty. If you have ever appreciated the value of life, you should be moved for humanity’s sake. More so Nigeria, and the city of Jos, are some of the places in the world where you have agencies and where you have made profit for several years. I myself have received money transfers while I lived in Jos in 2005, so here we are, not pleading as much as calling you to live up to expectation of a socially conscious organization responding to a community of loyal customers in times of need. Believe me, this will be your pleasure as much as the people which you help. And what’s more, you would be doing something right.
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As per your concern with language, it is as much a humanitarian crisis as it is a man-made one. I agree, but who are you to judge when people are most in need? Is the child loss in Haiti or Chile from a shifting earth and collapsing rubble any less painful than a child loss in Jos from a sharpened machete and fire? Did your agencies in Jos Plateau not close down for days on account of the massacres? Can you, by lexical classification of causes of disasters thus, measure the pain and the need of the people who have lost houses, limbs, relatives and properties, and to whom every hand of help stretched forward at this moment is another great step towards recovery? CAN YOU QUANTIFY LOSS, OR PAIN, IN WORDS SUCH AS HUMAN OR NATURAL? In my first letters to you, I tried to avoid putting the responsibility of response on your conscience because, indeed, it is a man-made disaster – a result of hate and intolerance for which some misguided compatriots are complicit. But so was the genocide in Rwanda as well as the Jewish holocaust in Europe. I put it on you now because I would hate to think that, if given the chance to help wounded survivors of either crisis in 1994 or in 1944, you would have turned your back as you now do with a polite email response and a one-off discount. The world, I thought, has moved on from days of a blind eye, insensitivity, and a thick-skinned shrug of “Well, let them deal with it. They’ll come back and patronize us again sooner or later.” Am I wrong?
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I therefore thank you for your 50% one-off provision which – as I said – I will be calling to redeem. But until you respond more favourably, we will keep writing messages on your Facebook wall and sending you tweets every morning to you to make money transfer free for a limited time to Jos. Sorry Brian, but we just won’t let you off this easily. Western Union is too big a name in this business to bail out on 510,000 people (the current population of Jos) when they need you. And this little effort on your part will not kill you. I promise.
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One day when you come over to Nigeria, I might take you on a little trip in Jos to see the sites šŸ˜‰ but until then, let me await your response with my last remaining optimism.
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Thank you.
Regards.

To Western Union was published on March 25th, 2010, with the tags , , , under the Observations, Opinion, Soliloquy category. There are currently 3 comments on this article so far.

Jos!

“I am Nigerian, not a terrorist. I do not kill people that are not from other parts of my country.” – from Politically Incorrect (January 1st 2010)

When I served the country Nigeria in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service in a little village close to the city of Jos in 2005, the state still had as its motto “The Home of Peace and Tourism” even though there was always a shadow of violence looming in the corner and in every conversation. In September 2001, four years before I arrived there, there was one of the bloodiest bouts of violence between the Hausa-Fulani “settlers” and “indigenes” of the state and when the smoke cleared, there were over a thousand people dead, home and businesses destroyed. In a few months, things always returned to normalcy but there was always the shadow of looming violence. Nobody knew when it would raise its ugly head or what its trigger would be. But it was always there.

Read Jos, a city torn apart a report by the Human Rights Watch in 2001

In May 2004, a few months before I got my deployment papers to travel over 800km from my base to Plateau State, there was another bout of killings in Yelwa, the southern part of the state in which over 700 people died. There is a report of it here. In all of these cases, the failure of government has been the biggest cause of that much carnage. In all cases, the violence has spread and caused irreparableĀ havocĀ before the agents of state showed up. And in some cases, when they eventually showed up, they took sides and went beyond their call and did some extra-judicial killings of their own. Of all the ills of a badly run government, the biggest most disappointing crime is to be found guilty of taking sides and complicating the already messed up situation and not bringing to justice the perpetrators of previous crimes.

While I was in Riyom, a short distance from the state capital of Jos, I lived in relative shelter from the political realities of the town, but only to the extent of actual violence that eventually took place in some other parts of the state even while I was there. I was not sheltered from the conversations and the anger. For many who lived in my parts of the state, the problem of the state was not only fuelled by religion, but also by a political and economic undertone. Who were the indigenes and who were the settlers. To most who had an opinion, the Hausa-Fulani cattle herders had come from the North to take over the land from the Plateau indigenes of a different tribe and way of life. Plateau state is one of Nigeria’s most linguistically and ethnically pluralized state, yet Hausa is a language spoken by all in addition to local languages. In Riyom where I lived, the language was Berom. Yet, they never saw themselves as Hausa-Fulani and always seemed to be fighting against a perceived dominance of the language and culture of the “settlers”.

In Nigeria today, this issue is sadly one of the biggest threats to survival. Not just religion, but a politics of ethnic domination, mistrust and well, ignorance/arrogance. And because of that, a lush area of the nation that could as well have laid claim to being the best place to live in the country because of its climate, history and people is entangled in a burning fire with over three hundred people dead, mostly women and children in a reprisal attack. In an ideal federation, there should never be a limit on where one wants to live, as long as one can respect the rules of the land which are fair and just. The religious dimension to this crises is just as unfortunate as it is saddening. Yet, THERE IS NO GOD IN THAT VIOLENCE! If He is, then it is high time we removed him from all affairs of state because this is not one of his best public statements of eternal goodness. The case in Plateau state as well as many other volatile regions in the country – including many in the south as well -is the distrust that comes from ethnic affiliations. When it becomes tied to economic and political survival, hell is let loose – especially in the absence of a moderating influence of a trusted agent of state.

Today, I am enraged like everyone else wondering how we got here and wondering where we go from this cycle of violence. More than prayers for the family of victims, we need a more responsible and responsive government just as much as we need better education for all. And as deterrent, all culprits in the killings must be brought to book, and to justice. If international intervention is needed, let us have it. Those who kill fellow citizens do not deserve to live among us if they deserve to live at all. There is nothing that should stop Hausa-Fulani cattle herders from living and prospering in Jos or in any part of Plateau State, and neither should there be a threat to the practice of Christianity, Islam or any religion by any indigene of the state. What we should fight against is the threat of domination or force. The sky is big enough for birds to fly, as the proverb says. For years religions have lived alongside each other without any threat of violence. What has changed? Yes, politicians and the elite have exploited the differences to their own advantages even at the expense of lives and property of innocent women and children. Well, enough is enough!

On March 16, there will be a rally of Nigerian youths to remind the government why it matters that things are done properly. I cannot attend, but will be there in spirit. For once, I wish I could suggest that the rally takes place in Jos Plateau rather than in Abuja, at least in solidarity with the forces of good. In my case, I do intend to go back to the state when I’m back in Nigeria. I still have friends there, many of whom I’m still in touch with. I will be going with a big camera and I intend to visit new places that I didn’t get to see in my first visit. It is not just a huge sense of loss and sadness that moves me so, it is also a sense of disappointment, and such a wasted chance of nationhood as exemplified by Jos, formerly “the home of peace and tourism.” What’s more, there are hundreds of Youths deployed to the state now on the mandatory National Youth Service whose life is being put on the line without adequate security. The last time there was a crisis of this proportion, at least one member of the Youth Corp was killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shame! Shame! Well, that too has to change!

My last bout of this much outrage was at the Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk, and it produced some deprecating politically-incorrect writings in which I had joked darkly:Ā “I am a Nigerian, not a terrorist. I don’t kill people who are not from my part of the country.” Well, here is exactly what I meant at that time. And this is why the world at large needs to respond and direct attention to Jos, Nigeria NOW before it gets even more out of hand and we produce another international terrorist. The culture of impunity must stop and the killers be brought to book.

Read more on the news story on the BBC.

PS: Please never stop praying. And if you can, please send money to the Red Cross which is still organizing relief efforts for survivors and the wounded. It is a sad day for humanity. One more thing – for Nigerians in the United States, please badger the Western Union on Facebook and on Twitter until they make it free to send money from the United States to Jos during this trying period. They need to know how grave it is. They did it for Haiti, they did it for Chile. Now is the time to demand same for Jos which is as well a terrible humanitarian crisis situation. You can make requests by writing on the wall of their Facebook page, and sending a tweetline to make said request. Western Union has been known to respond to humanitarian needs around the world.

(Photos from the website of the Human Rights Watch and the Anglican Diocese of Jos. Warning: gruesome images!)

Jos! was published on March 10th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , , , under the News, Observations, Opinion, Soliloquy category. There are currently 24 comments on this article so far.

Western Union Sucks/Rocks!

It usually depends on whom you have decided to ask, but if you ask me, I’d say they don’t do too badly, although they could improve. Actually, if you had asked me sometimes early yesterday morning, I’d have said without equivocation: Western Union sucks!!! Here is the story.

The other alternative to sending money to Nigeria would have been to wait until some other person is travelling home from here. That other person would be travelling in a few weeks. Too long, I thought. Of course there is also that option of sending said money via wire transfer, but we already know how dumb that is. Bank charges will end up depleting said transfer even before it gets to destination, so that left the Western Union.

A friend had told me a few hours earlier to go to a Western Union physical location to send said money rather than send it via their website, and something had told me that it may have had to do with the “Nigerian” factor. Nevertheless, I went to the website and started the sending process. There was an experience to be had, and in any case, I didn’t want to go out. Wasn’t technology supposed to make things easier?

So I completed all the forms online, specified said amount, specified my card numbers, specified recipient’s address, and my address plus phone numbers. Everything was supposed to be fine, right? No. The last page of the transaction had the information for me to call a customer’s service number before the transaction could be finally confirmed. So I did.

“What’s your name sir?”

I told her.

“And where are you sending this from?”

I told her.

“And who’s the recipient sir?”

I told her.

“Okay, I hope you don’t mind, we are supposed to ask you this questions to confirm your identity.”

“No problem,” I said. “I don’t mind at all. Is that all?”

“No, I would like to have your zip code.”

I gave it.

“Alright. Give me a moment please.” She said, and I waited for a few minutes. Then she came back on the line. “I’m sorry Mr. Callerwarlay, this transaction has been declined. You will need to go to a physical location to send your funds.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m sorry, but I can not disclose the reason, as a matter of policy. Do you want me to tell you the nearest WU office to you?”

“Of course NOT. I need to know the reason for this arbitrary screening…”

“I’m sorry sir, but that’s the policy…”

I was too annoyed to continue, or to inform my friend that she could have been right, so I hung up the phone. Now I would have to go out to the ATM, withdraw money, take the bus and go to a bank. That sucks. How much do I even have in my account? Lemme check. I logged on to my bank only to find, horror of horrors, that the said amount has been deducted from my account already. What? I picked up the phone again, this time with a perceptible irritation in my voice.

“You did tell me that my last transaction was declined, without reason, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“I have just checked my account balance, and guess what, the money has been deducted.”

“Oh yes sir, that happens. The money is not with WU. We have not charged you for the transaction, but your bank may have removed it because you authorized it to while completing the form online.”

“What?”

“Yes sir. If you’d call them, they’d tell you how soon the money would be returned. It shouldn’t be more than 5 to 7 business days.”

“Let me get this straight,” I said. “You won’t complete my transaction for an unknown reason, yet you can keep my money for seven days?”

“No sir. The money is with the bank. Not with us.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” I replied, “And I won’t wait for another seven days. You either reverse the deduction right now or give me a reason for why you are not completing my transaction.”

“Please talk slowly sir,” She said. “I’m having trouble hearing you now.”

“Alright ma’am. The problem is that I NEED to send that money today, and I don’t have enough money in my account to try again, so you will have put my money back in there right now, or I won’t let you go.”

“Sir, there’s nothing we can do. You’ll have to contact your bank.”

There is nothing I hate more than bottlenecks, and I knew right then that my bank would take at least 5 days to rectify this situation, which was none of my fault. It was enough insult to be denied the chance to send money from the comfort of my room. But to add the injury of having my money to use while I wait? Nope, I aint taking it.

So I said, “please let me speak with your supervisor if you can’t handle this.” I’d been told that this always helps.

“No problem sir. Give me a minute,” she said, and put me on hold.

He came on the line soon enough, and after listening to my rant, explained that the transaction was declined because I had given the wrong answer to a question during the final verification call. That’s crazy, I said. I doubt that could have been possible because I took extra efforts to be sure that everything was accurate. HeĀ apologizedĀ again profusely and said the money was with the bank. Still.

“Is there anyway you could reverse the declined transaction so that I can do it again, now that you can confirm my identity?”

“No sir. It’s not that easy. It’s all for security reasons. You may try again tomorrow, but I’d advise that you go to a physical location to send it.”

“So what about my money that has now been deducted?” I asked.

“Hold on a minute, let me speak with you bank to know when they’d return it.”

“They’d better return it right now, or I’m not taking it gently.”

“Don’t worry. Just hold on for a minute while I speak with them.”

After a few mins, he got back on the line to tell me that my money had been returned. I checked and it was so. On top of that, he offered me a promotion code with which I could go to a physical location and get 50% off the sending fees. What else could I ask for? I hung up, satisfied. The money has now been sent, and successfully received, although I had to take a bus to get to the physical location not so close by. But it was not that bad. I got a free ride by my professor, and I was able to shop for some groceries. And the 50% discount didn’t hurt either. It is not too bad a customer service experience, but I would like not to have to go through such stress if I can just send the money online, from the comfort of my room.

PS: The money was towards to Jos Red Cross relief efforts.

Western Union Sucks/Rocks! was published on February 19th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the adventures, Observations, Soliloquy category. There are currently 9 comments on this article so far.

Update on KTravulAID for Jos/Haiti

Apologies to all concerned readers of this blog who had wanted to make donations to the Red Cross in Nigeria for the Jos Relief efforts but couldn’t do so because of the problems of wire transfer. I take part of the blame for not making the best suggestions. Here now is my best idea since I found out today that wire transfer costs up to $50 in charges from the US to Nigeria. It hardly makes sense. If you want to donate to the Jos relief efforts by the Red Cross in Nigeria, please make said donations through Western Union to a reliable friend/acquaintance in Nigeria and have them pay the money into the Access bank account on your behalf. Then let them scan and send to you a proof of said payment, and we can take it from there. For those already in Nigeria, all you have to do is just to walk up to Access Bank Plc, and make your donations. The account information again is as follows:

ACCESS BANK PLC

ACCOUNT NAME: NIG. REDCROSS SOCIETY ā€“ JOS CRISIS RELIEF FUND

ACCOUNT NAME: 0430010005230

SORT CODE: 044080439

BRANCH: ADETOKUNBO ADEMOLA BRANCH, ABUJA

However, if you are an American and you do not have any Nigerian to send the money to, please leave me a comment here publicly, and send me a mail to let me know, and I will send you an my account number to send it to. Then I can send it home via Western Union and have someone pay it on your behalf.

So far, here is the breakdown of how much we have raised:

$145 from an anonymous in Illinois, who actually planned to donate $100, but due to bank wire charges, she ended up parting with $145 at the Bank of America. The money should be in Jos by now.

$80 from Clarissa my wonderful colleague at Edwardsville.

$50 from Tayo in Lagos for whom I may have to bring her artwork by hand when my time eventually runs out in this charming little town.

And finally, LaurensOnline.com, a shoe and bag-selling outfit in Lagos Nigeria has volunteered to sell all items from now till the end of stock at 20% off if you show proof of donation of any amount to the relief effort in Jos Nigeria. All you need to do is show such proof, and you get 20% off of your purchases. Without such proof, you still get a 10% off. So what are you waiting for? If you live in Lagos, find them for your Valentine purchases of shoes, bags and beads. My now famous boots are courtesy of them, so I know they sell quality.

This brings us to a gross total of $275 and a net of $230 so far raised. To all contributors, we say a big THANK YOU.

However, this offer to give free KTravularts will end with the month of February. If you are interested in the offer still, please hurry and make your donations now. Read details here.

Update on KTravulAID for Jos/Haiti was published on February 4th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the Uncategorized category. There are currently 1 comment on this article so far.

What a Wonderful World

This video of the song by Louis Armstrong is one of my best of all times, for obvious reasons: it shows Sachmo himself singing his most famous tune live on stage. I’ve heard the song remade by so many people from Rod Stewart to Michael BublĆ©, but nothing beats the deep baritone of the father of Jazz.

The song’s lyrics however is another matter, as much as they speak of hope, of beauty and the wonderful world we have. Against the background of wars, natural disasters, diseases, and people killing each other for no just reason, it is very hard to sing this today without a sense of irony. I saw a video yesterday of a bunch of apparently drunk Nigerian soldiers shooting captured but unarmed civilians to death in one of the latest ethnic crises in the country. Why, I wonder now, is hope and optimism so very hard to conjur. It is a wonderful world, yes? But since when? And for whom?

Enjoy the song and ignore my attempt to drag you into my own contemplations.

What a Wonderful World was published on February 2nd, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the Soliloquy category. There are currently 2 comments on this article so far.