Fi(red) Up

Today's edition of "The Post" included an article that a student @ Baylor University had written about the Product Red campaign. The full article can be viewed here.
I am a strong believer in the greater good. Granted not everyone who donates is doing it because they care, most are doing it because it's a fad or to blow their trumpet using their chest, face or feet. However when it comes to charity, I believe the end justifies the means. When the people who need the money are getting their basic provisions or when research in AIDS is being advanced, the question will not be why did it take a fad to get them to donate; the thought will be how can we make people go deeper into their pockets. Short of killing someone and embezzling their money, I doubt that the source of the money is not important.
Yes those of us in under-developed countries need more than money thrown at us, but I will be the first to tell you that those children will tell you that the money is a start. Sometimes I hear people who talk about charity from a distance condemn and chastise these famous people for selling a fad and I wonder what these same critics are doing. What efforts have you personally made to advance one kid or to educate the illiterate or help the needy? Yet you want to stay on your soap-box and criticise Bono, Oprah, Angelina or Clooney for using their fame to raise money for a cause that is needed.
And when you think about it, these yuppies and their (red)-tagged attires will influence others who see this as a real cause. After all, Malcolm X did not wake up thinking revolution, Elijah Muhammed brought about his awareness and we all know what kind of person Elijah was.

Twilight Zone

I turned 24 three days, thirteen hours and forty-six minutes ago. I was too tired to evaluate or think about anything else but getting through the day. I didn't even feel like celebrating the event, just another passing day telling me it's time to get out of Athens and into the workforce somewhere else.
I have recently reached the point where I wonder if I still have a lot of years ahead of me or the best is gone and all that's left to look forward to is back aches and the like. If you listen to my cousins tell it, they would say I am a dinosaur. On the other hand, I know I've only experienced a third of all I have to experience in this life. Although six years in America and 17 in Nigeria makes me feel like I have experienced more than my share at this point in my life.
I distinctly remember having a conversation with my friend right before I turned 23 about how the age of 30 is the golden age of most men. It is the moment when you know you are going to be a success or a failure. This conversation helped me come up with what I called 7-year plan. It encompassed graduation, working, owning real estate, investments and of course marriage, all in that order. These days all I think about are the first two items on that list i.e. getting done with my Masters and finding an enviable position in the workforce a la Chevron, bP, Exxon and so on. I don't kid myself into thinking everything else will fall into place, but I've amassed enough experience to know that my path can only be lit by focus, dedication and passion.
24 years have passed and with it all the innocence that I once claimed to possess.

First of the year

The new year brings lots of new things. Resolutions, Promises, Excitement, Anticipation etc. Most importantly, it has given my the chance to love again. Yes I know, maybe it's still the champagne from the New Year's Eve party that's kicking in. Trust me, that wore off by noon the next day.
When I first laid eyes on her, I wasn't initially impressed. I felt she would be like everything else in my life that has come, got broken and is now dissolved in the pool of past crushes. Then I started to pay attention and I realized (in the words of Beauty and the Beast), perhaps "there's something there that wasn't there before". The more I paid attention, the more intrigued I became and now I'm wrapped around the idea that this could actually work. People says looks don't matter, but those people lie. Looks are what make u snap your head around twice and catch your eye, and I tell ya those curves made me look again and again. Yes I know building relationships take time, effort and patience and every new one is different from the previous one; I am not too worried though, because getting to know her is the exciting part. When things begin to get rocky, I know I have dependable people I can share my troubles with. I just hope I'm able to afford her. Here's her picture. And if that doesn't impress you, this should.

Blood Diamond

It's 2:11 am right now and I should probably be sleeping, but after watching this movie tonight, some things were weighing on my mind. I'm not quite sure if it's the fact that when one buys jewelry they have no idea what that rock has been through, or if it's the fact that a place that has numerous natural resources is highly indebted to the "developed" countries or if it's just that my continent is still roaming around trying to find itself.
There is so much turmoil in Africa and amidst it all, there are folks making a fortune from the resources that are supposed to benefit the indigenes of the land. It's moments like this that I think about Desmond Tutu's words: When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. Now it seems we're forever indebted to the Europeans and Americans and have no choice but to continually export our resources unfairly to either purchase arms to kill and subdue the weaker ones or obtain money to put in our personal pockets.
The last time I felt like this was after watching Hotel Rwanda and seeing how all the fighting started because at one time one tribe was continually made to seem better than the other and the reaction was the genocide. Yet the same people who fed this conflict decided to fold their arms when it was time to step in and profer some help or assistance. Something similar happened in Nigeria with the Biafran war and yet I fear that it could happen again if the folks of the Delta region decide they want to fight for their rights to control the oil. After all, if I am lucky enough to have found myself on an oil-rich field, shouldn't I have some sort of benefit from it?
The next question I ask myself is what can be done? It's time to stop blaming the government because it is our people that are in the government. It's time to stop blaming the whites because at one time they were fighting amongst themselves (American Revolution) and somehow they have rebounded from that some years later to become partners (U.S. and U.K.). It's time to stop looking outward and begin looking inward to how we can pick up ourselves and the only way we can begin to do this is first to realize that we can effect a change. It takes smarts to defraud people, this same savvy can be somehow translated into a positive. I know on my own part I'm interested in increasing the education of my people. This will not just happen in the classrooms, but in their everyday lives and I'm talking specifically about reading. We need more libraries and then there are those who will take an active interest in moving this idea forward on four wheels. This is why I say again that I am excited about this group of young people coming together to move things forward.

On the 20/20 issue

I have quite a number of friends who are not African, even more who are not Nigerian, therefore I feel it's my responsibility to clarify some of the things that had been said on Friday Night's edition of 20/20. If you did not get an opportunity to see it, go here and look at the video links on the right side. I am sure we've all received the emails where someone says there's some money somewhere in the millions and you need to pay a certain fee to get access to that money. Maybe you have received the email saying you should send your name and account number for the money to be transferred to you.
After watching the show, I couldn't help laughing. This wasn't because I took the issue lightly; far from it. It was because I was surprised by how easily it was to take advantage of people who should know better but didn't. I honestly don't feel sorry for anyone that got scammed. It would be a different story if these people were giving money to a noble cause and got scammed out of it. This wasn't the case however, these were people on both sides trying to make quick bucks and one side got burnt in the process. It is strange to me that a congressman and a surgeon could be victims of these fraudsters, but it just goes to show that sometimes greed will take you to lengths you never even fathomed. I feel in this case I have to quote Malcolm X: This is a case of the chickens coming home to roost: the culture of defrauding people for promised wealth is coming around full circle and the price will be paid by the innocent and the guilty.
Then there are the scammers themselves whom ABC apparently thinks we are applauding. Apparently making a music video poking fun at the scams equates to elevating the scammers as icons of the society. That's like saying Eminem's "Stan" was praising crazed fans, N.W.A.'s "Fuck Tha Police" song was praising cop killers or maybe Big & Rich's "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" is actually saying cowboys should be a jockey's best friend. The truth is these scammers don't have to explain themselves, it's people like me that have to try to justify why we can still call Nigeria home, just like no matter how much your brother or sister mess up, family's still family. I'm disgusted by the actions some of my people have undertaken to make money, but I can't blame them after they continually feel that making an honest living is not the key to success.
In the end though I wonder if people are more mad about being scammed or mad at the people they were scammed by, after all some still consider us to be lazy, ignorant fools.

Affirmative Action banned in Michigan

It was another day of facebook browsing and I'm not sure how I stumbled on this group, but it was a group associated with Proposal 2. Apparently this proposal has passed in Michigan and it is sparking some controversy. Anyhow, I came across a thread with the title "Stop whining and get the hell over it" and I was reading through it. You can find it here. However if you don't have facebook, here are the person's statements

what is affirmative action for anyways? the slavery? jim crow laws? some sort of revenge for a racial or gender injustice. well get the hell over it already. racial, sexual, and gender discrimination is a part of human history, all over the world. the english enslaved the irish for over 500 years. and the scots for 100 years, does that mean i get reparations or better treatment from them if i lived there? hell no. are the south african blacks getting treated favorably in south africa for apartheid? do the germans have a means of social apology to the jews? is japan going to apologize for the rape of nan-king and manchuria? are the egyptians going to apologize for enslaving the jews? are the modern day romans (italians) going to apologize for conquering germany? hell no. and none of these conquerors are going to give a damn dime to who they conquered. and they shouldn't.

conquering and slavery happened to the weaker, less advanced, and less aggressive people. the native americans were conquered by the europeans because they were 5000 years behind in technology. same with the romans to the barbarians. the african slaves were never conquered by europeans. when one tribe conquered another in northern africa, the conquering tribe sold the losing tribe for rum, guns, textiles, and sugar. to any black person reading this in america: you were conquered. but it was by your own people and you were sold by your own people.

and by weak i mean that some races actually fought back. the scottish fought back against the english. ever see braveheart? the love interest wasnt there but those battles did happen. the english only ruled the scots for 100 years because the scots revolted and told the english to get the fuck out. just like the indians and mahatma ghandi did. so dont blame the race that enslaved you, blame your ancestors for being weak. and be strong and go out and conquer the economy, and make a shitload of money because you want to, and do it with a level field.

and native americans. i am really fucking sick of giving you money, free college tuition and tax breaks. get over it already. if my ancestors wouldve never come to america and brought you up to speed with technology, you would still be sitting in a skin hut on dirt, with only a fire to keep you warm in the winter. no metal tools, no tv, no playstation, no booze, no electricity, no computers of any kind. i dont care how many of your race my ancestors killed. without them you would be nothing. you would still be 5000 years behind. if anything, you owe us. same goes the people of african tribal ancestry.

lastly, not all white people are the same ancestry. ive looked into it, and all of my ancestors came to this country and lived in the north after the civil war. they had nothing to do with slavery, or manifest destiny. they just came here and lived, in search of the american dream.

and lastly, im not calling any black person "african american" unless they are actually from africa, as in born in africa. are you going to call me "western european american"? no, and you shouldn't because its ridiculous. and i actually know kids from africa; sudanese lost boys. they don't want to be called african. they hate africa. they were chased around 3 countries in the savannah. if you're black and were born here, you are american, not african, and you just happen to be black just like i am white. get over it.

It's comments like this that make one wonder if we're in 2006 or if we're still back in stoneage. I understand that Affirmative Action (AA) is unfair to a number of people, but it's a positive step in making up for the social ills of the past. Allow me if I may to use the analogy of the BCS, every year the process of selecting the college champion is refined. It's not a perfect process to begin with, but that is why people of intellectual ability into power so they can think through policies in place. If AA is not doing what it is meant to do, then it should be replaced with a better process rather than scraping it. This person also made a point referring to black South Africans and the Irish and so on. First off, the Irish are not forced to live in the same country as the British so that cancels that arguement out and as for the South Africans, you have to remember that there may not be reparations, but the people who have ruled this country in the past couple of years are black and therefore have put policies in places that will advance their people's causes. It's like at my current university where we have had a black president for the first time. There are issues that he knows about which an average caucasian has no idea about and hence will overlook if he were a policy maker. In my opinion AA is good and there is need for improvement but scraping it is not the way to go . . . and yet one wonders if there is such a thing as a global community when people still feel they are better than another by virtue of what they look like or where they live and so on.

Leadership and Vision

I was reading some website when I stumbled upon this quote by Colin Powell: As soon as people stop coming to you with their problems, you quit being their leader, and I got to thinking about leadership. I have just completed a seminar on leadership and the one thing I learnt is that leaders are visionaries. This is the most exciting part of leadership as far as I am concerned: being hit with an idea and watching that idea grow. The problem is I never give myself time to sit down and meditate and the next big thing I want to do. I continually feel like I am running around and managing my life rather than enforcing the leadership side of me.
I also started thinking about this when a friend invited me to join a group. Now I know there are a lot of people who have thought about this (mostly Africans), yet it took her to step up and begin this effort for me and those other folks to get galvanized into action. I applaud her vision and somehow in the back of my mind, I wonder if my busy work is hindering or helping me to also achieve my optimum potential. Now all that's left for me to do is work as hand in hand with the other impressive people I will be coming in contact as this effort begins to bear fruit.