why?

The familiar sms tone of my phone made me grumpily open my eyes."Who must this be in the wee hours of this morn?" I pondered.Scratching my eyes I picked up my phone to read this mind shattering message; "Our Papa is gone." "Tee!" I screamed."Tee's Papa is gone!" Hot tears came cascading down my eyes and my body shook uncontrollably.Four days earlier we lost our security guard to the dark,cold hands of death.He died from "MALARIA." "Malaria!" In this day and age that medical sciences have sky rocketed...people still die from malaria.Tee's Papa was no exemption from the death list,he died from Diabetes.Illnesses that could be easily controlled,yet claims the lives of many in this land.
Why do we allow these people die? What is our government doing to alleviate the sufferings of the people? Must being poor be a ticket to the grave yard?

Political Banga Soup.

The riotuous pot was shaking...the soup boiling fervently.The familiar aroma of Mama's banga soup beckoned unto me like the town crier's "Agogo".Who can withstand the active call of the divers ingredients of Mama's pot of banga soup,the "eastern Asa fish" straining amongst the " western Pomo" and "the northern beef" to be seen. The periwinkles of the South not being left out are comandeering the bottom part of the pot,claiming that domain as their territory with shouts of marginalization in the air.
Poor citizens of the banga soup! They fail to see that they together give great pride and integrity to this prized delicacy.Their different tongues,cultures and origins contribute to the uniqueness of the taste which is bound to change when you have one without the other.
A little "maggi patriotism" will not do the trick. It takes the expertise of Mama's deligent fingers in the mastery and art of banga soup preparation, to concoct the exquisite taste of this National soup,to the delight of the waiting masses who chroused in unison,"Prepare the Usi (starch)!"

Beauty with the Beast

In front of me,I see the ocean in her grandeur roaring with life and the voice of thunderous awe. Around me was poverty...deformed beggers with empty bowls and a great stench emanating from their unwashed bodies,singing gospel songs to the ocean watchers to earn a little for their daily bread.Hungry dogs playing in the sands with their hides stuck to their skeletons.The pungent smell of marijuana embracing me within her arms.Two hundred meters behind me,



a grand five star hotel,towering the skies with her majestic angles and within her the rich and famous wining,dinning and smoking their thick cigars amidst rich foods and the smell of exotic perfumes. A perfect compliment of beauty with the beast.

Isenyor

A truly happy face...A rare vision to find.In the lowest of places,true happiness can be found.I was sitted in a bus amidst the struggling masses and there I beheld this vision of innocence and serenity.She sat on her mothers laps giggling and smiling endlessly.I took a peek at her and then reverted my gaze.She kept on giggling and wispered something into her mother's ear.The mother erupted in laughter and spoke in a native tongue.I tried to resist but could not help but look into the young,dark face.She look straight into my eyes and broke into a wide grin.Instinctively,I thought of my camera phone,such a vision so true is hard to come by.I asked this little one,"Can I have a picture of you?" "Mama?" She said,with a questioning look on her face. I turned to her mother and asked "Madam,may I take a picture of your daughter? "Oh sure,go ahead" She gave me her permission.I didn't hesitate to grab my phone and click I went,excited beyond measure.I thanked the little one and her mother too."What is your name?" I asked. She said, "ISENYOR!"

An Ode to "J"

I call her "J" ,
She keeps me gay.
A five foot four inches of energy,
She rivals the bee in dexterity.


An Ivory skin gazelle,
With short croppped hair.
Everywhere,she turns heads,
With the "sure footed" way she treads.


An Enigma to some,a friend of mine.
She helps me stay on a straight line.
She leads me to a solution,
When I fall down in grief to a conclusion.


I ponder and remember,
What happened last december.
I was pregnant with worry,
But she made it not tarry.


I remember that dark night,
The stars refused their light.
"J" was the lone Match,
That shone light on the dark patch.


Oh fair and merry "J"
God bless your everyday.
As long as I breath and live,
My thanks to you I give.

African Woman.

The African Woman,

So graceful and strong.

Always by her man,

In the violent storm.

She toils from morn till twilight,

Always; A smile on her lips.

She shows her children the light,

While balancing them on her hips.

*********************************

Thanks to Essence Vibez for their beautiful picture.

I bid my time.

The past weekend was the Gubernatorial elections in my country.Although we had some uproars here and there and "Fire and brime stone" in Port Harcourt city,it was relatively Ok.I spent the whole weekend at home...didn't bother voting since I'm not interested in the crooked politics of this country.
Talking about crookedness! The slightest inch or square meter in this land of mine is corrupt.Who am I to grumble when even places of work are political grounds of their own.We've got the "Rivals" of each sections of the company,the "Followers" and we also have the "Prostitutes" who are willing to do anything as long as they have Naira notes falling into their pockets."Then where do you stand?" You may ask me.I am the "Observer",I watch all that is happening around me.I have nothing to say but to watch and conclude."Coward!" You may holler at me.But please understand...I bid my time.There is a time for everything.A time to sow and a time to reap.A time for "Corruption" and a time for "Revolution." "Like I said....I bid my time."

The 5 Laws of Gold.

Presently,I am pondering on these 5 Laws of Gold.I will write them down for your benefit;

1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment,multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in it's handling.

4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in it's keep.

5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.


Surely,the grammer of these Laws does indicate to you that they were written centuries ago but I tell you,every single word of it is true and is still applicable to modern day life.Being the profligate that I am,I spend like money is going out of fashion but a little wise old book did make me come to realisation that I may never get the success I want if i am not prudent in my financial dealings.This book talks about the richest man in Babylon by the name Arkad who rose from the lowly state of a scribe,carving laws on tablets to the richest man in Babylon."How did he do this?" you may ask.He got tired of his pennilessness and decided to heed wise admonitions from a money lender named Algamish and this was,"A PART OF ALL I EARN IS MINE TO KEEP." This is easier said than done.From personal experience,the wants and needs of everyday life eats into our savings but with discipline and fierce determination this can be achieved.Where does the Laws of Gold come into play? It is one's ability to invest wisely one's savings to bear children and grandchildren and using them all wisely until you beacome "The Richest Man of Your Own Domain."

Sardines In a Tin.

On my way to work I decided to take the Estate Shuttle bus.I was in the mood to save money instead of blowing cash on taxis.I was sitting just behind the driver with two other passengers on the same sit and in came a huge woman with a huge butt too.Obviously,the sits behind us weren't taken but this woman wanted a sit on my row and in so doing,used her butt to shove me aside.I did see red and I retorted by saying; "Hey Lady! There's more room behind,you don't have to push me.The guy sitting next to me muttered something about how people lacked common sense.This Lady knew that the space beside me couldn't take her size but she was bent on sitting there."Haba Madam" I said,"Why are you shoving me to the side? The Naira notes you are paying aren't fatter or slimmer than mine,why do you have to use my slim stature as a reason to wriggle your big butt into this seat?" "Shut up" She said." Is your father the owner of this bus?" The occupants of the shuttle bus went into a frenzy.Curses and insults were being hurled from one end of the bus to the other.It was a free for all in the bus and the driver not wanting to be left out ensued in a word combact with the passenger sitting beside him.He stopped the bus and went into a full fledged battle with his passengers and we had to beg him to take us to our destination.This is the typical Nigerian work day episode...especially in a place like Lagos.Thanks to God we alighted at the next bus stop without ramming the bus into a car. At the next bus stop I took another bus,this bus was much better at least we didn't have a mad circus in it but we were all cramped in like sardines in a tin. Sweat smells and fish stench over powered my subtle perfume.I just couldn't wait to get to my stop.This is what the poor masses in Lagos deal with on a daily basis and then when you get to work,you get dragon bosses breathing down your neck.Well, "No shaking...We will survive".

Beginning of the road...

I just tot of havin a blog...at least to document my everyday experiences which I believe will be wierdly interesting..I am Matse in my mid-twenties and far away in Africa.I come from a large family with six brothers and three sisters..."Wow! That many?" You may say.Yes,I am blessed and I know.
I work with a Luxury company in Lagos, Nigeria.We deal on home entertainment systems and I have Good colleagues (rolling my eyes).Some times they make feel a sledge hammer would be a good toy...you know...for practicing.Today is a new day and as usual,I am all alone in the office waiting for the others to arrive...Shit! The ignormity of being the youngest staff in the office.I get to do all the early resumings and stuff...silently seathing inside and wishing for when I'll be up the ladder and have someone as my foot-stool.Having someone to boss around is sure cool,you can let out your anger on this poor scape goat...for now,I am that goat but i can handle it as long as the Law of Averages will even out things for me...I'm optimistic.
As for my love life,I sent him packing (tongue in cheek) or was it the other way round? The guy was silently draining me emotionally and I couldn't take it no more.I told him it was over but could not stop myself from punching his number on my cell phone,meanwhile hiding my caller identity so that he wouldn't recorgnise my number.Call me fickle-hearted but I'm only human and sometimes I break."Good riddance to bad rubbish" A bold babe will say but the rubbish does seem appealing especially when lonliness comes knocking at the door.Enough for today,I'll tell you more on the morrow.