MOVE YOUR BODY

d banj's new video with the guys from mo ht records. Tight video for naija standards.

Me and the rest of them

As a victim of growing up under cultural clashes, and being a very observant person of the cultures and behaviors of the people around me, I have observed that the Nigerian culture is a very communal one. The Nigerian culture supports the idea of an individual gaining an ideal status with aid from the rest of the community. This culture encourages being responsible for those in the community you belong to. No matter how large of a city one lives in Nigeria, you are still connected in the very tightly stitched fabric of the community. The community can even range from your extended family, your neighbours, teachers and basically everyone you know. However, the western culture teaches individualism and independence. It doesn't allow reliance on others (even your family) for aid. I have come to observe that people here start getting independent from a younger age. They really don't form bonds with others in the community. I'm not saying people don't make friends, it's just that you aren't stitched to the community, as much as what we experience in Nigeria. I guess this is the reason why capitalism is popular in the west. I recently read things fall apart(which is the only written record of the igbo and even Nigerian culture, which I know of). It's a book about machismo, strength, communalism, colonization, self fulfilment and so on. Chinua Achebe emphasizes on the manner at which the community as a whole is more important than the individuals. Not only is communalism prominent in the east, but in all parts of Nigeria. This consequently leads us to be people who are highly conscious of our society, that when we make some choices, we think of the effects these choices will have on the society. Surprisingly, this subjective choice making is often reflexive.

There is always this constant battle between individualism and communalism. The former allows one to make choices based on his personal reasons and learn from those mistakes, while the latter usually does not give room for those mistakes, as you are expected the follow the laid out rules the community has set up. They both have their pros and cons. Although, individualism is often blamed for causing people to stick in their sometimes destructive shells thereby fostering anti-social behaviors(which is common in the west), while communalism puts pressure on people to place their society in high esteem, even more than themselves.

Still on the topic, and on Things fall apart, there is a part of the novel which I think depicts this topic.

Does anyone remember where Nwoye (Okonkwo's son) experiences an epiphany. On hearing the Christians preach, he embraces this new religion not for its teachings ,but the simple fact that it answers the personal and deep question plaguing him. He connects a hymn of two brothers who were in darkness, to his friendship with Ikemefuna. His personal choice to become christian and shun his community's beliefs enrages everyone, as he is seen as a traitor. Finally, I believe that a fusion of these two ideologies in moderation, can create a stable, free, and well knit society.

Your side of the bar

I'm recovering from the Nigerian event, I went to yesterday. Okay, I'm exaggerating, it wasn't so bad, that I have to recover from it. Nevertheless, Nigerian events can give someone a serious head ache. It never starts on time, it is unnecessarily prolonged. It was a reception program for one of the commissioners. The event was nice, but just too long. It made me freaking tired that I wished I was back in school. Even the speeches were so long and most of the speakers were just saying stuff that I wished I had an ear plug. There was this guy representing the Sudanese community(mehn!! these people are coal black). His speech was interesting . He reminded the audience of those killed in the Darfur war, which the Nigerians closed to me expressed their shallowness and lack of interest in issues affecting other parts of the world. He specified that there are about 2.5 million Nigerians in Sudan. Honestly, I didn't know that. Of course, the Naija man behind me said "Kini won shen be". Which was what I also thought of. "What are they doing there". This is another proof that Nigerians are in almost every part of the world. The Sudanese guy said a line which I loved. He referred to Africa as "a rich continent with poor people". The commissioner was quite nice and friendly. He was very energetic and outspoken. Most times when one meets people in government, they seem like nice people who don't fall into this corrupt group, we all put them into. Okay this is going to annoy some people. When I met president Obassanjo(not personally oh!!) a few years ago, he was so nice and polite. He greeted everyone and shook hands with people. That impression of him being this cruel and corrupt president didn't match with what I was seeing. It just made me wonder if these people put up a front, and at the back do all the.......I was chatting with someone who isn't Nigerian on Nigeria. Surprisingly, this person who has also lived in Nigeria said there was alot of indiscipline in Nigeria. I know alot of Nigerians will be quick to refute that, and claim there's more discipline in the west. Well, there's indiscipline in both parts of the world. Though, we view ours mostly as not respecting your elders, not following the customs. But, indiscipline here goes beyond that. It's failing to obey the traffic light, because the police isn't present. It means your lecturer trying to take bribes from you , in order to give you good grades, or being disorderly in an event. I have discovered that alot of people place their values mostly on what side or group they belong to.

I had this random memory of when I was writing my exams in high school. I peered at my friend's work (malpractice) to see what he was doing. What I saw made me laugh my ass off, that I was lucky, I wasn't caught.
Here is his answer to this question

Ways of controlling vector insects
Use of insecticides----good
Use of sleeping nets----good
Clapping with hands-----ahhh

SNEAK PREVIEW 5(I think)..

First of all, I want to say a big thank you to mamarita , for making my one day tour of Toronto exciting. She was sooooo nice and fun to be around with. THANKS A MILLION mamarita(don't want to use ur real name). Hmm, finally, in winnipeg and damn it's hot. I wasn't expecting this, but its all good, just had a barbeque party with my family here(mehn didn't know pork tasted better than beef as burger).
I opened the newspaper and to my surprise I see a column saying a 3 year old british girl had been kidnapped in Port harcourt while she was being taken to school. WHAT!!! I couldn't believe that she was kidnapped by militants while the car was in a traffic jam. The fact that PH city(where I live) is this unsafe scares the shit out of me. Last year my dad called to tell me that parts of shell camp (where I hung out sometimes) was bombed by militants. The question of how a little girl could be kidnapped in broad day light, and ransom is being requested, bothers me. Well, its Nigeria and we have a way of surviving this things. Yes, God protect my family,when they are in PH.

Banky--Ebute Metta- Umbrella Naija Remix

I heard this and I think it sounds good and funny...ebute metta metta...lol..sampling rihanna's umbrella

K....NOW I'M STUCK

Why Me!!!!I decide to plan my summer and all plans go bad. My friend who is supposed to take me in Toronto suddenly refuses. It isn't really her fault, since, her family is going through stress presently. Parents divorce and stuff like that. So, I don't have any place to stay. I'm seriously thinking of other options, and the hotels are fuckin(mind my yoruba) expensive. Oh so much for hanging out with my blogger buddies who live in TDOT. All the same, I have no other option but to head to Winnipeg. The annoying part is that I'll have to pay connecting flight to Toronto (scream!!!!)., without seeing around (middle finger to air canada). Hope my summer doesn't turn sour.