WE ARE WALKING WITHOUT LEGS

by Olaniyi Adekanye

Even when the moving eyes

Effect their coyness of denial

The watching moon was my witness

The scorching sun also autographed

The sweeping rain left uncertain scars

The scattering wing garnered nothing

From the four-corners

"Don’t we have people up there?"

I asked the ageing father

The ageing breath chorused misery

"We are walking without legs, my child."

Was after a l-o-n-g l-o-n-g silence

My heart became busy...

"And we climb the ladder without the rungs."

And my being was still-life

"God wards off the tormenting flies

For the tail-less cow."

That tilted my passive aggression

That He steers the man

And not the people up there.

Letters from Aboki Students

Written by SS2 Student

Written by JSS3 Student

Earlier Attempts by the same JSS3 Student

I had been saving these letters for a while now. Some of the keeps from my NYSC sojourn in Zamfara. Education down there is something else! Hard to blame some of the students though; there was one that didn't go through primary school. He started Western education straight from JSS1. Who does that?

Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death

We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic.

I read this just around the time Osama's death filled the world with several emotions and thoughts. This painted my thoughts in more ways than I can imagine. Do read it.



Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death

...Of dreams

In my head
butterflies sing of birth
reality snaps it
to a stillbirth.

9 months in belly,
few seconds to life
ousted its verve.

God!
They infiltrate
dreams; to a sleep.

'specs' in love

The theories of love are probably too difficult especially when it comes to relationship or I am just that dumb. People make it seems like a perfect eye that sees or knows no blemish. Some had it divided into parts; they will speak of love and specify ‘true love’. There is that type that isn’t true right? But in all these classes or types as you may want to call it, love seems like the glamorized end result of a selfish process. At least in my opinion though.
Have you noticed how there are certain criteria/factors/specifications to be met before the falling in love process actually begins? Our exposure, environment, social status, communal experiences, etc seems to be the hinges on which love swings. It is common to hear ladies speak of “Tall, Dark and Handsome”. I didn’t realize how real it was until I heard a lady describe my friend who was wooing her in that term to her friends. I could see how their eyes shine as they giggle in admiration. Height/complexion/socio-economic status/religion/tribe/personality/physical appearance, etc are qualities we consciously or subconsciously tick before the love comes in.
Discussing with a friend on the kind of girl we would want to date, it all suddenly feels like going to buy a computer or phone; checking the specifications to match our requirement. These specifications having been engraved in our minds, we hardly do the sorting consciously which makes it all very instinctual. My friendship with a class of people hardly get past just friendship, my subconscious does makes sure of that. I asked a girl what she considers before heading towards relationship zone. Her response was “is it dating for fun or marriage?” she explains that even under both levels, it’s about the benefits. “He should be responsible; even if he doesn’t have huge amount of money, he must be able to care for me” she said. When it comes down to serious relationship, even philanders, cheats who sometimes are carefree about taste/specification draw out the very complex list of criteria. We all have the specification factor.
Reading a lady’s tweet saying “I don’t want a broke man” and the responses that follow, I honestly wonder (taking into consideration whatever type you believe exist) if love isn’t truly “a glamorized end result of selfish process”.
P.S: I appreciate those I asked questions from, thanks. Kindly post your specification/taste (whatever you term it) when your comment.

last year at the British Council

#FreetheCorpers

Truth be told; we always wait for things to get to a breaking point before we act in this country. The menace of the NYSC is not a new thing. Every time you come close to overlooking the scheme and its rubbish, another story comes to rile you. I had never liked NYSC and don’t bother ask me why.
After my experiencing of serving our fathers land, I had been following issues and excruciating experiences of Corp members. I had my own share of such experience. Some things are better not experienced even as they say experience is the best teacher; some will break you, mould you into another person: a stranger, evil person seeking revenge/nauseated at the sight of a group of people, etc. Some psychological issues...
Reading the story of five Corpers kidnapped in Rivers state, the deafen silence of the federal government, the non-disclosure of the Corpers identity by the NYSC, I wonder if our government would rather compensate families than protect the lives of the youths (citizens) or is this a ploy to eliminate youths? Youths are said to be the leaders of tomorrow, is it the dead that would lead?
Campaigns to Free the Corpers had been organised; asking all Batch B 2011 Corp members to boycott the passing out parade on the 16th of June, 2011. Since NYSC and the Federal government had decided to go deaf and dumb on this issue, maybe this will get their attention. At every point we have to act for ourselves. There are so many questions that plague the mind here.
We are a people who live on the principle “All man for himself”. Each citizen had in one way or the other learnt to be the government; providing the necessities supposed to be the government’s function. Expecting electricity for just 20 minutes in a week is seen as an insane wish in some parts of the country. Basic social amenities like water, electricity even road have become a duty fatalistically carried out by individuals with a simple shrug of “God dey”!
Parents for many of us had been the government we have known all our life. They slave to provide things the government had denied us. And certainly after service year, they would be the government to turn to for job. Mulling over this, will youths all over the country agree to boycott the passing out parade? The only reason most youths endure the service year is for the certificate. Would anyone trade that to get the attention of a government that had never been there for them? Won’t that everyman for himself attitude come to play here? A case of ‘eni ori yo’dile’.
The Rivers state government had been said to claim they won’t be paying any ransom. I wonder if they were inspired by some American film; they had better wake to reality. There was money to pay when foreigners were kidnapped, are they waiting to compensate? Come to think of it, why would Corp members be kidnapped? Are the kidnappers trying to get the attention of the government believing that Corpers are ‘Government Child’ or on the view of many communities that Corp members are viruses eating their allocation?
To answer the questions plaguing the mind, a simple shrug of “God dey” seems to fit perfectly. But no! God didn’t kidnap them, some people did. It is our responsibility to take action; poke, push, question, petition, compel the various arms of government, NYSC and any other group or individual(s) involved. #FreetheCorpers