2012–2015
Earlier writing on Nigeria, politics, society, and questions from my twenties. Preserved as written.
Hi! It’s me, Tams. How are you? I hope better. Me? Better in many ways. A lot has changed since my “self-imposed” publishing hiatus. I don’t know where to start so I will start with “Hi”, and some highlights. In the last decade, I: Expect posts about these, and more. For now, I will continue […]
“…to build a nation where peace, and justice shall reign.”“…Help us to build a nation Where no man is oppressed,…” – Words from Arise, O Compatriots (Nigeria’s Anthem, 1978-date) and Nigeria, We Hail Thee (Nigeria’s Anthem, 1960-1978) respectively. As promised, here’s my sequel to the post on Legitimacy or Sovereignty. In this case, we discuss […]
My primary school years, I wanted to become an astronaut. I still hope to visit space someday, hopefully as part of the construction team for the first human space colony. These dreams made me study hard. My parents encouraged this as the way by which I could eventually give life to my dreams. I wrote […]
The Sovereignty of Nigeria shall not be up for debate Quoted above are words used each time a National Conference has been convened in Nigeria. The benefit of those words are yet to be seen, as are those of the National Conferences. Could it be that these Conferences failed because of the limitations on discourse? […]
The preparations towards the 2015 elections in Nigeria have been fraught with many scandals already. While these are problematic, they are frequent occurrences in our politics which have played out several times between 1999 and 2014. There is however a subtle shift occurring in the preparations for this election rounds. This shift is in the […]
Temporary Voter’s Card (with Incomplete Biometric Data Capture) “Democracy is a game of numbers, and we have those numbers”, is a familiar cry to many Nigerian political observers. Those who use this cry however, show no desire to acquire those numbers, at least not legitimately. Have you heard a statement from any political party concerning […]
Originally posted on [The Kaleidoscope](http://jmacebong.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/3-quick-thoughts-on-buharis-loan): This from the Vanguard is generating quite a bit of discussion: Buhari meanwhile, yesterday procured the party’s N27.5 million expression of interest and nomination forms at the national secretariat. Lamenting that the costs of the forms were high, he said that it took the understanding of his bankers in Kaduna…
Been a while, today’s post is inspired by talk in my home state, Rivers State. It is common to hear “Amaechi don carry Rivers State Oil Money go give APC people” in political discourse. For clarity, he officially left the PDP to the APC in November 2013. The flaw of this argument can be found […]
…that all may be treated with the dignity of humanity… Contemporary Nigerian society appears to be chaotic. Citizens believe it’s a dog-eat-dog world. A common mantra amongst Nigerians is ‘this life na OYO (On Your Own)’. So, we go on as best we can, minding our own businesses, fighting against attempts to derail us. Sometimes […]
In light of the recent SCOAN building collapse, YouTube Video here, many have complained that the church failed to obtain a permit from the relevant Building Regulatory authorities. For clarity, a two-storey building had been modified by the addition of four storeys; thereby making it a total six storeys. Federal and State laws and statutes […]
“Over the others, over my pride Over the faults/flaws, I have in my life I Choose You, I Choose You, I Choose You” – Ryan Leslie The words above are from one on my favourite musicians. I was (don’t know if I still am) a firm believer in those words. To me, love is a […]
Hello! Welcome to Day 2 of Saatah Nubari (@Saatah) and my #APostADay Challenge. Day 1: Saatah wrote on Not Much…but there’s hope, and I wrote on Homogeneity and Heterogeneity of our Society Day 2: Saatah wrote, like in a diary, on The Events of his Day. A good, honest account. This is my Day 2 […]
Hello! It is Day 3 of Saatah Nubari (@Saatah) and my #APostADay Challenge. Day 1: Saatah wrote on Not Much…but there’s hope, and I wrote on Homogeneity and Heterogeneity of our Society Day 2: Saatah wrote on The Events of his Day. I wrote on Nigerian Confraternities: Names, Symbols & Deductions Day 3: Saatah wrote […]
Hello! So I’ve been off for a while, not for lack of things to write but because I have failed to Overcome Inertia . However, this is about to change as for the next week, I and Saatah Nubari (@Saatah) have challenged ourselves to #PostADay. His posts would be on [http://www.nubby.wordpress.com](http://www.nubby.wordpress.com). I hope our posts […]
Brutus: There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. […]
The 2015 general elections are around the corner. As is now common, the media would be filled with accusations, counter-accusations, critiques, and endorsements of potential candidates or political parties by supposed “statesmen”. This is what I refer to as the herald of the statesmen. Who is a Statesman? Chamber’s 20th Century Dictionary defines a statesman […]
Last week I stumbled upon this article about Aisha Eniola, a 19 year old Nigerian (by birth), who is currently a Town Councillor (equivalent of ward councillor) for Brent Council in England. I am an advocate for youth participation in government, especially as we are the ones who feel the brunt of ineffective governance the […]
With new information (knowledge), opinions are reviewed; they could be strengthened, weakened or retracted.
Political parties in Nigeria do not have ideologies. Intellectuals complain that ideologies are what define parties, citing the Conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats in the US as examples. Would 2015 be any different? I don’t think so. Here’s why. Ideology is the sum of ideas and manner of thinking of a group, social class, or […]
“Do not get caught up in the Euphoria and fail to apply yourself early enough” A lecturer said this to a class of about 400 students in my second year of varsity. It stuck with me for years and I occasionally relay the same advice to those who permit me to be an influence in […]
Sunday the 8th of December 2013 was a lovely day for me until I happened upon this article in the Punch. I was shocked on reading the article, more so from the comments. I had to read a bit on this matter to learn more about it. SURVEY DETAILS The Federal Ministry of Health that […]
I have this job opening. However, I am yet to find someone competent enough to meet the job requirements
Society: A community of people (persons or individual humans) who share the same customs and laws. I find myself pondering on the foundations of our society; starting from the smallest unit, the family, to the country/nation, Nigeria. Do we share the same customs and laws? I don’t think so. The laws and customs are agreed […]
Knowledge is something we all crave for. I have a life motto which is Learning Is For Ever. Learnt that from one of my favourite musicians Josh Osho. A thirst for knowledge is something I really admire. Lack of that thirst in an individual – especially a young one – evokes pity on my part. […]
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is greatness. A man’s ability to continually inspire a lot of people many years after his death earns him the right to be addressed in the present tense. In our remembrance and memorials however, do we look at the good examples one set? Or do we, for sake of commercial viability, conveniently ignore […]
In three days, we commemorate the four month milestone of the ASUU 2013 strike action. This brings to a total of at least 8months an engineering, agriculture, and medical sciences students have spent at home from 2009-2013. I am one of such students and I am spiffed beyond measure. However, I won’t be completely emotive […]
“See this small boy o! Am I your mate?” Someone has probably said these words to you if you were brought up with/or have Nigerian (maybe African too) heritage. We live in a society set up with prevalent hierarchies. Isn’t age a good basis for distinction? I don’t believe it is. Here’s why I say […]
Some days back, a friend’s personal message on her BBM read, “the grass is greener on the other side, but the water rate is higher”. It got my interest piqued as there is always a seemingly “greener pasture”. This is the basis of this post, a documentation of my thoughts on greener pastures. Imagine for […]
I had started an article some days back on the structure of our tertiary education institutions in Nigeria. This is a spill off from that article. In the time between, I had read a series of articles concerning the on-going ASUU strike from two thinkers in particular. There was a three part blog series from […]
DISCLAIMER: This is me venting. If you’re touchy, do not read any further. ’tis at your peril. Yes, perhaps, you’re one of the very few that have access to me. This might feel like a subliminal message. ’tis your decision to either take offence or …. The words in quote in the title of this […]
“Bros! I dey loyal o. Anything for your boy?” The above can be heard on almost every street of Nigeria countless times daily. Though this “loyalty” is without value. We learn from our homes to be loyal to the family – the first societal unit we know – and so we stick together. Blood is […]
“I no be gentleman at all o” The words to a classic Nigerian song. Actually, the only words I remember from it. The past year has been full of activity in our political institutions. From the State Houses of Assembly, to the Governors Forum, and the National Assembly. Words spoken in anger, threats made on […]
The past weeks have been laden with many contentious issues. I’m writing this after much study partly due to the ASUU strike, which is one of the issues. My home state, Rivers State House of Assembly fracas is another and more recently the #ChildNotBride situation. Within the past week I bumped into news of circa […]
So I’ve talked about Access and how ’tis important to control it. Here’s to the those who deserve almost unlimited access. About two years ago, I met a certain young lady through a “friend”. We clicked almost immediately, with mutual interests in music, literature, history and all the other boring stuff I’m into. However, being […]
Prov. 4. 23 “Guard Your heart with all diligence for out of it comes issues of life” “Access! Access!! Access!!!” I can hear myself talking to her. She complains but then she always does. In anything we commit to, there’s bound to be many others which try to distract or derail us. However, these detractors/distractions […]
Life is a Journey Not A Competition These are words from a fave singer of mine, India.Arie in her song “A Beautiful Day”. Taking records of activities at work today, it was evident how the good, the bad and the ugly can be seen even in the smallest of groups. Three groups were assigned same […]
Some days back, a broadcast message was circulated on bbm “If you were to have a thousand bucks for every ex you’ve had how much will you have now?” Now, this was pretty much a simple innocent message and I did forward to my contacts. Got to get to know some a bit too. My […]
Daily I think of the different ways we could be better as a country. Advancement first requires an acknowledgment of lagging. So, why are we behind? In all my thoughts, the word which repeats itself is “MEDIOCRITY”. The state of being mediocre-medium quality, neither good nor poor-is largely a state of the mind. We decide […]