CASTE SYSTEM

The Osu caste system is practice among the Igbos -in Nigeria-which has refused to go away despite the impact of Christianity, modern education and civilization, and the human rights culture. In this piece, I will argue that the Osu discrimination is an outdated tradition with no basis for its continued practice and observance in the contemporary Igbo society.

Traditionally, there are two classes of people in Igboland – the Nwadiala and the Osu. The Nwadiala literally meaning ‘sons of the soil’ are the freeborn. They are the masters. While the Osu are the slaves, the strangers, the outcasts and the untouchables. Chinua Achebe in his well-known book, No Longer At Ease asks: What is this thing called Osu? He answers: “Our fathers in their darkness and ignorance called an innocent man Osu, a thing given to the idols, and thereafter he became an outcast, and his children, and his children’s children forever” The Osu are treated as inferior human beings in a state of permanent and irreversible disability. They are subjected to various forms of abuse and discrimination. The Osu are made to live separately from the freeborn. In most cases they reside very close to shrines and marketplaces. The Osu are not allowed to dance, drink, hold hands, associate or have sexual relations with Nwadiala. They are not allowed to break kola nuts at meetings. No Osu can pour libation or pray to God on behalf of a freeborn at any community gathering. It is believed that such prayers will bring calamity and misfortune. 

A human rights group outlined the atrocities meted out against the Osu in Igboland. They include: ‘parents administering poison to their children, disinheritance, ostracism, organized attack, heaping harvest offering separately in churches, denial membership in social clubs, violent disruption of marriage ceremonies, denial of chieftaincy titles, deprivation of property and expulsion of wives etc.” 

The Osu caste discrimination is very pronounced in the area of marriage. An Osu cannot marry a freeborn. The belief is that any freeborn that marries an Osu defiles the family. So freeborn families are always up in arms against any of their members who wants to marry an Osu. They go to any length to scuttle the plan. Because of the Osu factor, marriages in Igboland are preceded by investigations-elders on both sides travel to native villages to find out the social status of the other party. And if it is found that one of them is an Osu, the plan would be automatically abandoned. Many marriage plans have been aborted, and in fact some married couples have been forced to divorce because of the Osu factor. Chinua Achebe also noted this in his book. When Okonkwo learns that his son wants to marry Clara, an Osu. Okonkwo says: “ Osu is like a leprosy in the minds of my people. I beg of you my son not to bring the mark of shame and leprosy into your family. If you do, your children and your children’s children will curse you and your memory… You will bring sorrow on your head and on the heads of your children.”  

But there have been several efforts and initiatives to eradicate this harmful tradition. In 1956, the government of the then Eastern Nigeria passed a law abolishing the Osu caste system. The law freed and discharged anybody called Osu including the children born to such a person. It declared the practice unlawful – and a crime punishable by law. But unfortunately, 50 years after the enactment of this legislation, nobody has been prosecuted or convicted for breaking the law. At best what the legislation has achieved is to drive the practice underground. Also many religious leaders and traditional rulers have spoken out against the practice. Recently Eze Enyeribe Onuoha, the traditional ruler of Umuchieze autonomous community in Imo State urged his community members to abandon the practice. He said: “discrimination against Osus is irrational, illegal, unjust and archaic and opposed to human rights. It is one Umuchieze(Igbo) tradition that should immediately be abolished.”  

But statements and declarations like this are not uncommon. But they have always fallen on deaf ears among the Igbo people most of whom think that cultural norms are sacrosanct and should not be tampered with. So the belief in and practice of Osu caste system continue to wax strong in Igboland. In 1997, a person alleged to be an Osu was made a chief in a community in Imo State. But six months later, the community was engulfed in a crisis. And when the case was brought to the court, the presiding judge noted that though the abolition of Osu caste system was in the statute, it was an unenforceable law. The chief was dethroned so that peace would reign in the community.

And not too long ago I met a lady in a friend’s house in Lagos. I was told that she was engaged to a young man from Imo State. And months later I learnt that the marriage plan had been abandoned because the lady was said to be an Osu. There have been several instances like that where young men and women of Igbo extraction have suffered heartbreaks and emotional traumas as a result of this cultural disease. And now the question is, why is it that this cultural practice has refused to go away even among educated Igbos. The reason is not far fetched. The practice of Osu caste system is hinged on religion, supernaturalism and theism. And Igbos are deeply religious and theistic people. Osu are regarded as unclean or untouchable because they are (alleged to be) dedicated to the gods. So it is the dedication to the gods that makes the Osu status a condition of permanent and irreversible disability and stigma.  

So this cruel custom will not be eradicated until Igbos begin to realize that gods are imaginary beings, not objective entities. Igbos need to understand that deities and spirits are mental constructs used to control and organize the society at the infancy of the human race. And today that humanity has come of age. Because if one does not believe that the gods and spirits are real, then the idea of treating someone as unclean or untouchable because the person is dedicated to any deity does not make sense at all. Even for the god-believing Igbos, the practice is out rightly baseless. Because most Igbos are Christians and do not profess any belief in the traditional gods to which the Osu were (alleged to be) dedicated. So, it is both sensible and appropriate that all Igbos - believers and non-believers alike renounce and abandon this abhorrent, inhuman and despicable practice. Politically, state authorities must get Igbo communities and associations to remove provisions in their constitution that bar Osu from contesting elections or receiving traditional titles. Legally, the courts must begin to enforce the law abolishing the Osu caste system. And the Nigerian state must rise up to its duty of protecting and defending the humanity, dignity and equal rights of all citizens irrespective of their sex, ethnic origin, religion, belief or birth status.

RELATIONSHIP

There are certain plants that you could plant anywhere and they will grow. Take the cactus plant and put it in an arid and harsh region, it will grow. Put it in fertile soil it will grow. That’s how it is made. But there are other plants that will simply not grow except they are found in the right environmental conditions. What am I saying? Location is so extremely important that if you are displaced, you may get disgraced (..I like that). In whatever you do, you must strive to be at the right place at the right time. This is something that no one can explain better to you, as I found out that we all know at every point in time where we ought to be and anything other than that is a willful refusal to do the right. Some people are “lonely Londoners” and go solo, yet they expect to meet someone Joke? Location-wise, you are in an island, and will only encounter creeping and creepy creatures. You need to come out of your walled life and interact with people on a regular basis. We were created relational beings and we function maximally that way. Whatever situation you had faced before; because you don’t want to get hurt again, is no good reason to separate from people. You will allow yourself fall into imaginations that warp your thoughts and further deepen the hole of your disenchantment.
Get involved with something and people who believe what you believe. Join a great church, a unit in church, a non-profit organization, a voluntary service organization, or any such groups where you will meet people who have a heart for and believe in something. I have heard people complain that church is the worst place to get involved with someone. But guess what, human go to church not angels. So you will always have to contend with what is peculiar to humans. Clean your mind, get up and strive on, for your time is on the way. Church is comprised of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But the truth is that the good today, were the ugly of yesterday, and the fact that there is the ugly, doesn’t preclude the existence of the good. So get busy doing something beyond going to work, parties and night clubs. You can even start something new if you find nothing. When you find nothing, it is usually an indication that you can start something, so become proactive with your life and be busy doing something interesting with your life. Where you are is vital to who you meet, so get yourself in the right place, especially at the right time.
I made mention of a point above that God created us relational beings. This means that we were created not just to function in relationships and communities, but to initiate and maintain them. For relationships to exist, someone has to initiate one, and for it to continue existing, someone has to maintain it. Women have often shied off when it comes to initiating a relationship with a male. I guess this is culturally bound although these days that is rapidly changing. But I must state clearly here that as a ladies, we should never shy away from initiating a good relationship whenever we have a chance to. Many women have seen what they like and never made an attempt at starting a friendship until it became almost impossible to. We have to unlearn all the things that growing up has burdened on us. When we were children, we could talk to anyone at anytime we felt like it and didn’t feel any sense of shame. I tell you truthfully, that is one of our greatest asset as a lady. Put on your childhood again and start making good relationships. You see a guy you like, create the opportunity for a chat, and never feel uncomfortable around him, for that’s when he will have ideas. Your boldness is your loaded weapon, and let’s face it, bold and calm omen are admirable.
Most of us spend time trying to figure out what is in the guy’s head before we think of making a move. And the real truth is that 90% of the time our imaginations are wrong, because people really have a lot on their minds to be thinking about who or what you are you know. By the time we are done analyzing, we would have given ourselves more reasons why not to take a step. Even if nothing amounts from it, you have created one more link in the world and you have further helped in shrinking the human differences, after all nowadays we hear of six degrees of separation. So note here that being shy is not a virtue neither is being silent of any value. I am not saying you go outright and tell a man you want to date him or marry him, but that you be proactive in initiating relationships when you identify a good man. It doesn’t take anything from you except that which you imagine, rather it adds to you what you didn’t have before: one new friend and one step closer to your good man.
Finally, I will share here something my mother gave to me. Not that she said this to me, or wrote it down somewhere, I merely gleaned it from growing up in her protective arms around me. This is crucial, important, vital, and very essential. BE A WOMAN! I will say it again: BE A WOMAN!! And one more time: BE A WOMAN!!! It is just amazing how these days, women are becoming like men in almost everything. While I do not subscribe to the erroneous “what a man can do a woman can do better” philosophy, I still believe  women can do anything they want to and should and can never be restricted. However, I still hold dear to the fact that a woman should be a “woman” in every sense of the word without the cultural approximations. A woman is the other side of a man and makes a man’s adventure complete. For what men don't have, women do and they fill the men emptiness and have their peculiar characteristics and nature that defines them as so. Please don’t try to be a man. That is extremely ugly! Cry when you have to, gossip when you have to (ha ha ha), love at all times, smile all the times, and do those positive things that come naturally to us, women.
The world is messing things up and turning it wrong side up. Today women are trying to be what they are not and squaring their shoulders to other men. No man wants to marry another man, even gays want there to be a fair balance between the male and female virtues in their relationship. Somebody has to lead and someone has to follow. Someone has to protect and someone has to be protected. There is the Ying and there is the Yang. Be who God made you to be for therein lies your beauty. let do our thing ladies. Wear your jewelries and your fine make ups, wear the best and don’t regret anything, for you are the wonder of the Most High and He himself appreciates the work of His hands. Look at what God says in Ezekiel 16: 9-14:
Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
God loves our beauty and when you show it out He loves it more. Moderation is the key word and a humble spirit is the watchword. So go forth and be a shining example of true inner and outer beauty, and be excited about who you are. This will be the first attraction to many who come your way. When you have done these things, then your eyes will be clearer and you will understand what no man can teach you, knowing your man when you see him. You were never designed to struggle and strain when it comes to getting your good man. You were designed to attract him your way and then keep and groom him for life. So this is what is most important in finding your good man. It is all about you and what you can offer and less of what you can get.

Let change the way we think!
cheers

policy failure in nigeria

The recent mandatory extension by nearly a month for primary and secondary schools to resume in Nigeria to enable the voters registration process, has sparked some ire within the circles of those who are advocates of better education in the country. But somehow such angst has not necessarily translated into an active debate on how the government remains very insensitive to some issues that impinge on a sense of good governance. I am very passionate about education and it seems to be the one issue I am daily engaged in as I read and research. When we were celebrating our 50^th anniversary, I took out time to highlight the need to elevate the discussion on education to a national level, compared to debates on whether to hike the price of fuel or not. I am convinced that until it becomes that important, and people see it as a do or die matter, we will be playing into the hands of incompetence that which can likely determine our relevance in a competitive world in a few years to come.
But despite the glaring need to reform this sector, and the seeming interest of the present administration to tackle the demons therein, we are seeing nothing but contradictions already from our leaders. I cannot understand why voters registration”must” be done within the vicinity of a public school. Aren’t there countless other venue to use in doing this? What’s wrong with other public spaces and arenas? Can’t even the innumerable churches lend their outer space for this purpose if the inner sanctum must not be desecrated by secular activities? Even though schools might seem to be the most appropriate place to do this, can’t our leaders for once see that some things are far too important and should not be compromised on? Even if for nothing, there is a symbolism attached to holding sacred the education of our children. Yet we felt it okay to go ahead and bite of weeks from the schedule of these kids and think they can effectively compete with their peers around the world.
. I often ask myself how decisions are made within our leadership. What is the process through which these decisions are made, how rigorous are they, and how subjected are these processes to thorough research and investigation? Because when one sees certain outputs, it gives you a brainwave to imagine what must have informed it. While I do not doubt the competence of some of the key technocrats within the leadership, however it is only by their fruits that you will know them. With an educational crisis in our hands, couldn’t someone tell Mr. President not to even entertain the thoughts of keeping schools closed longer than they should be? How do we explain the rationale for this terrible choice? The Minister of State for education stated that they didn’t want the children to be seen mixing with those who came for voter’s registration in the school compounds. You mean we do not have security operative that can be assigned to these venues to make sure that the process is orderly if these schools musty be used? We need our schools to be open and for our children to at the least be engaged in learning, no matter how mediocre the process may be. At least we can hope that someday it will get better. How do you begin to correct the broken calendar of the school year without slapdash-ing it? It is very clear that some people are really not thinking about the future and cost of reckless decision-making.
You see, this is why we must make it clear what the real cost of policy failure is. We have always fixed our lenses on the people between the porches of power when government fails. We point to these mere mortals as the examples of our corporate failure and darken the thoughts with which we imagine them. But this is entirely very deceptive because these people have very little consequences upon the whole. The failure to manage their opportunities in leadership for national good will only remain a story. But we usually and almost always sell these stories at the cost of the real implication of government failure. When President Obasanjo promised to deliver on power supply and failed, we rubbished his reputation and administration as an utter disgrace to Nigeria. But we forgot to tell the real stories, the real stories of failure. Yes, it was not about the man OBJ, it was about the businesses that couldn’t run at optimal levels because they had no electricity. It was about the business that couldn’t start because of the cost of running it. It was about the ideas that lay fallow because the infrastructure to power it was too expensive or non-existent. It was about companies that couldn’t come into the Nigerian market because our power infrastructure cannot meet international standards, Yes it was about the many unemployed but employable youths who couldn’t find jobs because the companies that would have offered such cannot operate here. These are the really costs of policy failure.
On the other hand, because the impact of bad decisions are difficult to measure, we play down their real cost and think that by overlooking them things will get back to normal. But we shouldn’t forget that is how we got here in the first place. We reduced our funding for education and a few years later, voilà! Here we are today with a broken system no one seems to be willing or capable of fixing except for the graceful small-measured contributions of many well-meaning Nigerians and private organizations. It only takes one instance of a wrong choice to create a generational shift from the path of progress. Ask our founders as our history is replete with bad decisions.
There is a child who will be overtaken by social vices because they have stayed home longer than necessary. There will be kids who are burdened with an overload of school work beyond what they can cope with all because we are trying to make up for lost time. Sadly still, there will be those who will not understand anything through the school term because the teacher will be struggling to run through a course work in a shorter time. These are the real costs of this bad decision. And unless we call it what it is, people are going to get away with this and no one will be held accountable. I wonder what will ever get the average Nigerian on the street in protest? Is it only when the price of our food is increased or when we are cheated of our votes? Or is it only when our salaries are not paid or we feel repressed and oppressed by brutal leadership? Some oppressions are more subtle that others and are unquantifiable in their effect. When our children’s learning is sacrificed on the altar of a mismanaged electoral process, it is an oppression that is waiting to break our backs in the future. And the cost of this failed policy is one far too heavy to bear.

WHERE ARETHE GOOD MEN?

 I am burdened by an issue and was hard pressed to write on it. I titled that article “Where are the good men?” because there seems to be a silent question in many hearts these days on why there’s a sudden disappearance of good men. Whether there’s a disappearance or a drastic reduction, either still spells a major concern not just for young women who are at the threshold of making key decisions about a lifelong commitment, but also for those of us who are interested in the social impacts of the family. While I tried to refute the fallacy that pervades society that good men are dwindling in numbers, I also attempted at excavating the origins of a warp consciousness of societal values, because this helps us understand at what point the disconnect happened. If we are going to recover what is lost, we need to know at what point we lost it. I ended on the point that we cannot build our expectations on fallacies that are unprovable, and we cannot allow the negative to guide the ascension of truth in our hearts. In that light I promised to share on how one can find a good man since they not only exist, but abound. Therefore the central thesis of this discourse is that you can find your good man and I offer some advice on this matter (sounds professorial I know….lol)
I risk sounding like a male chauvinist in writing this piece because some would ask what the heck about men anyway. Some have even said to me not all women want a man in their lives, so I shouldn’t make an issue of this because some are satisfied just the way they are. While I cannot but scream “BIG LIE” at that assertion, I also recognize that there are a few women who get offended when we talk about how to find a good man. For whatever reasons they have, they hold their opinions dear and rightfully. So I am not here to challenge that position, neither will I insinuate anything (although I think I already did) because the truth really is out there for all to see. I am not overly qualified, but out of my concern for truth and love, I can speak a little on how to find a good man. I am trying to speak directly to those who are concerned with this issue and to those who care to know. To those who are humble enough to hear another mans’ counsel on this dialogue and learn from another’s experience as well.
First, many book have been written on this subject and in the West, an entire academic field has been developed out of this situation, which has assumed a global dimension. In Singapore for instance, a society that is at the stage of high mass consumption, and for which much of its success lies with a virile female population, there is a growing number of successful women than men. A friend from there once shared with me some of the impacts of this trend in the Singaporean society. For instance, some young men simply become gigolos and live of that because lots of women do not find their type so just settle for sexual satisfaction. I came across a Time Asia Magazine survey quoted by BBC news on Monday, 12 March, 2001 which stated that Women in Singapore were found to be the most forward, with 18% saying they initiate sex. It also stated that Singapore appeared to be the most committed to monogamy, with 67% of men on the island saying they had never been unfaithful. Such issues, like that faced by Singapore, have attracted wide range studies and commentaries with several books churning out from secular and religious circles. Most of the secular writings focus on the problems and a mere description of the issues while offering no solutions. The religious ones go a step ahead in giving bold answers giving tips on how to find the right partner. But in all I find that they miss some vital issues. This is what I lay out forthwith.
So much is being said about how to identify or how to find the right man, but very little is said about how to be the right woman. There is a passivity we carry when it comes to dealing with our troubles. Very few try to put themselves first along the continuum of challenges to be dealt with. But the truth is that you are your first battle! If you cannot win over yourself, then you can never win over any circumstance or battle you may be confronted with. Life is full of a lot of mismatches not only because of a wrong self estimation, but covertly, because of a non self regulation. Many folks out there simply live their lives normally and expect that things will sort themselves out. But it never happens that way. Whatever exceptional thing happening is because someone worked at it, and this applies to relationships as well. The first step in finding your right man is being the right woman yourself. I am one of those who strongly believe that when you have settled on your personality; your access will be easier. Then you will be ushered into a larger room of better understanding of who your partner will be. This way it will be easier to know him when you see him, no matter in what form he appears. A key problem I find is that most ladies know what they want, but cannot tell it when they see it. This is because there is still a hindrance that prevents this. Nothing else describes this better that what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7.
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Many interpretations can come out of this as we all know, but one truth my eyes were open to was that the reason why you can see a speck in another persons’ eye is because you have a log in yours. So who you are is what determines what you see. So if you correct your internal configuration, you will see correctly. I have heard many ladies say “But I am a good, I have a lot of love to give and I am well mannered.” This is also an indication that you haven’t still got a long way to go with dealing with yourself. When you feel you are most ready, give a second check, you may very well not be. Some years ago, I was having a conversation with God and I was outlining all the things I want to see in a man. When I presented this list before God, He asked me to take a second look at what I wrote. Then He said all I had written came from the abundance of my heart. Therefore He will give me a man whom I will impart these wonderful virtues I had mentioned into. This was a wow moment and a perspective changing encounter for me. Now I understand that though I have my desires for a person that suits me, a higher perspective is that this is way beyond me. Beyond what I wanted was what I presented. What I mean is that beyond what I wanted, was what I could give as a person. God told me then that
“nkolika, if there is a man like what you have stated, I will not give him to you! Because he will not need you in his life, he will be complete without blemish and will need no one to complement him.” I was shocked by this response from God. Past what we want, is who we are. God knows when we are ready, we don’t! He knows if we will punish the one He gives to us of if we will be faithful to care for that one. So let’s put our wants aside and rather allow God deal with our person as the first step towards getting the right man.
cheers

days of greening

This is pretty exciting for me because 31 days ago I started being very conscious of what I eat and resorted to being not just environmentally friendly, but also bodily friendly. Now a month later, my body is celebrating the new ventilation it is enjoying. My body has never felt this good in a very long while, and even my mind has become very responsive to the lease of new life which invigorates my physical existence. Now I know first hand that going green is going great!!
I have enjoyed a cocktail of fruits in the mornings, heavy vegetables in the afternoons along with a light mix of carbs and veggies at night, not forgetting the heavy dose of fruit juice also. I am indeed a new person. I must confess however that my love for chicken did rub off a bit. I feel new, not a single bodily discomfort was felt through out this period, I slept less and had a burst of energy surging through me the whole day.
However, the first few days was dastardly punishing. Walking past those steaming burgers, which all seem to suddenly have a seductive voice calling “Oh!! nkolika!! Come over here!!”. At some point I almost walked through the glass barricade of a fast food place to fall into the arms of a chic looking marinaded chicken with oil dripping over it like tears of penitence. But I was determined to see what I would be like in 30 days.
Now I have lost approximately 5 pounds, although my cheeks still refuse to give up its boisterous protuberances, making me still look round on the upper torso. Walking four mile every Saturday morning keeps my weekend boiling with amazing oomph and excited to my very core. I have indeed become an apostle of the green revolution. Please note that I have had absolutely no losses but all gains. How I wish all will settle for a higher living such as this.
I felt I should report to all them that were dissuading me from following this course that I am still standing strong and getting stronger. I will continue in this path, for it is one that guarantees a living that is purposeful and objective oriented. But for the mean time to celebrate my success, can I please have a bowl of goat meat peppersoup with shredded beef stew with rice in wine base!!

TALE OF TWO CITIES

My title of course will quickly bring to mind the 19th century work of Charles Dickens. Though I am interested in looking at two cities, where I have lived and socialized, my least intention is to follow the Dickens path of analyzing Aristocratic oppression of the Proletariat, although I must admit it does exist in my cities of interest. My motivation for blogging this piece stems from my travel to Nigeria for family matters. While I was overwhelmed by my several obligations to the family cause, I could not but take out time to observe my surroundings and opinionate as I usually do in my bloated mind. My first destination in Nigeria was Lagos, from where I proceeded to Calabar for my other engagements. These two cities form my steal from the old time classic, but as I had earlier noted, not to paint an effusive political drama, but to highlight some of my thoughts on the present in the development of the two cities.
While both cities are painted with the strokes of a colonial monologue, there seems to be a dialogue between the people and their heritage of the foreign outplay of power and influence. A lot of the streets are still brandishing English names such as Goldie Street, Hewett Street, Garden Street, Edgerton Street, and Beecroft Street, all in Calabar. In Lagos we see streets such as Cameron road, Glover road, Bourdillon road, Campbell Street, King George IV road, etc. These are all tangible vestiges of British foray into the cultural discourse of the people there. I am however not interested in a historical excavation, but in a contemporary juxtaposition of my greatest influences in terms of socialization.
I was born in Lagos and raised in Calabar, and socialized in Lagos again. Sometimes I ask which of these two environments shapes my public outlook, because I seem to muddle them all up. I most times trudge with the laid-back character of the Canaan city, at other times bubble with the cosmopolitanism of Eko, and sometimes I oscillate between the two, creating a mild tempered characterization of the city life. I however always deny the pixilation of my physical outcome when viewed in the light of my growth in these two cities. Calabar has etched within my heart the love for culture and finesse, while Lagos has knocked within the survival instinct and need for creativity. But far from codifying my internal ramblings as a basis for this discourse, I am far more interested in what these cities have become today, and the seeming future they portend from their current developments.
I have seen that within the past decade, there have arisen men of passion and vision in both cities. Interestingly, they came in political succession with one ending an era and the other beginning a new era. The transformation of the city of Calabar in eight years has much to discuss, especially now that it has become a tourism hub and a flamboyant cultural end-of-year destination for the young and the young at heart. Prior to 1999, the city was a reflection of what I left behind in 1993. Nothing was there to be desired but pretty and shiny skinned young ladies who could mesmerize and tantalize with total female power. Men traded their destinies for a hot bowl of Eba and Afang soup, while submitting their senses on the laps of ‘femaledom’ for a hair-cut most never recovered from.
The roads were at most bush paths and the people cared less but to merely survive and have their usual pleasures. The damaging effects of Militocracy had left the people without a rallying point for values, and the cultural leaders were bereft of ideas on how to aggregate communal riches. All that we could append to the identity of the city was that if you wanted to do nothing, go to Calabar. However, I must give it to Calabar. The people can sing and are born with music in their psyche. Of course I wasn’t left out of the baptismal antecedents of a melodic nature. From the dusty roads of Ikang to the scenic wonders of Old Calabar cutting through Duke town, the city was crying for restoration.
However, by 1999, “along came a Spider” (remember that good movie by Morgan Freeman?). A Spider suddenly appeared on the scene with a careful plan of spurning an intricate web of identity for an erstwhile redundant city and state. Through a conscious plan and strategy, this spider at the very corner of the country created a sensible web-like system that has captured many hearts and now it has become an attractive place of solace and relaxation to many.
There was a sense of restored dignity in the air, and people went around with such annoying confidence as though saying: “This is Calabar better get it!” There was the glowing of excellence in the way the people now appeared and conducted their ways. Everything and everyone everywhere tasted and smelt good. Suddenly, something that wasn’t part of my socialization process in the city, jumped upon me: Pride. I quickly added that to my arsenal of community traits. My beautiful Calabar was once more being adorned as a beautiful bride and how I longed to flirt with her once more.
My relationship with Lagos was a love hate one. I loved it because of the rush of adrenalin each day you flow along, but hated the noise and disorder. It was a city without law, and the law was without a city to own. It had degenerated into the playground of disgruntled young men and women of the delinquent order and anything happened to anyone and anyone happened to anything. In Lagos, if you could think it, you could do it. So all kinds of machinations coloured the predominant life and its identity was one of near debauchery. I lived in Lagos Island, Campbell Street to be detailed. Thus I studied the real Lagos life from Marina down to Idumota, all around the precincts of Isale Eko. The people reveled in wanton living after the pattern of mental poverty. The poor and jobless celebrated with more parties that the rich in the High-walled suburbs.
They blocked of the roads and created a traffic mess while dancing in borrowed apparels to the pounding of local music through locally constructed speakers that spurted out uncontrolled and unrefined sound that left the hearer audio-impaired for days. Occasionally on my bed in my grandma’s house, the loud music from the local sub woofers resonated in my stomach and I could literally recreate the beats the next morning. One popular one by a guy called ‘Obesere’ went this way:
“wo ni ko ma no gere dakun ma je koi, lo simi robo rebe…Monkey e no fine, but him mama e like am…teni teni, teeni teeni…. (then the talking drums go – ji bam.. jim jim jim… ji bam)”
Lagos was utter confusion. As soon as you come into the city, disorder infects you like a bad fever, and you just can’t understand why. Even on your way to church you practically drive like a commando or mercenary while brandishing your bad tongue at every counter move from another Danfo bus driver. The city changes people from refined to brutish and cultured to barbaric.
But on my visit last December, I smelt something else in the air. I heard a guy came to town with the passion of a raging bull to pull down aforetime hindrances of disorder and give the city a new identity. The cliché “Eko o ni baje oh” (meaning Lagos wouldn’t be spoilt) was pungent in the aura of Lagos. I could see that people’s attitudes had begun to change and order was seeping out like water looking for the least resistance in its path. One man suddenly had begun to articulate what he saw in his mind and translating it into concrete actions. My famous CMS and Marina had become clean and cleared. I imagined that once more, young men and women could dare take their love walks along the banks of the Marina without the fear of being mugged by area boys. There were city buses with dedicated lanes taking hard working men and women home after a long day, and the traffic officials were authoritatively doing their jobs and creating free flowing vehicles from the business hubs to the mainland. Lagos is changing.
Coupled with this is also the rise of the middle-class in the city. Many young people landing good bank and private jobs with relatively decent pay to create a social network and net worth that creates a new kind of demand and supply in society. Modernism is defining transaction and entertainment, as well as cultural interplays. Lagos is indeed remaking itself as a major distributive center for the national identity once more and the feeling was quite exhilarating for me. This is the city I was born in and found my true self. How I wish I were born in a time like this.
My tale of two cities comes from love for Calabar and Lagos. I am glad to be breaded and buttered in them. Although I lost my desire to always be in them and feel their ebbing emotions, I am excited that I am gradually finding again a place in my heart for them. Thumbs up to the Spider and the Bull, for catching a vision and running with it. History will always give them a spot to tell their victorious stories of what they contributed to my loves. But I must warn here that it takes a long time to put up a structure, but it takes no time at all to pull it down. As the Spiders web is easy to tear, so does the Bull’s strength easily wane. For those of us who have a stake in these two cities, let us see how we can match the performances of these two characters. For as something in them loyal to their respective cities drove them to high performance, let us who watch them match their efforts and take the next step in enhancing their legacy and building a lasting heritage for our cities. This is my tale of the two cities I love so much.

My Culture - Igbo

Let me start with our greeting:  NNOO which means Welcome.

The Igbo language is one of the major language in Nigeria. They are socially and  culturally diverse. they are located at the southern eastern part of Nigeria. Igbo are known for there customs, traditions and language.

The kola nut is an important customs aspect of the igbo culture with its igbo name as oji because it is part of the gift you present at tradition ceremony and a visit to an igbo man house cause no tradition is complete without the blessing of the kola nut. The kola nut are eaten raw and prayed over and its a taboo for a women to pray over a kola nut. The igbo culture believed that the only language kola nut understand is  the igbo language that is why in most igbo gathering kola nut are being prayed over in igbo, also when a person eats a kola nut that is prayed over,  the person future is secured. The kola nuts in igbo have different meaning:

• Kola nut with one or two lobes - is an abomination and should be eat by the native doctor.
• Kola nut with three lobes - represent the three cooking stands in a traditional igbo kitchen.
• Kola nut with four lobes - represents the igbo traditional market which is either Eke, Oye, Afor, and Nkor market.
• Kola nut with five lobes - represent fruitfulness and goodness.
• Kola nut with seven lobes -  means celebration and entertainment.

kola nut should be present with two hands when offering it and ladies are not allowed to present kola nut in occasions.

Igbo marriage are held in great tradition which is known as " Inu Nwunye". Before the marriage commence  bride price should be discussed, which is a specific marriage requirement and list of things will be given to the groom family to provide certain item for the bride family such as goats, wine, kola nut, and money. the traditional attire for igbo traditional marriage for men is a cotton wrap, shirt and sandal and for a the women wear wrap, blouse and a head gear which must be wore for all occasions and the women wear double wrap to symbolize that there are married.

will continue next time see you