Memoirs of an Otondo

Shopping for camp,I headed for Lagos Island to get the essentials. My homie-Itunu was at hand to give me the list of the requisite-although they sounded unrequisite-sneakers,white shorts, all to avoid using the camp issue.At the end of the day,I had a white ensemble which boasted cool labels,Itunu smiled gleefully at this and patted me on the back.The only purchase that gave me joy was a black and gold embossed copy of 'The 50th Law', you remember that book?the new sizzler from rap artise,50 cent and the acclaimed writer,Robert Greene.(The 48 laws of power,The Art of Seduction)
I arrived camp when the shadows had grown long and in a haze of so many accents,I got a mattress and a dusty stretch on the cement floor which was very welcome seeing all this arrived at 2:00 a.m.
Reading the 50th law made me appreciate the camp more. See this was a book which rotated around the themes of individuality,mental alchemy-turning shit into sugar and opportunism.
So I appreciated the early morning bugles,because it afforded me the opportunity of experiencing dawn in the open air;feeling the chilly breeze,seeing the sky lighten and the sun peek out-at first shy like a hesitant bride and soon proudly overhead making us scamper to the nearest shade.
Greene said 'When we get to work with what there is,we find new ways to employ this material' That proved true in camp,I learnt how to churn out articles with a pen and jotter seeing the editorial team had to perform without a computer.I learnt how to hold a phone through the night seeing we had to charge and we had a hundred room mates. And I learnt humility when the camp clown said I marched like 'a pre degree student'.
Did I tell you about the sheer variety of languages that exist here?Sometimes I unplug my earphones and just feel myself drift in this cacophony of diversity- chiazo in his igbo accent, musa who when he says 'poor pipe' actually means 'four five', ade who asks if am 'hangry' or if the light is 'hon'. Great peeps,'em all.
As the days draw to an end,and the bonds of friendship cinch tighter,I would always value my top moment-watching the Nigerian flag ascend with an auditory backdrop of a martial tune, I could feel my heart billow in tune with the polyester of the flag's material. Good times-these.

On the pounded yam matter

I heard it from the rumor mill. I felt it from the excitement and increased activity of youth advocates-they tweeted with more voracity. I saw it in the bland requests for a certain man’s number-the man perceived to be in charge of offering invitations. I saw it in the obstinate chin set of people who knew they would not be invited. It was the Presidential Lunch and youths around the country were agog. Why? It was a fora for the president to meet and discuss with the youth. Which people would be invited? Those regarded as representative of the youth population. How would they be identified? Well, by nomination.
So it went that on Tuesday, 25th of May, the youth congregated to have a jaw-jaw with Mr. President. They ate, they spoke, they argued and at the end of the day-they were compensated for their worries.
In the wake of the event, a couple of issues arise. Issues in the form of dissenting voices which attempt to taint the reputation of those who have attended-people who see a sit-in as representation, and attendance as a sell-out. They have voiced allegations against the per diem paid to attendees, against the fact that they consorted with Mr. President and against the quality of the pounded yam.
As a Christian, I frowned when I heard about the meal of choice. Yam and things have always being associated with a sell-out in my religion.
In my view, dialogue between the government and those desiring change should always be welcome. This can be seen in autobiographies of social revolutionaries like Nelson Mandela. It should be noted that social advocacy is different from whining. One has to do with championing a cause and seeking to see the change you desire. The latter has to do with criticizing everything and a desire to be seen as anti-establishment.
On the brown envelope matter, ehm...per diems are an accepted global practice. It is seen as compensation for time and resources used as well as a thinking that the attendees would have made the same amount in their various private ventures.
Then, in the Yoruba culture (and even mine-Ogori Magongo), it is a faux pas to criticize attendees at an event you were not invited to and it follows that POUNDED YAM IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE REJECTED. 
I don’t wanna turn this article into a long thing, So I end on the note that the president’s signing of the FOI bill into law shows his love of openness and interaction. Therefore, it behooves on every true patriot to embrace like opportunities to air their views on a larger platform. This is behavior worthy of a patriot and any who does more than this should be questioned. (Sorry, I just had to slip in that Shakespeare look-alike line)
Then on the pounded yam, good choice of delicacy Mr. President 
Osisiye Tafa, graduate of the Political Science Department, University of Lagos. Tweeter Handle: @osisiye

Before we crucify him

As a graduate awaiting the next batch of service, I experienced a hopscotch of sadness and fear at the demise of the corps members-this was a tragedy down my alley, more personalized and felt in the bone. I could imagine those young adults as they carried out the final rites of passage we carry out in the final year- dinners, barbecue nights, beach parties, signing of year books, throwing of biros and screaming of hoorah after the last paper, these are the rote carried out by final year students. Some of them would have crafted CV’s with self-help books-waiting for the end of service year to mail that to blue chip companies. Probably one of them had-like me, written a list of gifts he would buy for every member of family with his allawee. These were green stalks who had just started living-who were just learning to take first steps in an independent life, but they were cut down in their prime. These were the ones who did not ‘runs’ their service posting. I also feel a deep fear for those of us who will be posted in July- What will be our destiny?
Standing like a brand in all this darkness is the statement by the Bauchi State Governor saying it was the destiny of the corpers to die. I made a double take when I read that one, so I read his entire statement. Here is a vignette of the entire speech by His Excellency, Mallam Isah Yuguda. It should be noted that the carnage claimed the lives of nine corpers in his state.
- The corpers were well taken care of in terms of remuneration and living conditions while serving in his state
- In the course of election duty, the corpers were the responsibility of INEC and not the state government
- Violence is not generic to the north as he also almost lost his life in Ibadan
- He also suffered some level of mishap during the period as his house was set on fire and his son almost lost his life.
- Safety of life is adequately not provided for in the service year as he almost lost his life in 1979 as a corper
- In the wake of the violence, he acted with quick dispatch as a camp was created for the survivors-he visited and gave them a token for transportation.
- And for the corpers who lost their life, it was their destiny-this being said from the standpoint of Islam where it is believed that whatever happened is written in the stars and cannot be avoided-a matter of fate.
Reading the full statement made me understand his standpoint better. The destiny he talked about was from a religious standpoint and he non obstante, would have called it destiny if his son died. This was not an insouciant reference to lost lives or an I really do not give a damn situation.
Several issues come to the fore like lack of diplomacy and media unprofessionalism. You see, I hail from Ogori Magongo in Kogi State and the belief is that a leader cannot point to his wounds when the citizens are mourning-that is the price of leadership. What Yuguda has done is a classic case of a leader pointing to his own wound in a bid to pacify bereaved and wailing citizens. Grief never cures grief, sir. I remember this one and same Yuguda had also inflamed the nation in the Yar-adua sickness and handover saga with his inflammatory comments, so I think it will not be out of place if he goes to a finishing school where diplomacy is taught.
Also, we would thank the media to report statements in full rather than pick certain excerpts which would sell the news and create a sensational story. I think it was a case of the media grafting a piece of his statement and sensationalizing it.
I sincerely hope that with this piece, I would have salved an angry heart, explained an incomplete matter and made Yuguda carry out his destiny of leadership better by taking some diplomacy lessons.
Rest in peace my fallen comrades, you died in service of the nation and will always be remembered. Adieu.
This piece was sent in by Osisiye Tafa, a political Science graduate of the University of Lagos. Email: osisiyetafa@yahoo.com