The Ferret

Earlier in the year my husband and I had a huge disagreement over putting my name and other details on Facebook. He, naturally, wanted to introduce his wife to friends, most of whom are scattered all over the globe. I, on the other hand, am paranoid about having my personal details out there. Imagine someone gaining access to your name, picture, emails, phone number and other such details. On top of that they’ll also have access to who your friends are. I kept thinking if someone wanted to round up my entire family and friends they’d have no problem doing that.

I’m not suspicious about Facebook being used as a tool to monitor and gather information about people for commercial purposes (whatever that means). I’m not even concerned about who or what organizations are behind the company. What I’m suspicioius about are the numerous applications that you allow to have access to your personal information when you download them. Anyone can set up an application on Facebook. What sort of measures are put in place to ensure they don’t sell them to third parties? I was even more worried when my sister in-law came across a website that claims to be able to dig up information about anybody, with a fee.

Things like this keep me awake at night. That’s really why I deleted all my pictures and abbreviated my name. Although I’m aware if someone is intent on finding me, there are means. For now I’m content knowing I won’t make it too easy for them.

*

Today was tortuous. I woke up with major pains on my left shoulder which I only felt when I bent down to sew. What a rotten way to feel when you’re pumped up and ready to go. I must have slept on it or something. It’s so bad I can barely move my arm around. The smallest movement reminded me of the pain. I still managed to get through the day, hunched over the sewing machine like a Quasimoto.

I hope to feel better tomorrow if not I’ll stay home and recuperate. There’s nothing I hate more than hanging around doing nothing while others carry on with their various businesses. Sure you can learn a few things by watching; but the best way to learn is by doing. When you get the ‘feel’ you’ll automatically understand the whys and hows.

*

I got the housing for the snails today. For now it’ll be a basket. I have to keep it elevated in a tray of water to prevent ants from getting to them. The basket also keeps rats and other predators away. Not sure about those that can fly though… I sure hope cocroaches don’t eat snail!

I’ve started knitting the covering for the basket. I figured with wool it’ll keep the basket moist because of it’s capacity to hold water. It’ll be like having a roof of cotton wool soaked in water. Plus it gets pretty hot here in the afternoons so they’ll need all the cool they can get.

The main problem with most Muslims is they feel they are right and everyone else is wrong.

One of the reasons I opted for a ‘closed’ blog was because of the hypocricy I observed amongst Muslim bloggers. Like all communities, we have our own fair share of the bad apples, however, the anonymity of the internet seems to give some people the green light to trample on others.

I am not going to make refferals here because I don’t want to get embroiled in the drama, but there have been several sisters who’ve had to close down their blogs because of rude, and downright abusive comments left on their pages. Bloggers attack other bloggers across the fora in slanderous entries meant specifically to impugn their character. Others could be seen fending off the ‘attacks’ in lenghty blog entries meant to assert their integrity. One even went to the extent of posting pictures of her house simply because some nonentity claimed she was being a popinjay about where she lived and boasting about a life of affluence she wasn’t really living. I didn’t bother reading every gritty detail of the long rebuttal, but I couldn’t help but ask her why she indulged them.

There will always be people who for some reason or another will never agree with not only what you say, but who you are. And since you can’t do anything about that, why entertain them? Why give them the pleasure of knowing they got to you when you can ignore them, knowing that hurts them more.

Most shocking of all is that most of those malicious comments come from fellow women; so called sisters of the Faith. I’ve concluded that there are a lot of bitter Muslim women out there masking their bitterness under the kind of bliss that only comes from the contentment of Faith. They talk as if they are so ‘up there’, believing they are the morally superior, when they come across a sister that’s liberated from the shackles of her own inferiorities, they pounce on her, brimming with envy. If she can’t be like them, they’ll bring her down.

There is also the group of Muslims that believe everyone should be the same. That we should all think the same, dress the same and behave the same. If you dare step out of the confines of what is acceptable by their standards, they swoop down on you and accuse you of not being ‘Muslim enough’. For instance if a woman thinks as long as she dresses modestly, long skirts, loose top and a scarf over her head as opposed to wearing hijab, jilbab or niqab, they swoop down on her as if she committed murder. If a person dare express an independent opinion they are accused of deviating from the religion forgetting they are not God. It is only God that has jurisdiction over who is to be pronounced as a true Muslim or not. Only He knows what’s in our heart.

When will Muslims learn to leave eachother alone. I believe the Qur’an uses vague language for a reason because we cannot all fit into one mould. We cannot all look, talk, and act the same. True we worship One God, but we are unique individuals inbued with different qualities. My own philosophy is; don’t do anything that will give you sleepless nights. I always listen to my inner voice and try to maintain a balance, neither going over board nor resigning to passivity.

If you come across someone whose views you don’t disagree with, kindly relocate else where.

I went to Intercontinental bank this afternoon for what was to be a simple withdrawal. Having misplaced my ATM card, I’m forced to queue up for cash. It’s bad enough I went on a Monday afternoon, after waiting for almost thirty minutes – with just three people in front of me! – I went out to find some guy had blocked my car.

After trying to manouver my way out with the help of a good samaritan, for about ten minutes, I gave up and went to the security guard at the gate. He spent the next five minutes complaining about how he just resumed shift and didn’t know who parked the car there. And how he can’t leave his post to find out who the person is. I asked what I should do, and he directed me to the security man at the main entrance.

When I explained to that one, he told me to go back to the guy at the gate. Since they were both being uncoorperative, I went inside to report to customer service. The guy who attended to me followed me back outside to meet the security guys. They told him the exact same thing. He now left me hanging and went back in to do his job.

After waiting to no avail, I marched back in angrily. I didn’t care about decorum, at that point, I was prepared to scream my lungs out for whoever owned the car to come out and move it out of my way.

I asked to speak to the manager. He asked what the problem was and I narrated my predicament, I was sure to say the plate number out loud. As we were going out of the bank, the owner of the car, who’d obviously heard his car number, came out apologizing. I was visibly fuming at this point.

The manager said sorry, but I promptly told him sorry doesn’t make up for my time wasted waiting for a very simple matter to be resolved.

The bottom line was nobody did their job. The security men were apathetic. Their overall demeanor was as if I was inconveniencing them. The customer service guy who would have pursued the matter to the end left me at the mercy of two slugs. Normally staff appear disconcerted when you ask to speak to the manager, but in this case they about gave as much hoot as if I’d asked to use the restroom.

To make matters worst when I got home my dad felt it was unladylike of me to tell the manager off after he apologized. I told him only I know how I felt at that time. He asked how I would feel if I was the manager of a company and a customer refused to be placated after I apologized on behalf of the organization. I told him I would respect the customer’s feelings, because only they know what they experienced. As long as they’re not violent towards me, I would understand if the behaviour of unresponsible staff got to them.

The manager on his part however scolded the security men. I saw him rounding them up as I drove out of the bank. But I was too angry to pay any attention to them.

This is a bank that boasts of being one of the top banks in Africa. They even sponsor Inside Africa on CNN. This is not the first time I’ve had ‘run in’s with Intercontinental Bank. The first time I was trying to get my bank statement, they tossed me about like a pancake. I had to call their overall manager before they finally got to me with the answer. So much hassle over something so simple.

Everything in Nigeria symptomatic of our national psyche, which is to glorify the grandoise while ignoring the details. I would prefer a bank with sound structure and excellent customer relations than one that makes its money from money laundering and levying impossible and unnecessary charges on it’s customers and is flamboyant about how good it is.

As much as banks have improved their relations with customers over the years, we still have a long way to go. Back in those days it was as if they were doing the customer a huge favour. If you had problems, you don’t waste your time complaining to them; they had the rudest people working in banks back then.

I let it ruin my day because I haven’t been this angry in a long time.

*

Two books, two themes.

Works of fiction from two completely different writers. Yellow-Yellow by Kaine Agary and Nine Lives by El-Nukoya.

Yellow-Yellow (YY) is a maiden attempt by the author. For a story that had so much potential, it turned out rather bland. The protagonists perspective  was watered down and highly unconvincing.

Having paid N500 for the 179page book, I had to thumb through Zilayefa, called Yellow (due to her light complexion), a half Greek half Ijaw girls desperate attempt to leave her village and make it big in Port Harcourt city. I had to resist all urge to chuck it after the first few pages because it was a dead giveway of what was to be expected on subsequent pages; blandness.

We read about her frustrations in the village. Her mothers suffocating love and devotion boring down on her and how she looks to much older men for affection because she lacked a father figure in her life.

Oh so predictable!

The narration from Zilayefa’s perspective had no distinct voice. It sounded like someone else was taking account of her life; like she was sitting in a pirogue and someone else was doing the paddling. Kaine Agary could have done so much with the story, but it just started out like a typical Nigerian movie, ran its watery course and ended with a very predictable conclusion. For a village girl she seemed pretty knowledgeable about the ongoings in the country.

I was dissapointed. And I’m still dissapointed as to how the novel was able to covet the Victor Nwankwo 2007 Book of The Year Award. Was it because the plot was based in the Niger Delta? Then again what did the book tell me that I don’t already know?

Again, for someone who I’m presuming to come from that region, she could have taken it a step further. With all the attention of the world on the Niger Delta, she had an audience willing to hang unto her every world. Insead what we got was a flat serving of mundaneness.

I still praise her for the attempt and look forward to her next instalment.

As for El-Nukoya’s Nine Lives… aaaaah, that’s another sweet tale for another sweet day. So far I can’t put down the book. I haven’t felt this euphoric since I the first time I laid eyes on my husband. It’s like being in love all over. I heard it took him sixteen years to write. It’s a mini mammoth of a book that’s worth every page!

What is your perception of the president of a sovereign nation going to his former colonial masters to plead for military aid? It beggars belief that Yar’adua, president of Nigeria, would go running to Britain to beg them to intercede in the Niger Delta crisis. The man is a rambling idiot. He brought some good to this country, but in this particular instance his idiocy is brighter than the halo of a full moon! This is the same idiot who was asked by President Bush what sort of help he was looking for and his intelligent answer was ‘any help’.

I feel embarrassed on his behalf.

I don’t know what sort of aid he’s specifically seeking. I hope he hasn’t forgotten that when countries like UK or US establish military bases in a country THEY NEVER LEAVE. They perpetually linger and through subversive means aid the very chaos they were invited to quell.

Developed and developing countries need raw materials for sustainable development. When such countries offer aid to poorer countries – kept poor because the people are disenfranchised – they don’t do so purely out of benevolence. There must be a payoff. The Iraq situation speaks for the remaining countries that have been invaded by proxy so their wealth and natural resources can be pillaged. I’m not surprised if the US employs mercenaries to plant bombs in public places and blame the attacks on al-Qaeda. It is hard to believe Iraq’s love to kill each other for no apparent reason.

Last year Shell and BP made ridiculous amounts of profit in the millions of pounds. In the Niger Delta, where Shell drills, the road tankers use to transport fuel to other parts of the country is not fit even for a camel to walk on. It is riddled with potholes. During the rainy season it becomes nearly impassable. It continues to deteriorate by the day due to total neglect.

It is the same story all over the Niger Delta. Rivers state produces the oil that sustains the rest of the country, yet its people remain the poorest. Granted their own leaders have bamboozled them, but not once have the oil companies stepped in to do their own fair share of giving back to the people whose lands and farms and rivers they are polluting.

Yesterday I spent three hours queuing for fuel because last week the tanker drivers announced they were fed up with their working conditions and went on strike. They are agitatating for an increase in fuel prices – although I don’t see how that improves the bad roads they’re moaning about.

They may be doing so out of their own greed, they might genuinely believe increased income would compensate for the bad work environment, or they might just have noticed fuel prices have almost doubled in other parts of the world and want to inflict the same agony on the already suffering millions all over the country.

Whatever their excuse, part of the problem can be traced back to foreign oil companies trying to grab all they can as quick as they can. Yar’adua should know better than to give the British army free reign over the Niger Delta. His action is equitable to that of a man who calls his neighbour into the house to sleep with his daughter! I hope that’s not what he’s asking for.

In Jos, Plateau state, 1,000 people were duped by a fake finance company. The Cash-Splash Network promised to double all monies invested. One idiot man initially invested N30, 000. One month later, he was given back N60, 000. Overcome with greed, he sold off his car and emptied his bank accounts and handed over N600,000 to the so called bank which is nowhere to be found. After realizing they’ve been duped, other victims have resorted to looting the now emptied premise in order to recover some of their savings.

Call me cruel hearted, but when I hear stories like this, I don’t have an iota of pity for the people involved. There’s a saying by con artists that you can never dupe an honest man. The principle holds true here. It is difficult to defraud someone unless they intended to reap where they did not sow. One must have the opinion that there is free money languishing away somewhere just waiting for the picking.

Personally, when someone makes an offer that appears too good to be true, alarms go off in my head prompting me to ask, ‘what’s the catch? If you’re offering me ridiculous returns on an investment, I’m thinking you’re either planning to defraud me or the business is illegal. Either way, there must be something in it for you.

In this case the name alone speaks volumes. A name like Cash Splash Network is like a sticky patch, it’ll attract certain kinds of insects, mainly greedy, gullible suckers and Nigerians whose sense of entitlement douses their intellect.

When raw greed meets refined greed it results in a thousand disgruntled, miserable citizens.

*

14 African immigrants died on a boat enroute to Spain (LEADERSHIP, Friday July 11^th). They fled the misery in their countries into the open arms of death just moments away from the Promised Land. Last year, nearly a thousand died trying to get into Spain. Even if the streets of Spain were literally paved with gold, is it worth their life getting there?

Things like this make me sick because it an affirmation of why African’s are developmentally challenged. We see no problem in dying to go and live in another man’s country, whose forefathers died in order to make it what it is today, yet we cringe at the prospect of dying for the liberation of our own countries so our own children can have a place to proudly call home.

Unless and until we rid ourselves of this slave mentality, of trying to reap where we didn’t sow, and cultivate the greener pastures in our own backyard, we will continue to be derided by the rest of the world (especially by the likes of Kevin Myers). 

Look at Zimbabweans. They fled to South Africa in their droves only to be massacred. Now most of them are returning home to where was previously inhospitable.

Why do Africans keep running away from their problems? We run and hope someone else solves it and makes it better so that we can return again. Even when the situation is not so bad as to warrant fleeing one’s country, the typical African still believes life in US or UK is next to Paradise.

If they collectively pursued improving their situation the same way they did fleeing the continent, I’m confident we’ll have a lot to be proud about. We have it in us. Along with our natural resources, the human potential is limitless. I’m confident we can turn ourselves around with sound introspection, dedication and cooperation.

Today I saw an image of Tibetans fighting for what they believed in. They were out there, screaming, kicking, shouting, demanding, defying. They didn’t cower, they didn’t run, they stood and asserted their rights despite being harassed and arrested by the army.

When will Africans realize their destinies lie in their own hands?

Bought my sewing machine today. After the euphoria of actually owning one comes the reality of making use of it. So far that’s been proving difficult. First of all, China has flooded our markets with all sorts of things, most of them inferior. You can’t get a decent Singer machine to buy nowadays. It’s all Emel and Butterfly. It’s cheap; and of course, comes at a price. The manual that came with it was a bit tricky to read because the oil that was meant to lubricate the engine had leaked unto it.

All the same, I’m so excited I can’t wait for tomorrow to continue work on it.

*

I’ve been introspective lately, been ruminating on a lot of things. For instance, I heard about a Muslim woman who was denied citizenship in France because she wears a burqa. She was accused of practicing her religion in a way that poses a threat to the country. The woman, who is married to a French citizen hails from Morocco and claims she is only following her husbands wishes.

There are some Muslims who feel the refusal was unjustified and contrary to the values epitomized in the country’s constitution. One that guarantees an individuals basic rights and permits the freedom of worship. I can’t argue with that.

However, IMO, I feel if staying with her husband and children in that country was more important to her, she ought to have removed her burqa for the purpose of application as a mark of respect to the values of the country she is applying to. Her wearing a burqa while applying for citizenship in a France is like me wearing a bikini to such an office in Saudi Arabia. Asking either party to look the other way is an assault on their sensibilities.

One can argue that SA does not espouse the same liberal values as France, or that compromising on her values is a sign of hypocracy, but then again the burqa itself is not a mandatory religious garb. No where in the Qur’an does it say all Muslim women should cover their faces. It is a cultural outfit worn by people of Arab descent. And frankly with the preponderance of Islamophobia, it has no place in a western country. There are millions of Muslims in countries like Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Turkey, etc, who do not wear it. In fact those who do so in these countries are sometimes regarded as aping an Arab way of life in a non-Arab society.

Where I come from the only sort of women that wear burqa are wives of Imams and scholars. It is not common, and nobody will be considered less Islamic for not doning it. A woman can still stay true to her religious values by wearing a khimar or a hijab that covers her bosom together with loose fitting outfits.

Personally I don’t see someone that covers from head to toe being able to contribute to societal upliftment without her garb being a hindrance, unless she limits herself to a specific niche.

I think it’s high time Muslims realize that their way of life will always be at odds with the Western way. And if you want to go and live in their country, despite that, be reasonable about it! Respect their sensitivities just as you would expect them to respect yours should they want to come and live in yours.

A friend forwarded this article to me on facebook “Africa Is Giving Nothing To Anyone – Apart From AIDS“. The author, Kevin Myers, an Independent columnists, argues against continual Aid to impoverished, war-torn African countries, especially Ethiopia, whose population has doubled despite the extreme poverty that prevails.

He raised some cogent points even I can’t disagree with. However I take issue with the following:

They are now — one way or another — virtually all giving aid to or investing in Africa, whereas Africa, with its vast savannahs and its lush pastures, is giving almost nothing to anyone, apart from AIDS.

Really… as if ’they’ are so generous aid just falls on the laps of Africans like manna from heaven and they are too stupid to know what to do with it.

Firstly, Mr. Myers ought to know all those so called aid come with strings attached, aimed primarily at keeping the recepient countries perpetually incapable of sustainable growth and development. Presently Uganda spends seven times more money servicing their loans than on healthcare for it’s citizens. What’s the point in continually dishing out aid when more than 80% of the money ends up in the benefactors pocket? Why knowingly give large sums of money to corrupt officials?

Secondly, he would have done better to acknowledge that Africa’s natural resources have contributed vastly to the West’s and now the East’s development. Perhaps he’s forgotten that the West was built on the backs of African slaves and the resources from Africa continues to be siphoned to these countries. They continue to pillage Africa by proxy.

The present conflict in Sudan is enabled by the Chinese govenment who have special interests in the country’s oil. While the rest of the world is made to believe it’s really about Sudanese trying to finish each other off. When you arm a section of society that wants to overrun another section of society, there’s bound to be unspeakable atrocities.

The Niger Delta conflict in Nigeria is also not without the invisible hands of foreign interests who are busy helping themselves to the oil while Nigerians fight eachother. We loose billions everyday beause of the selfish interests of a few individuals who continue to arm the rebels. 

Just to name two instances. Wherever there’s diamond, oil, gold, copper, tin, or any other natural resource aplenty, in Africa, there’s bound to be conflict. Why?

Clearly, Africa has much more to give than AIDS. If we are so ‘AIDS ridden’ kindly leave us alone. Perhaps if greedy foreigners stop meddling in our affairs, we’ll have only greedy Africans to contend with.

*