MOZAMBIQUE

Here’s a poem by my lil sis on the foremost female hostel 4 Obafemi Awolowo University freshers,hope it makes a nice read.                

                 

                      MOZAMBIQUE

 Whr d grasses make u feel like u’r in a cornfield

And d disarray of buckets give u d feeling of a battlefied

Gbabe, we’r nt d descendants of Scoffield

but we go surely breakout of moz

we dnt need d wizard of Oz

Mozambique

whr d constant power supply still leaves d BUTTERY witout cold drinks

And u feel like u shud batter dem wen dey say ” NO cHANGE” buh itz all in my drims

  MOzambique

whr derz d lingering smell of GUTTER in d air

And i wonder Y life is so unfair

buh den dis is jx a stage

And i wish i cud turn dis page

But dis are nt d words of a sage

   MOZambique

whr der is alweiz a rush 4 water

even wen ders a full tank and i wonder 

why dey continue 2 hoard it

Y are dis people so selfish and greedy?

Den u rememba dey comprise of people 4rm IB, ABUJA and LASGIDI

  MOZambique

whr dem pretty girls still shot Put

And dey cum out d next minute nd form TUSH

WherE u wash and hang ur clothes on d LINE

And hours later ur amazement cannot be defined

Damn! dia hands are truly DIVINE

Their hands are swift and dey go forward without rewind

       Yea dats MOZambique QUEENS

 To stay awake and fetch water we no need caffeine

buh we still give our clothes to SE N FO SO to dry clean

   MOZambique QUEENS, cash machines

 But we no fit buy jelly beans

we so lean and mean

but we fit burst ur spleen wit our mouth

            MOZAMBIQUE QUEENS

            24/05/2013

             Hay_ch M

AFTER 11 HOURS

   When anger comes,it’s a rush of emotions you want to dissipate but in the process things you don’t anticipate could end up at your gate. The brawl ensued,anger vented and culprits captured. It’s a barrack,no fisticuff of any kind can be condoned. So with the consequences of your actions and/or reactions you live!

  As we walked down the muddy road to this correctional facility,I didn’t know what to expect in it but there was no iota of trepidation. My mind was keyed in on taking the punishment,no form of remorse perused my being for even a second. So as I saw the signpost of what is known as the guardroom of this military cantonment,my belly tightened with unrepentance and the gusto of a street kid. “Artillery White House” was boldy inscribed on it and I thought what an irony. Formalities done with,to the enclave we marched-the four culprits.

   As the gate of this “White House” was opened,the stench of a mixture of urine and faeces slapped my nostrils while I glanced at the other six existing inmates. This room was about 30 feet wide and 14 feet in length,8 ridiculously small windows spattered about,floor as sandy as a beach(exaggeration) but with rougher sand and then darkness lit up the room. Check-in time was 2000Hours and I just established in my mind that the night would be spent here;a true case of of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Mentally,I prepared for 13-14 hours but fate took its course.

   Straight to the back of the room I went,leaned against the wall,sat with my shorts & bathroom slippers on and t-shirt flung on my knees. The warden happened to be an elderly man who the older inmates addressed as “Papa”. Meanwhile,2 of my colleagues kept standing and were feeling elitist in the dungeon. They toyed with reality. The other sat beside me and we gisted away. He was tipsy though and if not for his singular act of breaking a liquor bottle in the course of the brawl,we probably would have been in our rooms and not the “Artillery White House”!

   Papa came to count us and we numbered ten. Minutes later we became 8,one had been released & the other allowed to eat outside the walls of the confinement. The latter’s name was Louis. Tipsy co-culprit held on to that name & harassed the hell out of him,I looked on and laughed hard! Some soldiers came on routine inspection & stripped us of our clothes and belts;they said those were not allowed in the guardroom because inmates could use them to attempt suicide. At this point,my “elitist” colleaues realised we were seen as equal offenders,degree or no degree.

   A truth about this confinement is you do not have an idea of the time all through,you can only guess. Phones & jewellery had been taken on our arrival because no personal item is allowed in(though mysteriously I had my bracelet and ring on all through)and so you could only know the time by asking the warden(s). I asked one of the wardens what the time was later in the night and he told me it was a minute to midnight. In the space of 30 minutes before I asked that question,he had brought in 4 more inmates whose crimes were being outside late supposedly. They were brought in in 2 batches:one first & then the other three,minutes later. The first happened to be a known destitute presumably yet he was unknown to this particular warden who only cared about him spending the night in that room of special-breed mosquitoes. He ranted and then lamented,minutes later he was lying on the sandy floor snorting away,disturbing our eardrums. The other 3 were just a bunch of clowns(still chuckling as I type this). They were 2 igbo men & a hausa man. I suspect they are artisans. They made us laugh the whole night before they slept off. A particular one kept saying “je fe neme this man” in referring to the warden that got him locked up(guess I murdered the igbo language right there,LOL). He was plain distraught but eventually slept off too,snorting at will.

   I grimaced as I still sat against the wall,then nature came calling but could not sleep in that position,so I laid on that same dusty sandy floor too. The mosquitoes serenaded,I fought them a little,got a nap and was up again. The lying and sitting continued until it was morning. We got our discharge by 0700Hours and I was happy I had gotten my “street-savvy cv” bolstered by the experience of the last 11 hours. And as I walked into the lodge,some colleagues chanted “Mandela” and I smiled,thinking “what a name acquired AFTER 11 HOURS!”

’13 Playoffs Prognosis (2)

This is a sequel to the article of yesterday. My thoughts on the Western Conference are duly outlined.

First Round

The seed of each team is put in parenthesis. The match-ups are: Oklahoma City Thunder(1) vs Houston Rockets(8), San Antonio Spurs(2) vs Los Angeles Lakers(7), Denver Nuggets(3) vs Golden State Warriors(6) & Los Angeles Clippers(4) vs Memphis Grizzlies(5).

Thunder-Rockets: The bearded man against his former team in the playoffs immediately after the trade,what a way to start his post-Thunder career!OKC has fared well in his absence,adapting so well & look good enough to make a deep post-season run. Thunder win this in 5. MVP would be Kevin Durant & Westbrook as co-MVP. I see Harden averaging 20+ points in each game,also.

Spurs-Lakers: I don’t care about all the talk of resurgent “twin towers” in Pau Gasol & Dwight Howard. A Kobe-less Lakers loses this series in 5 games comfortably. MVP would be Tim Duncan & X-factor Kawhi Leonard.

Nuggets-Warriors: These are 2 teams that excelled beyond measure in the regular season. And when you lose only 3 games @ home,I don’t see you losing any series you have home court advantage. Nuggets in 6. Ty Lawson for MVP & Andre Miller as X-factor. Expect spectacles from Stephen Curry & David Lee though.

Clippers-Grizzlies: This is the match-up of the West in the 1st round. A repeat of last year’s fixture & that took 7 games to settle. This time I think CP3 and his men do this in 6. They’ve become a much more better team since the series of last year. MVP would be CP3 and X-factor would be Jamal Crawford. I look forward to the menacing Grizzlies duo of Z.Bo & Marc Gasol doing their thing,also. 

Second Round

From the above,we should have the following Semi-Final fixtures:

Thunder-Clippers: Scott Brooks’ men would take this in 5. Yes,5!

Spurs-Nuggets: Tough one but I go with the Nuggets in 6.

Conference Final

Thunder-Nuggets: Mouth-watering, high-octane, fever-pitched duel this would be. I pick the Thunder in 7.

  So these are my thoughts on the different series in the West,we await to see how this plays out! 

’13 Playoffs Prognosis (1)

I always love to drop my thoughts before any of the series begins. It’s a task of calculation,analysis,fun & precedence. Written for the glory of the game that brings us so much joy & drama.

The Prognosis

This part 1 is for the Eastern Conference. The seed of each team is in parenthesis. The first round match ups are as follows: Miami Heat(1) vs Milwaukee Bucks(8), New York Knicks(2) vs Boston Celtics(7), Indiana Pacers(3) vs Atlanta Hawks(6) & Brooklyn Nets(4) vs Chicago Bulls(5).

Heat-Bucks: The Heat had a league-best 66 Wins & have home-court advantage through out the playoffs. They also have the league’s MVP-elect & a veteran team. That’s a Championship team right there! Brandon Jennings,Monta Ellis,Henson & co have a tall task here to pull an offset. An offset in this case is avoid being swept! The Heat take this one in 4,series MVP would be Lebron & X-factor would be Bosh•

Knicks-Celtics: For me,this is the match up of the first round! Atlantic division rivals going head-to-head. You can never write off Doc Rivers & the duo of The Truth & KG but the fact is this present Knicks team has its eyes on something big. They got the scoring title champ,6th man of the year-elect & a coach whose name came up in the COY talks. So on paper,in reality & gut feeling,I see the Madison Square Garden lords come out on top this year. 6-game series;Knicks do the job. Melo for series MVP & JR Smith as X-factor•

Pacers-Hawks: This is another good match up.2 teams that could have had higher seeds;Pacers for 2nd & Hawks for 5th. But after all said & done,a Paul George & David West header against Al Horford & Josh Smith is mouth-watering. It’s gonna be about defence but it had still be an interesting series. I pick the Pacers in 6. George & West,the players to look out for for worthy honours•

Nets-Bulls: They moved to a new city cum arena,got a new name,hired a new coach early in the season & the Brooklyn Nets feel good about themselves. The Bulls have been my team of the season. They’ve adjusted to different forms of adversity & are in the playoffs to do exploits. I see Thibodeau’s boys nicking this in 6 games.X-factor would be Nate Robinson & MVP Carlos Boozer•

Second Round

From the above,we should have these semi-final games:

Heat-Bulls: The relentless Bulls take this in 6•

Knicks-Pacers: The knicks nick this in 6•

Conference Final

Knicks-Bulls: yes,the Bulls are D.Rose-LESS but I had go with them to take this in 6•

So,an outlined recap here»»»Heat-Bucks: 4-2• Knicks-Celtics: 4-2• Pacers-Hawks: 4-2• Nets-Bulls:2-4• Heat-Bulls:2-4• Knicks-Pacers:4-2• Knicks-Bulls:2-4•

Let’s see how it goes,the playoffs never follows a definite script. It loves to direct its events itself & with so many surprises. So we look forward to just that this year.

The Feminine Constitution

I guess constitutions are compiled/arranged by legal luminaries;a group of experienced judicial practitioners who have garnered wisdom & dexterity over time. So for me to write any kind of constitution,I should have experience too. But sorry to disappoint those with such thoughts because I write this piece strictly on inspiration. I’m too young to know “so much” about women but I’m also “too old” not to know “the basics” of these great humans. What I write about in the next few paragraphs is just a reel of qualities every female is expected to have as a representation of her gender.

According to this constitution in Section 1 Sub-Section 1,Paragraph 2,every female should be courteous. Rudeness & rashness are qualities that should not be associated with the women folk for any reason. Yes,it is known that the female folks are the subject of advances & admiration which makes them liable to such from a diverse group of males who may differ in their modes of approaches. But the onus still lies on the lady to turn down & distance herself from the wrong bunch nicely & kindly in such a way those that are victims of her decline forever respect her.

   Next is every female should look good @ all times,especially when she isn’t in the comfort of her abode. The moment she leaves her immediate abode,she is suppose to look good,attractive and/or breathtaking. Looking good for a woman isn’t restricted to occasions,it is a lifestyle,a state of mind & a necessity!

   Paragraph 4 states that every female MUST know how to cook good meals;a variety of delicacies. The fact that we happen to be in a generation where a lot of females take pride in knowing how to cook ONLY noodles & also have it as their best food makes one sad. These females get turned off by the kitchen & struggle with males in queues of cafeterias. This is a great violation of this section of the constitution.

   The last content of the constitution I had throw light on is every female is required to be pious. A lot of the time it is the prayers of wives and mothers that keep the home front & kids going. Piety is the hallmark of a virtuous woman. She uses the spiritual to settle the physical.

  It is definitely an inexhaustible list,feel free to add to this Constitution. The women folks play highly pivotal role in our lives that’s why we esteem them highly and desire they are on top of their games @ all times. So to every female, thou shall not violate these laws in the Constitution!Cheers!

’13 Playoffs Prognosis

I always love to drop my thoughts before any of the series begins. It’s a task of calculation,analysis,fun & precedence. Written for the glory of the game that brings us so much joy & drama.

The Prognosis

This part 1 is for the Eastern Conference. The seed of each team is in parenthesis. The first round match ups are as follows: Miami Heat(1) vs Milwaukee Bucks(8), New York Knicks(2) vs Boston Celtics(7), Indiana Pacers(3) vs Atlanta Hawks(6) & Brooklyn Nets(4) vs Chicago Bulls(5).

Heat-Bucks: The Heat had a league-best 66 Wins & have home-court advantage through out the playoffs. They also have the league’s MVP-elect & a veteran team. That’s a Championship team right there! Brandon Jennings,Monta Ellis,Henson & co have a tall task here to pull an offset. An offset in this case is avoid being swept! The Heat take this one in 4,series MVP would be Lebron & X-factor would be Bosh•

Knicks-Celtics: For me,this is the match up of the first round! Atlantic division rivals going head-to-head. You can never write off Doc Rivers & the duo of The Truth & KG but the fact is this present Knicks team has its eyes on something big. They got the scoring title champ,6th man of the year-elect & a coach whose name came up in the COY talks. So on paper,in reality & gut feeling,I see the Madison Square Garden lords come out on top this year. 6-game series;Knicks do the job. Melo for series MVP & JR Smith as X-factor•

Pacers-Hawks: This is another good match up.2 teams that could have had higher seeds;Pacers for 2nd & Hawks for 5th. But after all said & done,a Paul George & David West header against Al Horford & Josh Smith is mouth-watering. It’s gonna be about defence but it had still be an interesting series. I pick the Pacers in 6. George & West,the players to look out for for worthy honours•

Nets-Bulls: They moved to a new city cum arena,got a new name,hired a new coach early in the season & the Brooklyn Nets feel good about themselves. The Bulls have been my team of the season. They’ve adjusted to different forms of adversity & are in the playoffs to do exploits. I see Thibodeau’s boys nicking this in 6 games.X-factor would be Nate Robinson & MVP Carlos Boozer•

Second Round

From the above,we should have these semi-final games:

Heat-Pacers: This is where the playoffs start for the Heat. They take this in 7•

Knicks-Bulls: The relentless Bulls would ouster the Knicks in 6•

Conference Final

Heat-Bulls: yes,the Bulls are D.Rose-LESS but I had go with them to take this in 6•

So,an outlined recap here»»»Heat-Bucks: 4-2• Knicks-Celtics: 4-2• Pacers-Hawks: 4-2• Nets-Bulls:2-4• Heat-Pacer:4-3• Knicks-Bulls:2-4• Heat-Bulls:2-4•

Let’s see how it goes,the playoffs never follows a definite script. It loves to direct its events itself & with so many surprises. So we look forward to just that this year.

Rafa’s Script

19 weeks after,a Champions League exit,world Club cup tragedy,FA cup sem-final berth,League cup ouster,top four battle and Europa cup sailing,the Rafael Benitez era has been crafted after a best-selling flick.The thespians,viewers and makers have given us a story to be engrossed in and follow.The fans of the self-acclaimed Pride of London have never hidden their dislike for the Spanish soccer technocrat and he in return has shown no sign of being perturbed.He keeps going about his interim managerial duties with his well-known style of getting things done(squad rotation et al).All these have seemingly pointed to the possibility of a script being played out by the 52-year old experienced manager.

  Roman Abrahamovich’s executive administration may be questionable considering the ruthlessness stamp,personal imposition,pecuniaryy flaunt & gratitude lack but truth be said,it has brought him trophies.And that’s what a club’s largesse and legacy are about.Despite these,a lot of us were taken aback by his decision to hire Rafa,a foe of the London club in his time of handling the Kops.Deed’s been done,the results might never get undone.What if this script had long been written and on November 11,2012,the writer had this grin of a victorious creator of a thrilling saga.

  The events of the past few weeks have brought this thought of mine to the fore.Nothing could have been done about the Champions League exit,may be the Corinthians hammering couldn’t have been avoided,may be the loss to Swansea was divine but there are reasons for thoughts like mine to arise.When your selections keep showing a penchant for regression than progression,brows must be raised. Against Manchester United in the FA Cup 6th round 1st leg,the defensive midfield position was ABSENT until Mikel’s introduction as a substitute;against Southampton the other day,that combination of Oscar,Marin & Moses that also didn’t work against QPR in that painful home loss was used.The regular use of Torres(I know he had a brace in his last game) even with his awful form compared to Ba’s better output,poor defence rotation favouring the erratic and rash David Luiz making the duo of Ivanovic & Terry rusty,continued questionable midfield rotations and more point to the fact that Benitez’s intentions for Chelsea are questionable.Finishing in the top four is Chelsea’s utmost priority,why sacrifice a league match for an FA cup sem-final showdown with Manchester City that you have no guarantee of winning?

  So my thought is what if Benitez’s script reads the winning of (a) trophy(ies) & a top four struggle cum eventual loss? Adding to the trophy cabinet bolsters his credentials,a top four loss makes it impossible for Chelsea to win over a top coach to take over in the summer.These would make his interim post approach the “permanent site”.Perhaps that he desires,the next six weeks would dispel or fuel this suspicion.I watch in interest and hope the best comes to the Russian billionaire’s nest!

19 weeks after,a Champions League exit,world Club cup tragedy,FA cup sem-final berth,League cup ouster,top four battle and Europa cup sailing,the Rafael Benitez era has been crafted after a best-selling flick.The thespians,viewers and makers have given us a story to be engrossed in and follow.The fans of the self-acclaimed Pride of London have never hidden their dislike for the Spanish soccer technocrat and he in return has shown no sign of being perturbed.He keeps going about his interim managerial duties with his well-known style of getting things done(squad rotation et al).All these have seemingly pointed to the possibility of a script being played out by the 52-year old experienced manager.

  Roman Abrahamovich’s executive administration may be questionable considering the ruthlessness stamp,personal imposition,pecuniaryy flaunt & gratitude lack but truth be said,it has brought him trophies.And that’s what a club’s largesse and legacy are about.Despite these,a lot of us were taken aback by his decision to hire Rafa,a foe of the London club in his time of handling the Kops.Deed’s been done,the results might never get undone.What if this script had long been written and on November 11,2012,the writer had this grin of a victorious creator of a thrilling saga.

  The events of the past few weeks have brought this thought of mine to the fore.Nothing could have been done about the Champions League exit,may be the Corinthians hammering couldn’t have been avoided,may be the loss to Swansea was divine but there are reasons for thoughts like mine to arise.When your selections keep showing a penchant for regression than progression,brows must be raised. Against Manchester United in the FA Cup 6th round 1st leg,the defensive midfield position was ABSENT until Mikel’s introduction as a substitute;against Southampton the other day,that combination of Oscar,Marin & Moses that also didn’t work against QPR in that painful home loss was used.The regular use of Torres(I know he had a brace in his last game) even with his awful form compared to Ba’s better output,poor defence rotation favouring the erratic and rash David Luiz making the duo of Ivanovic & Terry rusty,continued questionable midfield rotations and more point to the fact that Benitez’s intentions for Chelsea are questionable.Finishing in the top four is Chelsea’s utmost priority,why sacrifice a league match for an FA cup sem-final showdown with Manchester City that you have no guarantee of winning?

  So my thought is what if Benitez’s script reads the winning of (a) trophy(ies) & a top four struggle cum eventual loss? Adding to the trophy cabinet bolsters his credentials,a top four loss makes it impossible for Chelsea to win over a top coach to take over in the summer.These would make his interim post approach the “permanent site”.Perhaps that he desires,the next six weeks would dispel or fuel this suspicion.I watch in interest and hope the best comes to the Russian billionaire’s nest!

Power of Example

 

We are very familiar with the words-”lead by example”, but the truth is whether you are a leader, a follower or just an “observer” (not leading, not following), exemplary living takes you to your dream. What is it about being an example or living by example that makes it have any power of sort? Are there lessons to follow and blessings to see grow as one lives by example? Great questions and we would learn their great answers also.

  From the leader’s perspective, the exemplary way of doing things and living sustains his position. It defines his ability to perform and subtly coerces his followers to do same. There is a popular saying about children-“they are willing to do what they see than obey what they hear”- and I think this also applies to the leader-follower relationship not just the parent-child one. It is therefore right to say living by example is contagious, religious and audacious. Each of these three adjectives aptly defines the exemplary life. The reason you do not see any qualm in kneeling to serve as your leader has done is because of its infectious or contagious nature. Because of the contact you have maintained with your leader, his examples are your buckles (making your actions tight and right). Contagious? Definitely so but religious? I don’t see that you may say.

  When exemplary living is said to be religious, it means it is passioned, ordered and celebrated. Religion is about having passion for that Being you worship, having doctrines and instructions meant to instill order and ultimately hope of always celebrating (one victory or the other). Living by example also has the big three in the sense that it injects you with passion; to always abide by right and instituted order for desired consummate celebration, audacity; has to do with boldness, braveness, fearlessness et cetera and boldness and fearlessness-this helps you at times when it just seems alright to deviate or compromise, keeping you principled and following right order.

  We have learnt the power of example from the leader’s perspective, it is also important you see it from the other side of the divide. There are more followers than leaders, so I believe this perspective is greatly important as it affects most of us. Why must the follower also live by example, whether the leader is doing so or not? So many reasons abound but we will look at only a few.

  The first and most important reason for me is that it is a display of responsibility. When a follower decides to live by example, he is showing he is responsible and in effect, pressurizes the leader to become and/or remain responsible by being an example also. Every time you do what is right no matter how strenuous it is on you because of your decision to be an example, it is an offering of sacrifice that brings success faster. Whenever the follower sees it as a burden to be exemplary, the work is done quicker and success is faster and mastered. Last among the reasons I would be sharing is that it builds followers that will become leaders tomorrow. It just doesn’t groom you to become a potential leader tomorrow but an eventual capable leader.

  If you have not been living by example, preferring to take the mediocre stand of eye-service, obstinacy or non-chalance, it is time to change and watch yourself leap to the peak. Always remember below is too crowded, there’s more than enough room at the top; see you there-the apogee!  

 

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