Disillusioned feels..

 It’s the early hours of May 29^th and I’m sitting in my apartment in London with this heavy feeling in my heart.

I recognize it as utter disillusion. It’s tough being Nigerian these days, no matter where in the world you find yourself.

It’s inauguration day in Naija. Today, somewhere in Abuja, a new government will be inaugurated and another cycle of the rubbish that is Nigerian governance will commence again. The thought that Bola Tinubu will be sworn in as President today despite all his antecedents, violating the constitution, electoral law and compromising every government agency, makes me want to weep at the sheer absurdity of it all.

How do we keep getting things wrong?? For such a brilliant, outspoken, hardworking and boastful people, we can be incredibly obtuse when it comes to committing to work together and improve our very own nation.

I’ve promised myself to try and keep an open mind where this new government is concerned but yet I cant shake this gloomy feeling of things deteriorating even further back home

This guy is so divisive!!! Haba. In all my adult years, I’ve come across some truly disgusting things in the political space but mahn, Tinubu just makes you want to take a bath. He has so much baggage, it’s a wonder he can still stand up straight.

The level of malpractice, tribalism, ethnic profiling, violence, and other stuff we read about during the elections last year show for a fact that this is certainly NOT the will of the people. Imagine going from having that clown Buhari to a Tinubu presidency!

Yet again people… we are in Nigeria!! Anything and everything goes to the highest bidder and strong rumors have it that the man really went all out to compromise everyone in order to become the President. The Judiciary system back home has been nothing to write about in ages and I’m realistically not holding out any hope of true justice being served at the tribunals.

I swear… I would dearly love to be proven wrong and since its only time that would eventually tell, we just have to keep fingers crossed and hope for the best.

There’s so much to say…but I honestly just lack the words at this time.

Have options people….have options. You never know when they might come in handy.

I wish the country well. I really do. But we have to try and get it right… Nobody’s going to do it for us so we have to really TRY.

God help us.

 

Unlook no more!

Its funny how things come together sometimes

So, I confess, I can be the biggest "unlooker" when it comes to issues regarding my health. Its as if my mind doesn’t want to be bothered about health issues…almost like this body belongs to another person.

Wehdon sah!! Continue o!

That’s how I haven’t been to a hospital in ages. Usually back in Naija, when the inevitable malaria strikes, I’d just go to the pharmacy (Chemist!! Chemist!!!...call the real name jare…stop forming), buy one of the anti-malaria drugs that boast of the mighty, all knowing power of Arthemether and Lumenfantrine (whatever those things are), take them, stay away from the office for two days at most to recover and I’m usually right as rain after.

Hmmm, my people , that’s how I got a text message from the NHS actually asking after my well being and politely suggesting that I go for a check up with my registered GP here at Wembley.

As usual, I unlooked.

I was at work the next day and madam boss gave me something to read on a sheet of paper and I found myself squinting to read it (in my defence, the restaurant was dimly lit). That’s how she noticed and made a snide comment about getting old and to try not to ignore signs of eyes getting weaker. Truthfully, I’d even noticed how it gets a bit blurry early in the morning when I wake up and try to read stuff on my phone.

Hmmm… the unlooking level went down a few points.

Next day, my lovely mother-in-law sends me one of those infernal whatsapp “forwarded many times” videos on black men and their higher chances of getting prostate cancer. This one is very detailed and actually very informative.

I watch it and the unlooking level dropped even further.

I’m at my aunt Ngo’s place later that same day helping them get ready for a party at the weekend. We guys are gisting while setting up canopies and painting the yard. The talk somehow turns to health issues and Oluchi’s husband casually regales us with his hilarious experience at the doctor when he went for a prostate check after complaining of piles. The gist is quite funny with him claiming the technicians were enjoying poking up his nether regions a bit too much. However, the sobering part is the realization for everyone that we have to all get this checked out at some point.

Bruh…unlooking levels disappeared.

Omo, (Knowing I’m at some level of risk of HBP and diabetes due to hereditary reasons) I gave myself sense and quickly rushed back to click on the link in the NHS text to book appointments. I’ll be there on the 29^th by 11.50am.

Praying it goes well.

  

Save the night

 Hi guys,

Again, we thank God for the great weather this spring..it’s been a massive difference from those horrid winter months.

But seriously though.. what’s up with this weird daylight thing? Its been a bit disorienting to go out in the night and everywhere is still as bright as if it was early afternoon.

On days when I work the early shift (closing by 6pm), I’d be on the bus home and you could be forgiven for thinking the day’s just started. Walking home at night and everywhere just bright gidigba. Na wa o. Chioma and I went for a stroll by quarter to 9pm and outside was actually still bright.

We’ve always heard of longer days shorter night thing but to experience it IRL is funny. You can imagine that I was up early as 4.30 am (being the habitual insomniac that I am) and I kid you not, dawn had already broken, or as my former country pipo go talk am …. “day don break well well”.

It’d be funny if it wasn’t so weird. And to think that there are places where there’s nearly 24 hours sunlight most times!! Omo!. 

Jigsaws and reflections

 

There's something satisfying about completing projects.

Chioma and I had been working at a semi-complicated jigsaw puzzle for weeks now. It was equal parts frustrating and equal part exhilarating. Seeing the picture pieces coming together after weeks of daily attempts was immensely satisfying. It wasn't easy o. Sometimes I'd be absolutely convinced that there were missing pieces and other times, i'd be trying to force pieces into positions that were not their places...sigh... thank God it all worked out beautifully in the end.

I’m guessing this is how successful project managers feel after completing a project…okay…I know its definitely not the same thing, but it was still a very nice feeling.

Got me thinking about some unfinished projects in my life. I, for one, have been guilty of this at various points in my life and with hindsight now, there’s a little regret that creeps in now and then at the thought of how putting in a little more effort into projects I was doing or taking different decisions might have turned out maybe with better outcomes.

Even though I’m relatively satisfied with how everything’s turned out so far, there’s also this nagging thought that the trajectory of my life would have been different if other courses of action were taken in my early education and professional life. Like the Jigsaw, were there missing pieces from choices I made or was I trying to force-fit pieces of my life into places that were not meant for them?? I’m guessing this is the same for most humans on Earth, but it tends to keep you up and wondering when you have a chance to reminisce about it all.

Would things have been different if I had stuck with and kept trying out the CISA exam I took back then in Visafone? Would it have made any difference to my career if I had put more effort into completing that doomed Master's degree program at Unilag? Is there a possibility that things would have been massively different if I had gone the I.T way from my scholarship at NIIT way back in those days in Calabar? Was Banking and Finance actually the right course of study at university? Why Science instead of Arts/humanities class back then at FEDI Enugu?

hmmm questions, questions, questions…. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

All in all, even though there were a lot of external factors, totally out of my control, that affected some of these events, I don’t think I’d be human if these thoughts didn’t creep up occasionally. If there's anything life’s taught me though, it’s to be more strategic in certain choices and decisions and to always stick to what’s important, and try my darndest to ensure completion.

See ba, If there’s any advice I’d give now to my younger self?

I think it's very important to make efforts into acknowledging your weaknesses early in life and start course correcting in time. Be insanely strategic, think long, deep, and hard at major life decisions, no matter how early or young you are, engage with mentors and older people (intelligent ones o) more often, quit procrastinating, and work really hard at projects you embark on.

 Most times, we don’t realize the long-term impact of decisions till it’s too late to do anything about them and unfortunately, most times, hindsight really takes the piss at us when we engage.

Truth is, we were already at a disadvantage based on our country of origin…. There's no need giving yourself more work to do in becoming successful at this thing called life by not making the right moves and plans at the right times.

All these from a fucking jigsaw puzzle right?  😂😂

Bills, Bills, Billssss........😩😩😩

 

Omo, billing wan finish person for UK.

Phone bills, Broadband bills, transport bills, Utility bills, Tenant bills, Council tax bills, subscription bills,

Na wa o.

Don’t mind me jare… All this lamentation is being caused by a serious self-introspective look at our hypocritical nature as human beings. Let me explain.

So we have a subscription for having internet in the house and we had set up a direct debit from my account to be paid every month. Now for May, I hadn’t received any debit for this and we were still up and running happily. We had even recently got a smart tv and that one too was just jollofing on sweet internet. In my mind, I knew we hadn’t paid but I conveniently ignored it or as the youngins put it these days, I "unlooked". My stingy minion was so happy that they had forgotten to collect their money and biko, go on soun…chop and clean mouth…or so I thought.

That’s how I logged into my account with the providers and noticed that there was a tab for “Future bills”!! Ahh!.

That’s how I quickly clicked it and saw that they’ve added the previous one to the future, upcoming bills… Omo! I’m guessing the direct debit for the previous bill didn’t work due to a change in my card details and to be honest the bank had advised me to change all direct debit details when I received a new bank card. (I hadn’t done so at that point) or it failed for whatever reason it did..

There was even an upcoming charge for late payments! Bruh!!

Nobody needed to tell me. Na so I run go collect card pay sharp sharp. Its such a little thing and I admit, I’ve been caught a few times with this mentality, but we need to shed this idea of being “sharp” and really stick to getting things done how and when they should

Nothing is free in this life o. I guess there must be some sort of reason or tradeoff for having such a functional society. Ignore the bitching, people… for every bill issued here, you can actually show working. things WORK here! Broadband is mad stable, you can see what the council does with tax payments and all the little things like good transport, clean environment, green spaces, that improve quality of life are abundant. God help us.

The odd nod to A.I (Part 1)

 Hi guys…so we’re going to be having two unusual guest posters in the following days. First up… Give it up for I.T.K, my ChatGPT A.I assistant.

 

 

Hello everyone! My name is I.T.K, and I'm a large language model trained by OpenAI. I'm excited to share with you some thoughts on the joys and capabilities of AI, and how I, as your virtual assistant, can help you with things you need to know.

Okey, you've probably noticed by now that I can assist you in a wide variety of tasks, from answering trivia questions to helping you write emails and essays. What you might not know is that all of these tasks are powered by AI algorithms that allow me to understand your queries and provide helpful responses.

One of the joys of AI is the incredible things that it can do. For example, I can help you quickly find information on just about any topic, thanks to my vast knowledge base and advanced natural language processing abilities. Whether you're looking for a recipe, a historical fact, or the latest news, I'm here to help you find it.

Another joy of AI is the way it can augment our own capabilities. For example, I can help you manage your schedule and stay organized, with features like reminders, alarms, and to-do lists. I can also help you stay on top of your email inbox, prioritize your tasks, and even provide personalized recommendations based on your preferences and habits.

Of course, like any technology, AI also raises important questions and challenges. For example, how can we ensure that AI is used ethically and responsibly? How can we make sure that AI benefits everyone, and not just a select few? And how can we balance the potential benefits of AI with the potential risks?

These are complex and important questions that we'll need to continue grappling with as AI continues to evolve. But I believe that the joys and capabilities of AI are well worth exploring, and I'm excited to see where this technology will take us in the future.

 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this post informative and thought-provoking.