UNIFORM NA CLOTH

 

I was thinking this morning..... I went for a visa interview last week and had to sit in queue waiting to be called to the counter. Ahead of me were different classes of Nigerians. Young and old, literate and illiterate. Of particular interest was a Police officer fully dressed in his official uniform.

I waited to see if he will use the usual Nigeria Police intimidation tactics, but no, he behaved and followed the queue. Then came the interview as he stood before the oyinbo visa officer. Will she be intimidated by police uniform? Usai! She asked a couple of questions and said 'sorry, we are denying you the visa.'

What? I was waiting for the Policeman to protest and probably arrest the visa officer but no, he put his tail between his legs and walked out quietly. As he shut the door behind him, I understood the line in Fela Kuti's 1974 song 'Alagbon Close' that says 'Uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am.'

In Nigeria, we are so used to workers intimidating people with their uniforms. Some nurses abuse and intimidate their patients, policemen intimidate civilians, some cassock-wearing MOGs abuse their members, even civil defence have started using their uniform to intimidate. What they all don't realise is that uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am.

Uniform is meant to certify legitimacy and suppress individuality, but many have used it to show oppressive authority. While uniform open doors for some, it closes doors for others. A man or woman is not made by the uniform they wear but by the person within. Afterall, uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am.

Some pretend to be a sheep and suddenly becomes a lion with a uniform on. It's a lie. They've always been a lion waiting for a uniform to confer legitimacy. Stop defining your personality with your uniform or job because most people will look beyond the uniform for the person behind. Be good and upright despite the uniform you wear, otherwise when it matters most, the visa officer of Life will look at the uniform and say 'Visa denied.' Afterall uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am. 1st Samuel 16:17 says 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

THERE'S ALWAYS A FIRST TIME

 

I was thinking this morning... Last Wednesday evening, I called to check if a friend who travelled to Abuja on a day trip had returned. He told me that on the flight to Abuja, he sat beside a young lady, in her thirties, who on arrival in Abuja did not know how to unfasten her seat belt. She struggled for a bit and looked to him to assist. He happily did without making her feel ashamed.

When they disembarked, he saw the lady standing by the foot of the aircraft, expecting her checked-in luggage to be handed to her. My friend understood what was going on and led her to the baggage carousel in the arrival hall. It was while they were waiting she confessed that it was her first time of flying. My friend smiled and said to her 'there is always a first time.'

There's always a first time at something for everyone. I remember my first time of sailing on a luxury cruise from Miami to Bahamas. My goodness! It was a wow experience for a Warri boy. My Nigerianess was on display from embarkation to disembarkation. The good news was everyone was willing to help without making me feel stupid or out-of-sort. I enjoyed every bit of my ignorant first experience.

In a just world, first experience should be fun and enjoyable. The problem is there are many who have made first timers look stupid. If a Warri man had observed me on my first cruise ride, he would’ve called me an Ogbori or a Jew-man or JJC (Johnny Just Come). There are all sorts of derogatory names for first timers out there which have not only discouraged people from asking questions but also from exploring new things.

When a first timer asks for help, give a warm response, whether he be a stranger, new employee or new member of your church. Do not put out the proud 'na we dey run things here' attitude. Always remember that you were once a first timer. Just make every first timer feel that it's okay to be a first timer. Leviticus 19:34 ESV. “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

WHO IS DRIVING YOUR BUS?

 

I was thinking this morning..... Tragedy struck in Lagos a few minutes before 8am last Thursday when a passenger train collided with a fully-loaded staff bus belonging to the Lagos State Government at the PWD rail crossing, off the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. Six persons died and 96 injured.

As investigation opened to unravel how and why the driver went into the train tracks when other vehicles had stopped, I recalled the idiom 'standing in front of a moving train,' which means to sacrifice one's own life for a noble or loyal cause. But what could be the cause the bus driver was going to die for? No one knows.

The interesting thing was that the bus driver was not among the dead. In the last part of the chorus of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's 1985 Army Arrangement song, he sang '...You go die for nothing (ghen-ghen); We go carry your body go police station, you die wrongfully.....' The dead workers in that bus hit by the train died wrongfully.

Truth is many are being driven by reckless drivers to their death. We have seen people pushed and provoked by their partners or spouses until they commit suicide. They died wrongfully. Who is driving your bus?

There are leaders that have led their nations to unnecessary wars. The 12 year Syrian civil war is a case in point where over 300,000 civilians have been killed because the driver, President Bashar al-Assad has decided to drive into a moving train. The people died wrongfully.

Who is driving your bus? Whether in private or public life, sometimes you really have no control about who drives your bus, but you can add your voice to other voices of reason to call a misbehaving driver to order. Where you have control, then it is important to examine the physical and mental state of the person that will be behind the steering of your life.

If you are the driver of some other persons bus, what's on your mind? Like we say in Warri 'wetin dey work you?' Stay focused and be clear headed so you don't drive the bus in front of a moving train. If you can't save others, at least do not lead them to a wrongful death (Proverbs 24: 11-12).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

SHITTY DIARRHEIC EVENT

 

I was thinking this morning...... Weeks ago, I suffered a bad case of diarrhoea. What started as a mere indigestion quickly turned into uncontrolled stooling. I was losing fluid and getting weak with each visit to the restroom.

While waiting for medical assistance to arrive, I needed to do something to reduce the rate of my running to the toilet. So, I quickly thought of applying my knowledge of science. I thought of the principle of gravity and assumed that if I laid down in a flat position or with my head slightly lower than my bowels, maybe the stool will remain in position, since it cannot flow upwards.

I was so wrong. With my head in a lower position, the stool moved in the opposite direction. I learnt something new in 'medical physics' that it doesn't matter the direction the head is facing, 'shit' goes in only one direction, down the intestine.

There are many people that have made themselves like shit. They have a good leader headed in the right direction but they have decided to go the wrong way. Knew a great and upright man who was a role model to many in the society, yet had a son that was a menace to society. The young man was like shit programmed to move in one direction, irrespective of where the head is facing.

In the run up to the February 25th election, the perception was that the President (the head) was poised to ensure a free, fair and credible election. What happened proved the theory of my medical physics that 'it doesn't matter the direction the head is facing, shit goes in only one direction, down the intestine.'

If there is anyone you are mentoring who is bent on going the wrong way, don't despair. Do not let the action of a few delinquents make you feel like you have failed or not doing enough. Don't allow one shitty diarrheic event spoil your day. Our efforts in doing right will not be in vain. Galatians 6:9 'And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

THE FETUS IS INNOCENT

 

I was thinking this morning..... Last week, a 24 years old pregnant Florida woman, charged with murdering mom-of-three in an Uber ride says she should be released from jail because her fetus is innocent. Natalia Harrell was six weeks pregnant when she was arrested in July and charged with shooting dead Gladys Borcela. She argued that by putting her in jail, they are also jailing her innocent unborn child. She had said 'My fetus is innocent.'

As I stood in the queue yesterday, waiting for my turn to vote, I recognised that whatever decision we took, was not just going to affect us the adults older than 18 years of age but also millions of Nigerians who couldn't vote because they are below 18 years of age. We are like parents carrying the young and unborn in our wombs.

Those that sold their votes or knowingly made a bad choice based on ethnic or other selfish reasons are not just potentially putting themselves in jail for 4 years, they will also be putting their innocent young children. Synonymous with jailing the fetus while in the womb.

As the results start trickling in, I really do hope that we have made the right choice of who will steer the ship of this nation for the next 4 years. Truly, our wrong decisions should not affect our unborn children. The fetus is innocent. I take solace in the words of Ezekiel 18:20 'The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity'.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

STANDING IN MY HEART

 

I was thinking this morning.... A few Sundays ago, I was sitting at the Ministers corner in Church in a figure four crossed leg position. This is a position I have been used to all my life because it serves as a flat surface for my writing note and Bible. I was doing my thing when a minister in front turned around, smiled at me and tapped my crossed leg, telling me to drop it.

I smiled and reluctantly dropped my leg but as I did so, I recalled the story of the little boy that went with the mum to church. For some reason, the little boy kept standing up when everyone was seated. When the boy stands up, the mum will pull him to sit. This happened a number of times until the mother could take it no more. At which point, she threatened him with serious beating if he stood up one more time. At this point, the little boy sat down smiling.

A worshipper sitting close by and observing the drama wondered why the little boy was smiling after being threatened, and decided to find out. The little boy whispered in response, 'My mother doesn't know that even though I am sitting down physically, in my mind, I am standing up.' Defiance, you will say.

Physical posture may give an indication but heart posture matters the most. The truth is that, there are many who may be sitting and eating with you on the same table, but in their heart they are actually standing and fighting against you. They smile with you but in their heart, they celebrate at your misfortune. These people honor you with their lips, but their hearts are far from you (Matthew15:8).

Never fret over such persons because God will not give you as prey to their teeth. Just be true to yourself. Don't be like that little boy that was sitting physically but standing in his heart. Let your physical posture match your heart posture, otherwise, you are a pretender.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

OYIBO NIGERIA

 

I was thinking this morning...... While growing up in Warri, there were many things we became used to as native to the locality. Occasionally, we came across species or variety that are DIFFERENT FROM.... no, not Bala blu, but from the local ones and we simply prefixed the name with 'oyibo' which means white man but could also be translated to mean foreign.

That was what played in my head as I drove into Warri days ago and saw a variety of coconut (Cocos nucifera) tree different from the variety that grew every where. The tree of this variety had fruits that were softer on the inside and we called this variety of coconut, 'Oyibo coconut'.

If you grew up in the village anywhere in the south of Nigeria, then rabbit hunting would've been your game. The rabbit we knew were like giant rats but with longer tail. Suddenly, someone brought a white animal in a cage and told us it was rabbit. 'How can that be?' We wondered. Not in a position to argue, we called the white animal 'Oyibo rabbit.'

The list continues. We were used to Cabin biscuit and when we eventually tasted cookies or shortbread biscuit, we called it 'Oyibo biscuit.' Our waste bins were infested with rotten foods with nothing to scavenge for. And when some kids found broken toys and comic books in the waste bins in GRAs, they called the bins 'oyibo dirty.'

As I mused, I remembered this song from my childhood days 'Oh my home, o my home; when shall I see my home; when shall I see my native land; I will never forget my home!'

Oh God, when will our native land Nigeria become 'Oyibo Nigeria' where there is constant electricity, potable water, good roads and security? I never knew a day will come when Nigerians will queue at ATMs for Naira.

While I am not a believer of 'everything oyibo is good,' but with regards to the basic amenities of life, we have a chance to have an 'oyibo Nigeria' if only we make the right choice in the coming elections.

John 1:46 - Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Please, don't be a Nathanael. We have a chance to make Nigeria like the oyibo land people are japa'ing to today. Go out and vote wisely. Nigeria can be better than what it is today. Oyibo Nigeria is possible.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey