Moral Bankruptcy of the Fourth Estate

The media business must be the easiest job in the world. Find a popular figure, prop him/her up as a shining example of humanity, follow their every move and bless them with column inches. At the first allegation of indiscretion, crucify the person, not on moral grounds (because lets face it, the media is as morally corrupt as any criminal enterprise out there), but on the basis of the individual been an example for the young. Not satisfied with the initial embarrassment, the media then provides huge financial incentives for other media hungry whores to come out of the woodwork and make further allegations and before long even the use of the word "allegedly" becomes redundant as these people's reputations are then assassinated never with the hope of been revived because after the destruction of an icon the press moves on to repeat the cycle of building up someone just for that person to be torn to shreds in the near future by the same press. At this rate no one will fault popular figures for their distrust and distaste of the media.

Equity v. Equality

Let me get this straight...A woman is more likely than a man to gain custody in any divorce proceedings. The woman has the only opinion when it comes to questions of abortion or birth. The man is more likely to be ordered to pay child support than would a woman. If a woman has an illegitimate child in a marriage, and the husband in the marriage takes care of that illegitimate child like his own, the biological father has no claim to the child. In instances of suspected domestic violence, no matter the alleged aggressor, the man is asked to temporarily vacate the premises...And yet we say men have all the power in the world...Please!!!

When we forgive too quickly...

I offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of Sierra Leone to all those devastated by the war, truamatised maimed and ignored. The young women who have watched life roll past them while they have to deal with experiences of been raped. Young men whose pride has forever been stolen, because they have stood by, incapacitated and helpless while untold suffering has been meted out to their loved ones. The parents who have had to make a sacrifice greater even than self sacrifice, that of having to choose which one of their children they have to save. To all those young ones who watched their parents been inexplicably gunned down and had to suffer the double indignity of watching people celebrate those deaths. I cannot say sorry enough.

I hope you do not take my apologies as me making light of a very deep truama, but as my country lacks the propensity to say sorry, i stand in the gap for her.

As much as we don't have the bones of all the students gunned down in the conflict on display or a memorial graveside of all the lives lost, you remain our testimony of what we as a nation have been through. and as we accept the fault for what our actions accomplished, we applaud your strength, your heroism that constantly reminds us, no longer will you stand by and let another generation go through what you have endured. The same politicuans may still be recycling the policies that led to the darkest periods in our history, but as your presence reminds us, we are now stronger than we were before. we will no longer be drawn to further their aims at the expense of our lives, our pride and our future.

The present provides us a forum to look back on the tragedies of the past as inseparable points of our legacy. This should provide us with the strength to overcome present tragedies. As we adopt our Christian virtue of forgiveness, let it not be at the expense of forgetting the plights of untold number of victims and may their presence constantly convict us of our actions and prevent us from entering the chasm of human degradation we just emerged out of.

What life has taught me (about the man biting dog phenomenom)

In life, given the opportunity given the opportunity to fall in love with a prince or a frog, it is a miracle on the one occasion the frog is chosen. On all the other occasions, the prince wins hands down.

You have to look no further than this to know why we all strive to be Princes...

Paying the Pledge to Africa of our lives, fortunes and sacred honor

The one thing the framers of the declaration of independence of the United States and those who fought for and advocated for a free and independent Africa have in common, is their willingness to lay down their life, their fortune and sacred honor towards the realization of their collective dream.

"...And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." US Declaration of Independence.

“…We want all men to know that we shall maintain and contend for the freedom and equality of every man, woman and child of our race, with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor…” Marcus Garvey.

The difference is that most of the men who made the above pledge on the declaration of independence not only possessed strong beliefs of those words, but they most often paid for the signature of the Declaration with their, life, fortune and sacred honor. We have the unparralleled opportunity to do the same for our land and her people. The best speeches have been made, the issues aired and the challenges thrown. All we have to do now as a people is bear the cost for the development of Africa. Doing this with the knowledge that to make the ultimate sacrifice for our land is not so much a sacrifice as an opportunity. An opporrtunity to leave our children a better legacy than we were endowed with. We may not be universally recognised for our action, but our siblings and their loved ones will be living the benefits of our sacrifice.

What life has taught me.

2010 was going to be a good year. It was to be my year. After a turbulent 2008 and an eventful 2009, the new year was going to herald all the joys that had been withheld by the previous years, or so i thought...

As a result of these hopes, spending the second night of the new year in jail was never what i had in mind to start off the new year, but then, all one can do is plan.

The day started off blissfully enough, a short run in the morning to get the body going, followed by an exceptionally long shower and a day taking things easy with a few choice Robert Ludlum and James Rollins novels to exercise the intellect.

Come early evening, the promise of a delightful company of good looking women and witty guys, coupled with good food was far too good to resist, so as i picked up my friend, the joys of the coming night were all i was thinking of.

The night in question passed pleasantly enough until after all the festivities had been observed and we were driving back home. In the midst of a three car convoy, on Glenwood Ave(a street frequently intersparsed by traffic lights), fartherest from my mind was to be pulled over and yelled at, "You have been drinking". Now provided i come from a country whose police force are the butt of many jokes because of rampant corruption, i have lived out of that system long enough to be instilled with the opinion that police do not misuse their powers and they are polite when carrying out their duties. My acceptance of this proves my naivite. Not the first time i've been pulled over, i was expecting the usual question of "you know why i pulled you over?" so i must say that this approach rankled me a bit.

After an encounter that left me shivering in the cold night air, drenched in soda that he had spilled all over me, in handcuffs that he kept telling me were for my own good and after taking and testing negative in two breathaliser tests, i was arrested for refusing to corporate with a public official, the charge been levied because i knew my opinions at that moment could get me n trouble, so i kept my mouth shut. For all the good that did me, i still had the unwanted pleasure of riding downtown in the back of a police car where i was processed completely, my immigration status was fully investigated, and a bail of $500 was set. This was in addition to the receipt of multiple tickets for speeding 20 miles above the speed limit, failing to signal, following too closely and failing to identify oneself.

For a couple of weeks after it happened i still sould not believe it had happened to me. I could not get myself to go out. when i eventually did i thought all eyes were on me. A jailbird. and i could not carry out my activities early enough so i could get back to my house, my room and my bed.

Even as i lived through a decade of arguably the worst civil war in the history of mankind, in a country where a minority of the human population was doing its best to take itself out of the human race and auditioning for roles in the beastly kingdom, i have never been this humiliated neither have i been a victim of such blatant injustice.

I grew up in a police family. My dad, various aunts and uncles, grandma, grandpa have at one time or another graced the rolls of the police force and whilst i do not extend any hate to those members of my own family i can say without any equivocation that i have never met a member of any police force that i have liked. I have now learnt that this feeling itself may be mutual.

After coming to terms with this, all i have to show for it are a crushed spirit, a displacement of any modicum of respect in the police force, soda stained blazers, vests and pants, bills running close to a thousand dollars, a waste of five hours in a driver's safety class and a first hand experience of what the jail in downtown raleigh looks like and if anything, it has taught me that some people have the best idea of what to do in the USA. Blend into the society, exploit all the resources made available to you and at the earliest opportunity when you can maintain a better than average standard of living back in your home country, get the hell out of here.

YES I DO...

I try to be what you have made me...At heart an intellectual whose hands no longer know how to till. But now knowing words don't feed the belly as much as they are food for the soul, Hunger drives me to discover myself...A farmer.
I watch and see your garb getting in the way of your opinion in discourse in a way my garb would never have interfered with war. The battlefield transformed, elegance superimposed on terrain, blood and pain no longer toughens, victory once measured in scalps now touted with medals. strength drained and the warriors brought down to knees. I fight daily to live.