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Saturday 29 October 2011

3 - 5 - we're still ALIVE! Chelsea V Arsenal!! GUNNERS!

Guess the title says it all . Arsenal beat Chelsea at HOME 5 - 3. Robin van Persie scored a neat hat-trick. It's a brilliant thrilling match with loads of goals and errors but sheer class through out.

The Gunners are still wobbly defensively but this should help answer the critics who said we were finished without Fabregas and Nasri. In their minds, we had already been relegated. Fans began calling for Mr Wenger's head or at the very least his resignation. However, the same critics said we were finished when Henri left, before Fabregas became the new hero. As for Nasri? Well, he is a totally brilliant player - but who realised that before Wenger got hold of him and nurtured/built him into a mega-talent?

Say what you want about Wenger and Mr Ferguson but they are both fantastic at getting good players and turning them into WORLD-CLASS talent. When Fabregas and Nasri left, I knew someone would step up to the plate. Spotting, nurturing, developing talent - that's what Mr Wenger does best.

It is awesome to finally see RVP get his moment in the sun. He is so modest it is easy to overlook him. He's always been an excellent player overshadowed by injuries and that innate modesty.

Most Arsenal fans would have been ecstatic with a draw today. Our true fear was we would be thumped badly by Chelsea as they sought to avenge their last week loss to QPR. Not many could have foreseen such an emphatic victory by Arsenal.

The Gunners are still alive. Keep playing with your hearts guys. Nice to see the new team gelling together slowly but surely. Remember, true gunners love ya through thick and thin.

xx

Thursday 27 October 2011

Lady sings the Praise! :-)

10 months ago, I wrote my 3rd blog entry 'Lady sings the Blues' and asked - "Is it ok to have a self-pity-woe-is-me-day?" (http://postnoir.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-sings-blues.html)

When I wrote the postcard, I had just ended a 7 month relationship. Bringing things to an end was 'totally' the right decision, but whilst not regretting the break-up, I hate/d failing. Reflecting upon it spawned the blog, as I began dwelling upon other 'failings' in my life at the time.

However, as I re-read the original entry today, I am blown away by how much GOD turns our lives around, answers our spoken and unspoken requests, and all HE asks if that we are patient. I am stunned to see how much of a change there's been in my life the last 10 months.

My weight no longer sucks - it might not have dropped yet to where I want it to be but it doesn't suck - LOL. My Christian life is an ever-continuing journey of faith. My house is still untidy but that's because I am finally having renovations done. The de-cluttering has begun. That new kitchen I desperately needed because the old one was falling apart? Well I was resigned to not being able to afford my dream for a very long time. Guess what? I still don't have a clue as to how GOD's stretching my finances to pay for it, but the builders are working on the new kitchen even as I type. I still want/need my bedroom revamped but that's also in the pipe-line. Compared to previous years, work has been a breeze. My finances are okay.

Best of all, I have been given a bonus. I've wanted a study for years but there's never been the space to create one without without sacrificing a bedroom (or so I thought). However, getting created out of what's always seemed like unusable space, (a tiny cloakroom & tiny laundry), I finally will be getting a study/occasional guest-room. A new kitchen AND a new study? Mee is absolutely & totally chuffed! Did I also mention the horrible grey carpets I have hated with a passion for years are being ripped up and REAL wood floors are getting laid all through the house? Yahyyyyyyyyy!!!!

A paragraph I wrote 10 months ago jumps out at me - "sometimes the enemy of our souls, our mood, thoughts, circumstances, emotions, can take our eyes off the truth. God loves us and every single part of our lives is crafted into a perfect plan by the greatest master planner." Every part of my life? Every part? Wow! My triumphs, my failures, my screw-ups, the things that seemingly go well, and those that seemingly go badly, the things I have and the things I don't have (yet) - every single part of my live is crafted into HIS perfect plan for me. GOD doesn't get surprised by my missteps and have to re-adjust HIS plans. When we try to explain/fathom GOD with our human minds, we rapidly develop headaches. Someone said once, a man trying to fully comprehend the magnitude of GOD is like an ant trying to fully comprehend the fullness of the human experience.

10 months ago, I was throwing myself a massive pity-party. Today I am throwing my majestic, ultimate-planner, heavenly Father a massive praise party. GOD is awesome.

Okay, for those of you who have taken the time to read/re-read the original entry, (http://postnoir.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-sings-blues.html), you can go ahead and ask about the one thing I complained about in the 'postcard' that I haven't addressed yet. The love-life.

Yeah, my love-life still SUCKS! LOL

But looking at all I've written above, I can say, I know GOD has that in the works too! ;-)

xx

Sunday 23 October 2011

Man U 1 - 6 Man C. Arsenal 3 - 1 Stoke. Football, the beautiful game!!!

A few weeks ago, Arsenal, my team, was annihilated by Manchester United. It was a painful day for Arsenal fans; the joke I'll 8 - 2 be an Arsenal fan was bandied everywhere. (8 - 2 was the final score). We could hardly lift up our pain-filled heads, so sunk were we in shame and disgrace.

So forgive me if a little smile crossed my face (ok, it was a HUGE smile) when Man U was WALLOPED 1 - 6 by Man City earlier today. Forgive me for smiling but Man, I know just how devastated U fans are feeling right now.

Of course the day was given an extra gloss by Arsenal beating Stoke 3 - 1 and moving up to 7th in the tables.

Hmmmm, I wonder if many Man U fans are saying right now - iSi(c)k. Ok, that's a poor 1 - 6 joke but you 'catch my drift'.

Last I heard, Chelsea is down 0 -1 to QPR and have had 2 men sent off. Who knows, today might just get even better! LOL

xx

Thursday 20 October 2011

Gaddafi's dead .. shot in both legs .. died of his wounds.

Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya for 41 years is reported to have been captured and killed by the Libyan rebel forces. A civil war has been raging  in Libya since street protests began against Gaddafi's regime in February this year.

Now, I hear the arguments that Gaddafi ran the country well and spent Libya's oil money on Libya. In 2010, Libya had the highest GDP, education index, and human development index in Africa. However, isn't the wealth of a country meant to be spent on a country anyway? Other African countries would be doing just as well if their leaders were not corrupt. Not being overly corrupt does NOT make Gaddafi great - just a normal sized leader in a continent of corrupt Pygmy leaders.

Many Africans believe the West 'killed' Gaddafi, hunted down a courageous leader who stood up to the West, took them on and won. Others point to his achievements in Libya and give him credit for not 'stealing' Libya's oil money.

This is bunkum! Our expectations of our leaders is so low, we praise lavishly any leadership that does the barest minimum, and laud them as if they are doing something special. What totally ticks me off is that Gadaffi was in power for 41 years! 41 years!

I don't give a toss if Gaddafi was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Unless a country has agreed it is a constitutional monarch, NO leader should be in power for 41 years. Gaddafi swept in via a revolution, he  set his country on the straight and narrow, all well and good. He should THEN have stepped down. Imagine if Gaddafi had set up political parties, established democracy, won elections and led Libya for 8 years - 12 years (two presidential terms of 4 or 6years). He would have been feted and praised, an elderly statesman today, a man whose word would have been respected in his country and abroad.

Instead the young revolutionary became an elderly megalomaniac. His opponents were thrown into jail, ALL dissent was quelled, torture became common-place, no press dared disagree with him, The people of Libya had food in their stomachs but woe betide the man/woman/child who dared criticise 'the great leader'. Arrest by the secret police was an almost certainty for such 'treasonous' words.

Since Gaddafi refused to step down, refused to allow any political parties or any form of fredom of expression, corruption inevitably followed. His friends and family became his closest advisors. No-one is saying Gaddafi himself is/was corrupt but most agree his sons were. Can you blame his sons?

These young men had been brought up to believe leadership of the country was their birthright. Born after Gaddafi's revolution, they were not revolutionaries but spoiled kids who had unlimited access to vast amounts of money and unlimited power. They responded to this heady mix by becoming corrupt tyrants who beat up girlfriends, servants and hotel staff in Western hotels and then claimed diplomatic immunity if Western law tried to deal with them. Gaddafi threatened Switzerland with economic sanctions because the Swiss authorities dared to bring a case against his youngest son, Hannibal, who had brutally beaten up 2 of his servants in a Swiss hotel. On another occasion, Hannibal's bodyguards also beat up French POLICEMEN for daring to stop this spoiled kid when he was speeding down the Champs Elyseees. At what point does being the child of a leader make you immune to the laws of OTHER countries? If his kids were behaving with such arrogance and violence out of Libya, what must they must have been like back in Libya?

Africa needs good leaders. I respectfully say while Gaddafi did well to develop Libya economically, Gaddafi is not the model of leadership we need.  Bread in the stomach is not worth losing all freedom to express our views, to demand political reform, seek a change in government or have a leader's children forced down our throats. Instead of Gaddafi, we need more leaders like Jerry Rawlings, former president of Ghana and Nelson Mandela. Men of integrity who led their countries, did a good job, GAVE UP power and have left a legacy of a robust democracy for their countries.

The Arab Spring has toppled another leader. This has seen ordinary men and women rise up, tired of the old guard, tired of corruption and fed-up of despotic leaders who cling desperately power. It is easy to blame the West for interference but if you set your own house on fire, don't be surprised if it gives your neighbours a chance to rush into your home in the guise of helping you out!

This should be a wake-up call to the corrupt leadership we have in Nigeria. Change and lead the country well, spend Nigeria's money on Nigeria, STOP rigging elections, put aside tribalism and nepotism and put Nigeria's interest's first. Otherwise, one day change WILL come - and it might NOT be very pretty especially for the leaders, their families and their cronies!

xx

Sunday 16 October 2011

Rape's silent victims .. Abia State Video-taped rape cont.

The Abia State commissioner of police has said there is no case to answer as he has watched the video and the victim did NOT resist. I guess in his world, a woman being raped by 5 men for HOURS, while she cries in pain, begs and pleads for them to stop, until finally falling silent in anguish and exhaustion, is actually writhing in joy and moaning with pleasure. Maybe she should have leapt up, overpowered all 5 attackers, beaten them up, hand-cuffed them, and dragged them to the police station. Maybe that might, just might, have led this intelligent commissioner to accept a brutal gang-rape had taken place.

Let's face it, if there had been no video, there wouldn't even be a story. No-one would have believed the girl even if she screamed the story from the roof-tops. However, there was a video, put out on the internet by the rapists, absolute indisputable clear evidence of a gang-rape AND still we have people in power who are MEANT to protect the victim arguing there is no rape because a single woman did not beat up FIVE men!

However Nigeria is changing slowly. The horror of the Abia rape has caused the press to cover other rape stories. A 15 year old girl kidnapped by a gang of 8 in Lagos and held and raped continually for 2 weeks before the police caught them and rescued her. A female Youth Corper raped by 4 men in the North who 'cornered' her as she returned from her teaching post (2 of those rapists have been arrested). This week, there was a Nigerian news article about a man in his 30's in court for raping a 7 or 8yr old girl - however that is child abuse and a subject for a different blog notecard!

There is no justification of rape. It destroys lives, warps souls and leaves unending pain. Rape is NOT about sex - it is about power and control! In a time and era when there is unlimited access to free or paid sex, no rapist rapes because of the overwhelming need for sexual gratification. Pscheeew!

Let us also remember it is not only women who are raped. Men also get raped. 2 weeks ago, there was a news report of a 25yr old man in Scotland who was raped by another man on his way back home. The victim of this rape is not homosexual and he was not flaunting himself to his rapist in anyway (for those who believe it is the victim to blame). This 25yr old man was on his way home, when he was jumped, had a knife held to his throat and was then brutally raped and assaulted. His life, like the Abia State victim will NEVER be the same again.

Police and rape victim support groups all over the world know that most victims of male-on-male rape will NEVER talk about it, will NEVER tell their wives or girlfriends, will NEVER tell their friends, and will just try to live with the shame AND horror AND devastation AND nightmares.

Some men are victims of rape by women. I just read an article from Uganda about 3 women who have been arrested for carrying out a series of rapes over the last 3 years. These female rapists have at least 30 known male victims. The men were raped either by being drugged or by having a gun held to their heads. The police speculate the women who were caught with 17 condoms of semen were doing it for JUJU, because in Native Rituals in Uganda, male semen is considered potent.

Man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds. All over the world, more women than men are victims of rape - however the pain, shame, agony, horror, emotional devastation, physical pain, mental anguish suffered by both female and male victims is the same.

We have to speak up against rape otherwise it is an evil that will continue to flourish. Let us educate and raise our sons to flee from EVEN thinking about committing such evil. Let us warn our daughters to flee the temptation of also becoming rapists like the 3 Ugandan women. Let us educate ourselves that there is NO justification for rape under ANY circumstances. That includes marital rape - it is just as WRONG!

The fear of GOD is the beginning of wisdom. I have NOT said going to church or quoting scriptures is the beginning of wisdom. The FEAR of GOD is what imparts wisdom into the hearts of men. Godly fear causes us to flee evil. Let us raise the next generation to FEAR GOD and respect their fellow human beings.

xx

Saturday 15 October 2011

Insomnia .. the 'artistry' of no-sleep

Insomnia is nothing like sleepless in Seattle ..
There’s no cute kid trying to bring together two lonely sleepless hearts ..
No long conversations East Coast to West Coast ..
No perky blondes or handsome widowers.

Nope..
Insomnia is a lot more interesting –
It is channel surfing,
book flipping,
bible reading,
prayer thrown in,
tossing & turning in a too-big bed.
Water drinking,
bb messaging ..
phone web surfing ..
loo hopping (see water drinking)
mind scenario jumping (hopping)
but no matter what u do
no eyelid dropping (drooping) ..

Insomnia is advice begetting ..
Concerned friend remedies ..
Scoldings & tongue-lashings ..
Sympathy & patronising if-you-only-do-this talking:
Down this drink, pop this herbal remedy,
Walk 5 miles, exercise into exhaustion – (phew!)
Your friends think its all in your mind ..
It is mind over matter.

Who has been a sentinel through the endless hours of the night 
& watched the skies turn from pitch black to the soft haze of dawn,
And then bright light?
Who has sat & hand-held & shoulder-given & gentle hug understood ..
Who has walked in the shoes of 8 hrs of seeking elusive sleep ..
Until finally the seeker stops seeking & becomes accepting ..

Insomnia is talent ..
Is hours of writing without stopping ..
Is ideas flooding ..
Is 'genius' unfolding..

Insomnia is ...

© 2010 Noir

Sunday 9 October 2011

Dame Patience Goodluck – a speech by our 1st lady.


I had a dream. Yes my fellow Nigerians - I had a DREAM in which I heard the eloquent rich voice of our first lady Dame Patience Goodluck speak words of great wisdom. Dame Patience was giving a speech to a diverse audience in her role as President Goodluck's wife and Nigerian's 1st lady.


The Dame's Speech:

To all “my fellow widows”, I would like to introduce my husband President Goodluck Jonathan. “My husband and Sambo is a good people”. Both of them will lead Nigeria to greatness. My husband and I have together “born” 2 children. To all those who say the PDP does not care about the younger generation, I would like to assure you that this president” was once a child and all the Senators were once a children”. “All the people sitting here before you here were all once a children”. So how can the president not care about the younger generation who are all child?

It is very distressing to me to learn about the bombings in our nation. “So to all those evil bombers, I say, Who born them? Wasn’t it not a woman? They were once a children, now a adult, now they are bombing women and children making some children a widow”. “My heart feels sorry for these children who have become widows by losing their parents for one reason or the other”.

However, let us not become downcast: Our great sportsmens and women have made us proud on the international scene. "To those who abuse our great sportsmen and women, remember “Yes we are all happy for the effort, remember it is not easy to CARRY SECOND in an international competition like this one”. “WE should always have love for our fellow Nigerians irrespective of their NATIONALITY.” Like my husband and Sambo once said "we are diverse in terms of different human species."

In conclusion, I promise to be Nigeria's 1st mother. As you are all aware, "A good mother takes care of HIS children" so bags of rice will continue to be distributed to all my good" children who have become widows by losing their parents."

So to all "my fellow Nigerians irrespective of their NATIONALITY", I ask you to join with “my Husband and Sambo” under the “UMBLERRA” that is the PDP and Nigeria. "COME APRIL ELECTIONS WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PRESS YOUR HAND? IT SHOULD BE UMBLERRA."

(The End: as I jolted awoke from my dream landscape strewn with landmines of grammatical cluster nail bombs)


Ok, I hope you have all stopped rolling on the floor laughing like I did when I first came across some of our first lady's words. I've just simply strung together some of her more famous grammatical missteps into an imaginary speech. Now truly I am not mocking her because I actually find her words extremely funny but imagine my shock when I discovered that Dame Patience Goodluck has an NCE in Education, a BSC in Biology & Psychology and was a secondary school teacher for many years!

This is Nigeria!!!! Let us all gather under our Umblerras and reflect on the state of the Nigerian educational system. To those of us who grew up in Nigeria when our educational system was fantastic, I am still not sure whether to laugh or cry!




















Saturday 1 October 2011

Happy 51st birthday Nigeria .. xx

Happy birthday my beloved Nigeria.

I love you to bits and pieces. I see all your flaws clearly but you'll always be my country, my homeland, the land of my ancestors.

Many today will weep and wail and gnash their teeth over you. I REFUSE to do that. Today I want to celebrate you. Your continued existence is a divine miracle.

Beautiful land, blessed by GOD, with blessings of the earth, awesome weather, hardy people, liquid gold.

Most of your 51 years have been painful ones. Raped, plundered, ravaged by those who are meant to care for you - your own leaders. You have suffered through numerous coups, a devastating civil war, injustice, greedy corrupt leaders, entrenched endemic corruption, the break-down of law & order, a society where most structures have collapsed BUT amazingly through all this, you have remained standing. Most societies that have experienced even one or two of these disasters have collapsed, been destroyed permanently, broken up into little pieces, but not you.

You smile patiently and hope for a better day. You fall but you keep rising, you never ever give up. Stripped and humiliated, you refuse to be stressed, depressed, broken, crushed. You are the boxer in the ring who is being battered by his opponent, eyes swollen, lips puffy, swaying, shuffling about blindly, barely able to stand, but still gamely at the sound of the bell lurching out for each round, doggedly refusing to give up, steadfastly ignoring & pushing away the towel everyone says you should throw in.

Birthed in hope, but growing up into sorrow, your wealth plundered, your people cheated, trampled upon and abused, your children (the hope of tomorrow) crushed & beaten, ignorance and superstition holding sway, religious leaders who loot the wealth and souls of the congregations they are meant to comfort & enrich, but despite all this, your people have inherited your optimistic spirit, an enduring believe tomorrow will be a better day.

You have not yet lived up to your potential but you are a walking medical miracle. Deliberately infected with the AIDS of a crushing foreign debt and stricken by the cancer of corruption, your continued survival continues to baffle the world as you have not wasted away into nothing. The doctors of the WEST declared 25 years ago that your debilitating diseases would kill you within 5 years, your political leaders bought your coffin and planned your funeral, but you have shocked them all by refusing to follow their script. You are the patient who REFUSES to die.

Happy happy happy 51st birthday Nigeria. May your next 51 years be happy, prosperous, fruitful ones. I wish you long life & prosperity, leaders who care, the end of corruption, the real fear of GOD, social justice, tenacious reformers, an independent judiciary, intellectuals who care about the masses, an elite that gives back, the dawning of a brand NEW day.

GOD bless you my love. May HIS mercy, grace and favour ALWAYS be extended to you.

Love you loads & loads .. xx