What Ails You, Tree?

 What ails you, tree? Why are you so gnarled and forlorn?  So lonely in this vast landscape of green leaves and bright, beatiful flowers. There is no problem without a solution. Reach out. Don't you ever give up. Look up.  Look at the other side of things. There is always a ray of light shining through, if you would only look. They say the darkest hour is just before dawn. Before you know it, the sun's rays prevail bringing warmth and hope...that even this will pass.

Two Light-Hearted Poems From My Women's Writing Class in 2014

The Explosion

The purposeless and bored spermatozoa

Let’s call him Champion 

Or do you have a better name for one that wins in a race involving millions of others when he is not even striving to win?

Well, Champion is swimming leisurely up the smooth, lubricated tunnel in the company of so many others

“It feels good to be free”, Champion observes to himself, “after being imprisoned so long in a scrawny sack that jiggles and rocks all the time”

He groans, “in there you can’t even take a nap when you feel like it  

Oga at the Top Can break into a sprint at any moment

Chasing anything from a bus, a basket ball, to a coin that is rolling toward the open drain”

Champion takes a minute to survey his environment

He looks around and wonders why the others are swimming past in such frenzy

It’s warm and cozy in here, and it feels safe. No need to hurry, Champion thinks

As he reminisces on the beauty of the tunnel

Unaware of the explosion he is about to cause in the life of Lola

Champion is attracted by the sweet scent from the egg (Lovelyn) and suddenly picks up speed and bumps into the innocent-looking round ball

Taking an afternoon nap in 15 -year-old Lola’s tubes

“What?” Champion exclaims in disgust

when he finds himself stuck head first into the tiny, sweet-scenting Lovelyn,

He manages to twist left and right and sees a number of his peers, apparently in this disgusting situation

“What the ….”, he exclaims as he struggles to detach himself

As Tunde rolls of Lola,  she struggles shyly to cover her breast  

A cheeky nipple peeping through her black lacy bra that Mama bought last week

At the same time she struggles to pull on her panties   

 Feeling so terribly embarrassed

What on earth is she doing in this room with Tunde?

She never meant for any of this to happen

When Tunde asked her up to his room to get a belated birthday gift

She was reluctant because Mama did not even know

She was attending the party at Tunde’s house

She told Mama she was with Judith working on her Maths assignment

Perhaps, just perhaps, because it was her first time, she would not get pregnant

She crossed her fingers

She buttoned her blouse, her fingers so shaky she could not find the holes

Fear clutched at her heartstrings as if to yank them out

She straightened out the creases on her skirt

Sobs rising from the centre of her being to choke her

She could hear Papa’s voice: “If you bring pregnancy to this house, I will kill you with my bare hands”

This was when Mama told him Lola had started menstruating

Mama warned her that if she messed around with boys

She would surely get pregnant

She went down the stairs

Her eyes searching for Tunde in the crowded room  

He was in deep conversation with another girl from school

Lola’s heart sank.

 Oga at the Top is a Nigerian coinage that means  “the big boss”

Get Real

Don’t say, “I do”

When you mean, “I hope that you remain hot in bed” and

“you won’t get as fat as  your Mama is now”

Don’t say, “I do”

When all you are thinking is:

I hope she bears me strong sons and not fill the house

With girl-children

Don’t say, “I do”

When what you mean to say is

“I hope you will not whack me

blacken my eye like

Papa did to Mama

Over ordinary chop-money”

Don’t say “I do”

When all you are thinking is

“I hope you are not after my money like my ex

I am older and wiser

You won’t get a penny”

Don’t say “I do”

When  in your heart you are rejoicing saying:

“I got me a meal ticket, a roof over my head

And a chauffeur-driven car at no cost”

Don’t say “I love you”

When what you mean to say is

“Thank God, I have a whore

cook, cleaner, and laundrywoman in one package

and I don’t have to pay a dime for any of these services”

Don’t say “I love you”

When in your heart you are yelling

“Get up off me, you insensitive, impudent wimp

You turn me on

As much as a piece of wood would

Don’t say “I love you”

When all you want to say is:

“You bore me to death

You are nowhere as exciting as

June, Janet or Julia”

Make love that is loving

Breathe, live, enjoy, reach out

The truth sets you free!

Inspired by the line- "Make love that is loving" from "The Seven Of Pentacles" by Marge Piercy 

Where Did All the Butterflies In Lagos Go?

July 2013 appears to me to have been colder than previous years.  Is this also a global warming wakeup call?   I wonder.  What is the whole hullabaloo surrounding global warming, one might ask?

In simple terms, it’s about the quality and wealth of our lives:  pleasurable lives, the warmth of family, and our homes filled with the laughter of healthy children.  We can peer through the dewy-misty panes in the morning and enjoy the beauty all around: Birds chirping, take in huge gulps of the sweet heady smell of fresh flowers, and enjoy the calm and stillness of early morning.

I can still smell the haunting and enchanting white flowers of the majestic Queen of the Night that serenaded us while I slept as a young person growing up in Lagos. This plant daintily perfumes the air as far as a quarter-mile away. 

Come to think of it, where did all the dainty Butterflies in Lagos go?

Honestly, where have all the butterflies gone?  What of the grasshoppers and praying mantis we startled on the way to school?  The magical fireflies that we caught to test how much light they could radiate? As a young girl growing up in Lagos, I was accustomed to the sights and sounds of nature and played outdoors most of the time.

I remember that we had wooded areas and bushes down our street and as children; we would explore and enjoy what nature had to offer. Today, children only see butterflies and grasshoppers in school biology books. Ugh!

Indeed, come to think of it, where did all the beautiful and delicately patterned butterflies go? Chased away by the heavy, choking smoke of generators that run all night and all day? Pollution?  Indeed, where did all the beauty go?

Today, we build tall security fences laced with barbed wire to keep out intruders and violators.  Our children watch the world trapped behind the bars of their caged lives. No opportunities to explore, enjoy the free and best things life has  to offer.

A Day in the Nembe Creeks

A Day in the Nembe Creeks

 Nembe River

The Nembe River, 
The checkpoint of pirates fully armed like people at war! 
And, many ships are then shot at; 
For, this river in Nigeria is another base of the pirates of West Africa. - Edward Kofi Louis http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nembe-river/

The Nembe River is not at all like the poem  above by Kofi Louis; at least not any more. We set out from Yenagoa in very high spirits  on the Nembe   Community  Development Foundation’s  (NCDF’s) bus that takes you as far as  the  Oloibiri  jetty point where  the ferry takes you on the next leg of the journey through   a wide expanse of water known as  the “Okilo” River/Canal (?  I am not entirely sure about this). This body of water empties into the main Nembe River.

Oloibiri? Does this strike any cord on the strings of your heart as a Nigerian?  Maybe not for the majority of Nigerians born after 1970. Oloibiri is a landmark - where the first oil well was discovered in Nigeria by Shell in 1958.  Got you there; you did not know this? Well, I guess this is understandable because the discovery of oil in Nigeria means different things to different people.   For some, it is a  great opportunity to amass immeasurable wealth, by dishonest means and at the expense of all. For others, it means a loss of livelihood, poverty and even death; and for yet others, it just means fuel in their car tanks and diesel for their generators for a bit less than the global sale price. Another group entirely lies in wait for the opportunity to pounce on the national cake. Where do you belong?

The Nembe Creeks: It is quite an awesome experience. Suddenly you feel so small and insignificant in a lonely speedboat boat even if it is well built with walls and windows that shield you from the river’s endless but powerful water sprays;  and of course, from the sun and rain too!

Sitting in the relative safety and comfort of the NCDF’s ferry, I wondered how on earth others felt safe riding in the open speedboats (even when geared in bright orange life jackets). Even more dreaded was the idea of riding in locally fabricated canoes. But of course if you were born in the Creeks of Nembe, water is your home, your friend and companion. On the downside, water could become a powerful foe too. After watching the London Olympics, I thought, "Well, if things really worked well in Nigeria, we should be seeing chaps from Nembe, Creek Town (in Calabar, Cross River State) and other communities like these, topping the world swimming charts. We should be breeding stars like United State's Ryan Lochte and  Michael Phelps;  Ranomi Kromowidjojo who represented the Netherlands and China's Ye Shiwen.  Interestingly, the only African country that was represented in the swimming events was South Africa.

 

I have this habit of running ahead of myself. The building of the NCDF is quite imposing, like that of a big company.  The building, the buses and the ferry’s  (belonging to Kala Ekulema Line Ltd) are all a result of a Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) brokered General Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) managed by the Nembe community for the community’s benefit. The Nembe community decided that one of the things they desired was a safer form of transportation to assist the indigenes and those who transact business with the community.  Who could possibly blame them for this choice given that practically all Nembe communities exist on the river!  According to Chief Joe Alagoa, the General Manager of  Kala Ekulema line, a ride to Nembe costs one thousand two hundred naira (N1,200) for both the land and water journeys.

Imagine where you live; and then you decide to visit your friend, in-law, sister, or other relative in the next suburb or town. You would normally walk out of your house and flag the next taxi, bus or “okada”. Right? In Nembe City, you would walk or take an “okada” ride to the Jetty point and hop on the next available boat for this friendly visit. If this were the situation, you would certainly want to make the transport on water as safe and comfortable as you could possibly can; even if you swam like a fish.

While on the river, we saw the open-roofed speedboats (with the passengers probably praying that it would not rain and the sun would not be scorching hot either!)  Then there was the occasional small canoe piloted by a lone woman, her legs stretched straight in front of her, totally at home on the river, so peaceful as she rowed along: Perhaps to a faraway farm? A rendezvous with a new lover or husband-to-be?  Maybe she was rowing over to her child’s new school to discuss his/her academic progress or challenges with the teacher? Hey! Imagine that you had to row yourself to your next date?

I saw the occasional boat with a mother and with her toddler firmly ensconced in the boat and sometimes with the child even standing; his/her indomitable young face peering into the horizon, with  a wizened look way too old for  his/her years. I wondered,  “What is on this child’s mind? He or she should still be playing with wooden dolls and cars not exposed to  the whims and caprices of the elements”.  Is he/she  already  like a hardened seafaring man/woman, wondering, will this lonely barge come back to berth at this jetty point? Will I see my family again at the end of this voyage? No seat belt? No safety jacket?  No policeman to flash the mother a red card for endangering the baby’s life? Nothing. That would be wishful thinking. This was after all, Nembe, lost on the creeks, far away from Yenagoa’s  blossoming GRA (pardon me, this means Government Reserved Area ) where the rich and mighty and the government officials live in huge mansions, drive brand new cars and wine and dine in posh settings.

The Nembe communities are only about two hours from the seat of government in Yenagoa, yet the people still poo into the river, their backsides exposed to all and sundry. I wonder, “Who should really cover up the nakedness of these people? Is it not the government?" I wonder as I sail along this beautiful specimen of God’s earth known as the Nembe Creeks with little or no access to electricity supply from the national grid?  I wonder aloud,  “what really is the future for the children who are deprived of quality education?  What really is the future for this people? What does the future really hold for communities like Nembe scattered all around Nigeria? What does the future really hold for Nigeria?”

A Home for You

Holy Spirit come into my heart

My chimney-like heart

Dark and shrouded in secrets and selfish thought

Bring in the broom and brush and vacuum cleaner

Don't forget the scrubbing brush

Painful though it is

Let your floodlights shine forth and reveal all the murk and slime within

Look under the bed and covers

Under the piles of books I should have read but never did

My big reference Bible that has gathered dust

Look under my basket of jewellery and hair pieces

And please, do not leave out the inner chambers and ventricles  

Shut to keep out the Lord, even when I had  'given my life to Him'

Those  secret places of my heart where like a masochist

I trap the images of hurt that I  hate but long to keep

So, I can bring each hurt out, one at a time, and from time to time

Place them on the centre-table of my heart

In worship of sufferings once endured

Pains that I would not let go of...

Clean every crevice, every nook and cranny until

My heart becomes a fit and worthy home for the Lord Jesus

Written June 4, 2005

Mergers and Acquisitions:  Marriage of the Brand-Kind

If anything has experienced an all-time bashing; it is the relationship called marriage.  The experts say that couples expend so much money and energy on conducting the wedding ceremony   and forget that the marriage itself is the most important  asset.

Marriage is often plagued by unmet and unfulfilled needs on the part of the parties involved and this  in the long run affects all those who have a stake in the marriage and may in the end lead to divorce and  dysfunctional families.

Now, let us take the marriage to the level of corporate brands. We have witnessed  a number of acquisitions and mergers in the Nigerian business scene in recent times;  and we are bound to witness even more given the economic climate.  

And  when a merger or acquisition occurs,  as it does in many of the cases in the banking sector, it leaves customers and other stakeholders worried about the status of their investment;  uncertain  about the outcomes of the merger or acquisition and   generally unsatisfied about  the way issues have  been communicated .

Let’s take the case of  Mr. Dada who appears one morning  at a branch of his bank  where a relationship of trust and courteous and responsive service  has been built for maybe a decade or more  and is greeted by a sign on a huge banner which says: “We have moved to ……” or worse still the sign  may bear another identity entirely – the name of the bank that has acquired  his own. 

Well, Mr. Dada is not so surprised because he has heard that his bank has been acquired by another; but in fairness to him, he did not receive any pre-warning about the decision to shut down the branch he was so used to. At the worst he had expected a change of name; not an outright closure.

In good faith, Mr. Dada picks another taxi and takes a ride to the new location where supposedly his bank and money has been relocated to; sure enough, the name of the bank has changed. He walks into the banking hall and is faced by a myriad of unfamiliar faces. He cannot locate a single known staffer from his former bank. His heart sinks.

Nevertheless, he takes  a deep breath and walks into the banking hall. He finds that while he has been told that his bank relocated, that was not the case at all.  He surveys the unfamiliar bank’s service  counter and sees two queues; one with one or two customers and the other with a long row of customers who are noticeably  dissatisfied. Naturally, he makes a move to join the shorter queue. When it is his turn to be attended to, he is told that he must join the long queue because that is  the queue for those who hold an account with his acquired bank.

Mr. Dada protests loudly, “But outside, we have the name of only one bank; why are there separate queues inside?”  He is told to join the other queue and he is offered no explanations. He joins the  very long queue that is being attended by a bank staff who appears rather disgruntled and uninterested in the plight of the long queue of bodies standing in line before him.

After a series of negative brand experiences, Mr. Dada made the decision to take his money  elsewhere.

The Lessons? Like any other marriage – one of the parties (usually the female) may need to lose her maiden name and take up the husband’s surname. In regards to brands, strategic thinking has to go into this naming ceremony – which of the two corporate brands  attracts the greater equity or which name brings greater equity to the corporate goals/ objectives underlying the merger or acquisition?  What brand promise is the merger/acquisition offering and how can the naming support this?

In some cases, parties involved have opted for  a compound (hyphenated) name – just as some couples in  a marriage situation may  decide to do.

But beyond the name that the couple chooses to bear, for the marriage to succeed, understanding the   cultures that both parties bring to the union must be a priority; especially with regard to leveraging those aspects of both cultures that ensure continuance of  favorable brand experiences and outcomes. It is not enough for the acquirer to swallow up the other  in such a way that even the brand equity of the acquired party is completely  obliterated. This would constitute a huge loss to the marriage alliance.

These are issues that need to be resolved long before the merger or acquisition is made public. Just as in the marriage situation, couples do not consummate their union in public. Rather, this is done in the secrecy of the bedroom.  The public only sees the pleasant outcomes; the fruit of the union – the pregnant wife and eventually, a bouncing baby boy or girl!

What are the  inherent strengths (in terms of  brand/product equity) of  the parties to the marriage that must  be harnessed?   What are the weaknesses that must be addressed? What strategies would need  to be employed to ensure that  customers  are not adversely affected  by the complex processes that  the  merger/acquisition  would involve?  How can these processes be handled in such a way that customers are not turned away?

According to Jeff Swystun,  director of global communications for DDB Worldwide:  <http://www.brandchannel.com/brand_speak.asp?bs_id=21> “The greatest flaw of many mergers and acquisitions is in not recognizing where the true value lies in the transaction”.  He notes further that: “Shutting down a redundant facility and purging a percentage of the payroll should not be the prime focus. Investment in the brand must come first to ensure revenue enhancement.”

Key issues to consider in a merger or acquisition are: The brand’s definition (what it promises); its culture (how the brand’s previous owner honored the brand promise); its infrastructure (how the brand is supported by distribution, marketing, promotion, advertising, and sales); and the visual aspects of the brand expressed by the name and uses of the identity, advises  Swystun. He warns that “If any of these elements change during integration, so will the brand’s equity.” 

Finally, one of the biggest  problems a marriage can face is when the  two people involved refuse to communicate; they refuse to communicate with each other; they refuse to communicate the problem with family and friends and they won’t even talk to a marriage counselor.  Likewise, communication plays a key role in determining the success or otherwise of a merger/acquisition relationship. Communication must be strategic,  stakeholder responsive and  painstakingly planned and deployed to preempt and solve the problems that will arise.

First published in PRaxis

The Great Gift of Christmas

What a great and liberating chapter of the Bible Ephesians 2 is.  I, once DEAD in trespasses; the stench of which rose daily to His throne of grace, made ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST because of the RICHES OF GOD's MERCY demonstrated towards me;  that while I was still dead in trespasses, incapable of changing my situation, God sent His only begotten son, our Christmas gift to lay down his life in my stead. 

He that knew no sin was imputed with all the weight of my trespasses; the deadness of me and others like me, was laid on Him. What a great infinite, indescribable weight that was!

No wonder that He groaned with so much  agony and pain at Gethsemane that blood mixed with sweat rolled out of his pores.

Because of his abundant riches of mercy - imagine that others are rich in naira, dollars, Euros, pounds, diamonds and gold - Almighty God not only owns all of these, in addition to the cattle on a thousand hills, but he possesses a vast, boundary-less strong room of mercy and love.

There is no greater love than that which the Lord Almighty demonstrated toward me when He sent his only begotten son to take my place and to thereby open for me the doors to the  riches of God's abundance which are to be found in Christ Jesus.

What manner of  mercy, love, and favour is this? That I, once dead in trespasses, was made ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST. Not only made Alive, but I ROSE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST and now, I am SEATED IN HEAVENLY PLACES TOGETHER WITH CHRIST JESUS; above principalities and powers.

What manner of grace is this? I did not deserve any of these nor did I work to achieve any of these. Everything that I am is an outcome of God's nature -  He is rich in mercy and grace and abounding in love.

I now sit in the circle of his loving-kindness,  favour and grace, basking in the warm golden glow of his love. I am contented, beloved, joint-heir with Christ of God's abundance. I receive in faith,  without fear and doubt, the inheritance of the saints  on earth as well as in the realm of the heavens; in this life and in the hereafter.

(Inspired by an exhortation by Pastor Ike Monye of Temple of Glory Church, Wuse II Abuja on Friday, December 16, 2011)