THE MIRACLE OF THE MODERN TELEPHONE IN NIGERIA

The world has really moved forward. The system of communication is now much better than in the past. It is now less complicated. We no longer use telephone with wires and poles again. Things are now computerized. Gone are the days when you have to be at home only to receive your calls and whenever you are outside your home, that is not possible.

People now use less complicated phones in terms of size and density. In the past, you couldn’t pocket your phone. It’s not even possible. You can’t even have a grasp of it in your hand; you have to carry it with your two hands.

I remember where I grew up; only three flats out of twelve flats had land phones at that time. When these phones ring, we could hear loud and clear from our various homes. They all share a common ringtone. Our next door neighbour had two of their children abroad that called in to one of these three homes. The children of the owner of the land phone shouted their names to quickly come downstairs to speak on the telephone with their children. Sometimes, they would have to cut the call and ask them to call back immediately so that they can save some time.

The people that had land phones were respected. It added to the beauty of their living rooms. They were the only ones who could contribute on television and radio programmes. The most common telephone was the analogue telephone with a round plastic ring consisting of small holes and a telephone box with curly wires attached to it. As a fearful young boy, I was always scared of touching the phone let alone press any part of it. It was like the whole credit would burn out. I felt so special one Sunday afternoon when I was called to come and speak with my in-law on the phone. I’m not so sure if that was my first time but I still remember that day.

Nowadays, things have changed. I remember when mum first got her Motorola walkie-talkie with a green screen and a short antenna, it was like a breakthrough. I felt like it is my property even though I had nobody’s phone number.

It was the turn of my sister. She got a Nokia 3310. Nobody dared touch the phone, you can only watch from a distance. This phone I also wished was my property but thanks to luck, I later got it. My sister gave it to me when she left the country.

Before we knew it in Nigeria, many people started getting connected to each other and people could pass information a lot easier than what use to be in the past when you have to go to a cybercafé to check your mails. That is if you have one.

The saying that the world is a global village now started to make sense to me. Apart from calls, I could send text messages to my friends. This was not possible on the analogue phone. Now, we can receive calls outside our homes and the phones are handy. No doubt nowadays you can do a lot with your phone. The modern phone is smaller, lighter, well packaged and has a lot of functions. It can vibrate if you wish to put it on silent mode. Most even come with multimedia. It is now like a replica of one’s life. Almost all the information you need to get going in life can be accessed from your small phone as most of them are internet enabled. You can check your mails without having to visit the café, relate with your friends via the social networks, read news and blogs and watch events around the world and the most fascinating of all, see your caller thousands of miles away.

Life keeps getting better. The unimaginable device is on its way.

                    You can also read this article on YNaija Online Magazine published on the 24th of July,2013: 
        http://www.ynaija.com/opinion-the-miracle-of-the-modern-telephone-in-nigeria/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

THE RICH (IN NIGERIA) DON’T KNOW THEY ALSO SUFFER

I looked at our society and how we live our lives. Our conception of what enjoyment is, is far from what it truly is.
The imperfections and misconceptions have made our thinking crude and in our behaviours, there are deviations from what obtains in a normal society.
We live in a society where the so called rich look down on the poor. They feel superior. They are braggarts. They show off and are probably happy at the suffering of others. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean they laugh about it but the ‘I don’t care’ and ‘I can’t help’ attitudes are what I am referring to.

My perception about how life should be lived changed when I travelled to Europe in 2009.
The way people live their lives is totally different. I couldn’t separate the rich from the poor. They all shared the same facilities.
Unlike in Nigeria, I wouldn’t have to observe for more than a split second before I guess the social status of an individual, rich or poor. The way we live our lives is what I have termed as ‘excess’. You can deduce this from the person’s speech, dressing which is not only in the clothing material but also the complements; the Dubai necklace, the expensive gold wristwatch, the Italian shoes and other belongings like the Blackberry, Iphones and the latest car models.
In developed countries, this is not so. People don’t show off. They dress simple. They don’t even have to wear the best dresses as those dresses will eventually be covered by the overall in cold places, which is the winter jacket. They live a life of moderation.
When it comes to feeding, we miss it. We take too much calories which are very dangerous to our health. Red meat for instance, can cause heart disease leading to stroke and death. Fish and animal liver are better as they supply the body vitamins and necessary nutrients. If so, why don’t the rich go for them more than they do for meat?

The white man will exercise on a daily or weekly basis judiciously. He takes a walk, climbs the hills, goes for picnics with families and friends and participates in sporting activities, not necessarily competitive in order to ensure that they are in a good state of health.
In Nigeria, this is not the case. Many people will tell you that you have a mental illness if you keep your cars at home and take a walk to your office.

I saw old people in their 70’s and 80’s go to the stores on their bicycles. I was so shocked thinking some of them would fall off their bikes.
Taking a walk or exercising your body prevents you from developing some blood vessel diseases. It reduces your chances of having deep venous thrombosis and keeps you fit.
Look at our transportation system, very poor. The so called high class people in the society ride big cars on pot holes, without direction, traffic and street lights. No pedestrian pavement or sidewalks. No special roads for oil tankers. We risk our lives moving on the same roads with them.
Our rail system is nothing to write home about. We are still in the coal age in this modern time. In a country where electricity is not even stable, how can we ever think of electric train?
This train issue brings to mind on how I saw both the rich and the poor in their large numbers boarding train to their work places. It’s not that they couldn’t afford to fuel their cars but they did not see anything wrong in sharing. They chose rather what was convenient.
A lot of competitions go on as to what type of generator an individual has. We see 30, 50 and even 100 KVA generators that power household gadgets. They probably see this as a yardstick for prestige, not knowing that they make noise and disturb the neighbourhood with the unwanted sounds and also pollute the environment with the exhaust emanating from the machines. Some even get special transformers from Power companies. This is just a burden. Electricity is supposed to be controlled centrally in totality and nothing of such should ever be found in an household.
What about the bore-holes they dig, they are using their wealth to disturb the soil and rocks without proper approval. These we know are very dangerous and too many of such acts will result in the weakness of the rocks and other soil components thereby serving as a potential future disaster for tremors and quakes.

Our security system is another issue. The rich are being forced to lock themselves in tall iron gates like they are being caged. Just picture my explanation. A lot of these iron gates and burglaries I see around are very beautiful, well customised and I’m pretty sure, very expensive.
Should I continue to talk about the wrong attitudes of the so called rich?

Are they actually at fault? Well, in any way they can make changes to better the society with their wealth, they should.
The major challenge is to the government who can aid in building a sane society.
Our nation has been plagued with corruption. Instead of improving the quality of lives of their citizens, they choose to share the resources among themselves.
We do not channel our revenue properly to harness our resources and help the common man. Our social infrastructures are very poor.
They chose to dig bore-holes with their names inscribed on it rather than lay pipes to homes where water can reach every individual, clean and free of diseases.
Instead of them to invest truthfully in electricity, they keep allowing a few import generators thinking those will put smiles on our faces.
No adequate plan to meet the ever growing population. The health care system is poor. No reasonable health insurance policy. Maternal morbidity and mortality are on the increase.
In Germany for instance, adequate care is given to pregnant women. They are registered with their unborn baby and from the moment they deliver, a certain amount is given to each mother monthly to cater for her child.
The poor don’t suffer in such developed countries. I don’t even know the reason why they are referred to as poor? The government feed and provide shelter for them. The rich understand what it means to be poor. They do not neglect them, rather they embrace them, contribute their quota regularly through the payment of taxes according to earnings and through voluntary donations. The rich help the poor to attain an average level. The healthy takes care of the sick.
We also need to stress the area of awareness in our society. The rich and the poor are both poor when it comes to awareness. Just like we have it in our society, it should not be a yearly thing, but daily and weekly. It’s not going to cost us anything. The benefits outweigh the stress.
Examples of such are in the areas of education, religion and more importantly, our health. Routine medical check-up, once or twice a year, screening tests, knowing of genotype before marriage and HIV status.
The use of seat belts, safe answering of phone calls, waste disposals, traffic rules, reporting of suspicious movements to the police and so on should be regularly publicized on our electronic media on a daily basis.
Our so called celebrities are not left behind. We not only want to listen to their new songs or watch them on our satellite televisions but we want to see how they can meaningfully impact the society.

We need to improve on how we live our lives in Nigeria, know the things that actually matter, cut down on excesses and care for the man that needs our help next door.

Something Out of Nothing

He created something out of nothing.It was void and empty.No tiny air.Nothing like gas.He made the visible from the invisible.How was it possible? He made the living from the dead. Yes! You who live,are you not from the dust?
He made the light from the darkness.What did He use? He used just the Word of His mouth.See the great utilisation.
God used just His Word and It has made a great impact in the earth and heavens today.
His Word his far above everything,even His name.Oh! such a "WORD" that you cannot even see or pick and It has become 'Something out of Nothing'
You that have something(the resources),have you made 'something out of something', let alone 'something out of nothing' just like He did in the beginning.His Word is invisible,how much more something that is visible.
Do not leave this place without making something out of nothing or better your resources(ideas,knowledge,wealth,education,qualification and so on) or better still, 'something out of something'
Ecc 9:10.
This poem was read on SplashFM Radio on the 21st of April,2011.

Our Youths,Our Future

My in-law and sister just came on a visit to nigeria after 8 years and 4 years, respectively.They are married with kids.
My in-law is worried about our young ones.He said,unlike in Germany where the young believe in hardwork & that they compete on how to get holiday jobs to earn a few bucks or euros to help themselves,the case is not so in Nigeria.He noticed that most of the conversations he listened to, those between ages 14-25 only talk about how t o get rich quick..do yahoo yahoo.some even carry guns(Higher institution students).I saw some of these things while I was in U.I especially the yahoo guys with their flashy cars and shady deals.OTHERS want to be president & legislators & steal also when they get there.They worship those who ride expensive cars & build houses,some of them with stolen money.The poor & average mean nothing to them.Our mind is corrupted.We are not getting it right.It's about hardwork & dignity,not money
I think we can help

This issue was discussed on Morning Splash,Splash FM 105.5 radio,16th August,2011.