Long time, no write!

It has been a while since I last wrote here. I will try to keep it more active and truly shake off the laziness. I'm on leave for the next few days and I intend to recharge my body and mind. This blog will form part of the mind bit.
I'll be back shortly.

Am I Racist?

I have recently found myself asking this question and I console myself with the thought that if I am questioning myself I may not be too far gone. But really, am I?

Having lived now in 4 countries outside my own and seen the way life really is, should be or could be, is it wrong to want some of the ways of the outside world back at home? Like D'banj would say, 'in case you don't know...', I am back home. Back in Nigeria, back in Las Giddy (Lagos)... and loving it!

What did I see outside and want back home? Virtually everywhere else there is a 'we first then others' approach to almost everything good. I have had the experience of being asked as a Senior Manager in Diageo if I wouldn't mind taking an Assistant Manager job in the UK to prove myself in another company before I am given the managerial role I applied for in that company. What other reason but for the fact that even though I lived in and even voted in the UK, I am not British. I have seen how my brothers and sisters are aggressively learning Dutch to be able to get residency in the Netherlands. In the Middle East, it is in the order of 'from here, from the Arab world, from Europe or America and then 'others' ' which is the category I would fall into.

So is it racist of me to expect that we would do the same at home? Nigerians first, Africans second, and then 'others'?

So far I am alarmed at how many organizations have the token 'foreigner' on their board with the aim of looking international when it really doesn't matter. The practices are not international, there are ethical issues everywhere and the outsider is still there. I have seen so many come to Nigeria on international assignment and weep when it is time to go. It is almost as laughable as the use of 'International' as part of a mechanic workshop's name - Ajagun International Automobile Mechanic Workshop. I'm not sure it adds anything. Of course I have spelt the name correctly which is not what I saw, but that's beside the point.

We are Africa's largest population, it is said that we have the largest collection of blacks on this planet (1 out of every 10 blacks is a Nigerian, I heard, that makes the black population 1.5 billion). Do we still lack the talent and skills to the extent that we need to consider others first?

I have seen Nigerians in very senior positions in other countries, in fact 3 weeks back I was with some Nigerian footballers in a night club in Juffair, Bahrain and informed that 2 of our own (Joshua and Affiz) play for the Bahrain National team. We have the talents in abundance why not consider one of us first?

Truly, is that racist of me?

Ruling in Abstentia

The first time I came across the phrase 'working from home' was during my secondment in Diageo Africa in London. It baffled me that one could opt to stay home and still be perceived as working. That was the Nigerian mindset I had then: You have to be on your seat or in the four corners of the company to be 'working', anything else is 'play'.

I did try it out a few times but I must confess that the Nigerian in me could get more done with the noise, hustle and bustle on the office and co-workers around me than I could with all the quiet of home before the children are back from school and the noise level and distractions when they are back overloads my system later. There are however some people who thrive when allowed to work from home, away from the distraction of co-workers and other matters. I have seen fantastic work delivered after such 'home days' to make me feel guilty for thinking they took time off to attend to personal matters.

With the above I hope I have established my open-mindedness: even though it does not work for me, I admit that it could work for some people. I must however state that I never saw a CEO taking such 'home days'.

This all brings me back to our dear Nigeria, where our lovely but frail president has now being away for close to 70 days. I have always been a firm believer that if you can take your whole leave and extra days in one swoop the business might really not need you. This believe is further reinforced if through out the leave you are not contacted to handle one emergency or the other. Some organisations are such well oiled machines but I would fear the relevance of anyone able to take a whole month plus off. Our dear president is into his third. This in our country that is sooooo easy to rule! Where everyone knows and does what is right.

In the times I have been on leave, each company has stipulated that I clearly identify who is standing in my stead. Who the go-to guy is with regard to my responsibilities. Some companies actually pay anyone relieving some form of allowance as they are carrying the extra weight during the absence of the office holder.

Why is this so difficult with our president? Did Atiku not act in Obasanjo's stead, at least before the milk became sour? I remember Obasanjo being on leave at some time or the other and I would expect that Atiku was the acting president at those times. Is it the possibility of death that makes this difficult now? Considering that our president is a wise and religious person who knows that only the Almighty knows who will wake up tomorrow morning, I want to believe that the reluctance to hand over is not from him. So who are the people who stand to gain from creating confusion? Who are the people gaining from it right now. I always assume positive intent in all that I do with people so I would really appreciate feedback on why we are stuck.

Our Ruling Ostriches

Barely 24 hours after Hillary Clinton's visit, our ruling party and bunch of leaders are attacking her honest speech there. She has been called misinformed and out to legitimize those who have an axe to grind with the ruling party and government.

What did she say that was untrue: that our anti-corruption agency, EFCC, is no longer a force to reckon with? Is it really the same as when Ribadu was in charge. Please I do not mean to say it was perfect but everyone would admit it was not the joke it is now. She said Corruption is growing, is that untrue? All we hear about is billions being spent here and there but there is no evidence that thousands have been spent. She mentioned the fear that Nigeria could be a fertile ground for Al Qaeda to recruit from? Was she responsible for the recent Boko Haram cult or the poor handling of what could have been a PR coup for the government by the blatant killing of their leader after he had been captured. She talked about our electoral problems and the need for better laws and implementation. Even the INEC Chairman Iwu said just yesterday that the only way we can have free and fair elections is under the military. That comes from the man tasked with making the elections free and fair. He is confessing that the ruling elite or ostriches as they really are will not allow for the lawful and proper thing to be done. They would rather bury their heads in the sand as true Ostriches do than face the problems head on.

The great Albert Einstein said 'A properly defined problem is 90% solved!' Whilst we continue to chase symptoms rather than the core problems the sickness and cancer infects other parts of the body. The rosy cheeked senate president and the PDP are taking Hillary's comments personal after all they are the ones benefitting from the current chaos. They are so used to Africa diplomacy where the colour is whatever your host calls it, they cannot stomach the truth. They only need to look back to when they were campaigning, when they last spoke the truth about what the problems are.

A system where the over 100 universities are a faint shadow of their selves, where hospitals are not fit to be called pharmacies, where the roads are filled with potholes, where the first drops of rain floods everywhere, where you cannot go out for fear of robbers killing you for a car they will dump in the next 20 minutes, don't even mention electricity or the aggressive tapping of the waterbed with everyone having 1 or 2 boreholes in their compound. When was the last time the government mentioned provision of water, it is as if they have decided it can be ignored. Then we talk of diseases.

Personally, I think they should all focus more on fixing the problems and less on patting themselves on their backs for what they are being overwhelmingly paid to do anyway and are not doing.

Beware the revolution. The children whose futures are being mortgaged are not likely to be silent forever. Your own children are not in the country to defend you when the revolution begins. It will not be televised... maybe Youtubed!

Why are we so cursed?

I am currently on vacation with the family in Dubai, it's not a big one - only 1 week to spend here. It does however give me an opportunity to think of the coming years, where I have been, where I am and whether I am on track to get to where I want to be. My youngest child starts secondary school next month and that definitely brings my wife and I closer to the retirement from school fees. Of course there is still at least 10 years to go but it is a landmark all the same.

The other nagging issue is 'home'. The how and the when of a return back to our beloved Nigeria. At a recent research report representation, a growing segment of Nigerians was defined in terms of their aspirations and behavior. Apparently Nigerians now see achievement in the light of leaving the country to make something of yourself outside. We have become so devastated that staying in the country is no longer the first option but a consolation prize. Who can blame us. Our president now goes for his diabetes check up in Saudi Arabia and we should now be overjoyed that he has decided to declare it ahead of the trip, unlike the previous check up. Even Hillary Clinton ribbed us with the way we are so inefficient as the 6th largest producer of crude oil yet we import virtually everything we use of the refined product.

Even more depressing now is the reversal of the initial trend of having Nigerians in charge in the multinational organizations at home. Name the multinational now and 9 times out of 10 the CEO or MD is a foreigner. We have been shown up to be such poor managers at home. Time was when the Managing Directors of Guinness, Nigerian Breweries, Cadbury, Nestle, etc were all Nigerians. We apparently ran things so badly that the foreign owners had to come in to save the day. The sad thing is that they are now creating opportunities for middle and junior management levels as well. More and more, we are seeing people less qualified being brought into these organizations to lead Nigerians who are much more qualified. They have managed to create opportunities for their team members that may have lost their jobs due to the Global recession.

I was discussing with some other African friends recently and they wondered what had happened to Nigeria. We are now seen as having no bite. Can you believe that some of these guys are working in Nigeria without work permits? They treat us so poorly but we are caught in the rat race at home. Where are our fire-brands? Are things that bad?

Yes I know I am probably not one to talk but I refuse to keep quiet! Are there others out there who feel the same way?

Shaking off the laziness

Hi Everyone. It's been quite a while hence my title. Over a year of quiet, totally unacceptable!

In the last 1 month I have had the pleasure of linking up with 2 friends from way back when on Facebook. This is one of those 'It's worth being on it' moments. Part of the laziness I need to shake off is 'twitter'. Got on it and have done nothing with it so far. I probably just need to resist these things. It is a job maintaining Facebook, Linked in and Plaxo. On top of these I am constantly getting invitations to so many other social networking sites that I wonder if some people have more than 24 hours in their day. My people say 'too much of anything is bad'!

This year has been unique so far, what with the Global economic recession: America sneezes and the world catches the cold!!! Now we hear America may be turning the corner and may be out of recession this very year! The hope is that the rest of the world also catches the 'recovery'!

This is a short rant and I will be back real soon.

Trouble elsewhere? Kenya?!?

Now the trouble spot has shifted. To no less a country than Kenya, the hub of East Africa. Once again leadership is lacking and the suffering and death of people seems to be happening on another planet as far as the leaders are concerned. Makes you wonder if they are personally suffering any losses. We hear different figures 600, 900, thousands. People were burnt in a church in Eldoret. Apart from the capital, Nairobi, everywhere people are groaning. Shops are not opening, food prices and necessities are sky rocketing.

Demond Tutu has been there and failed to make peace reign, Jendayi Frazer is still there and nothing much has changed. The African Union President, J. A. Kuffor of Ghana, was there and couldn't get the elephants to stop the battle. Now Kofi Anan is apparently going on a holiday there as the government side of the conflict claim they did not invite and may not be willing to meet with him. Who is left? Maybe Bill Clinton and then the Pope, I understand President Kibaki is a Catholic. After all these options are exhausted we may have no choice but to take the case to the Most High.

I have always wondered about man's inhumanity to man. For the sake of power thousands of lives are being lost and the two sides are not swayed. If this is what leadership entails I will make a very poor leader. Would the world not respect the parties more if they were to call a truce to stop the killing. After so many lives are lost, is any of them going to be able to rule? With the numerous deaths come fatherless and motherless children, aggrieved partners, siblings and parents. Multitudes of people who will bear whichever 'winner' emerges ill-will, hold them responsible for their losses. Of course the leaders are not carrying the pangas (cutlasses) themselves but they are in positions that confer on them responsibility to impose sanity. Their behavior will be the stuff of history books for future generations.

Now to the elections themselves, we have unique dynamics in Africa. From the Kenyan elections we see that it is possible for a party to lose in the constituencies, even the Vice President lost in the elections, and the party wins the presidential elections. Why bother having results announced at the polling booth level if they will be over turned at the national level. The results at the ward levels were announced and bear no relation to the final announcement by the electoral body. Then the President gets sworn in within minutes of the announcement of the results. It was comical watching the President's body guards still rushing to take their position when he had already started his ' I, Mwai Kibaki....' swearing in procedure. It is comedy of an absurd nature.

There are protests being organized for Wednesday 16th of January 2008. Past calls have been postponed on the basis of violence inflicted on the masses. Many have died at the hands of the police. It is not all about spraying people with water as we are made to believe on CNN and BBC, people are being shot with live ammo and not rubber bullets as the stories go as well.

Kenya was an icon, particularly for East Africa, and this image is being thrown to the dogs. The economy is stranded, the EU is preparing to impose sanctions. The country depends on foreign aid and tourism is a big part of the income generated at national and individual levels. Who will visit a place where all you hear about is 'killings and killings'?

At the moment all we can do is have them in our prayers, May sanity return to this great country.