Monday, August 24, 2009

Times




I have missed the few, the wonderful few that read these postings. I have been out their in the sojourn of my conscious delivering on two legacy pieces that I have committed myself to this year. The first is the completion of my manuscript on the organising principles of Omoluwabi for the 21st century. Now those of you have written books know that deadlines are killers of inspiration but they have to be given so here we are the backbone or spine delivered to publishers and ideas already flourishing for Omoluwabi 2.0. The second somehow related is the agenda for regeneration of Ibadan as an experiment or pilot in transformation of Nigeria. We will be doing the first ever stakeholder visioning exercise for a city in the African continent as part of Ibadan Week on the 18th of November. The preceding activities includes a survey that engages the broad section of residents and indigenes in expressing their own perspective all which will be put into the pot for our co-travellers GroupPartners to capture using their exceptional 4D social technology. Those who might be interested can visit www.mesiogo.com our emerging website and for more on GroupPartners technique visit www.grouppartners.net.

Many things have happened during my posting hiatus most of which are topical and demand comments but at the same time I had some extraordinary experiences that demand sharing with you. First I will have to complete my Apeke Lessons and I have the perfect cypher since I just had the painful pleasure of releasing one of my closest friends and mentors, Ifeoluwatari Ajadi to a new world and life far away from our regular access and interaction. The lessons of putting him in school at UWC in New Mexico to new influences and direction knowing fully our bond of living by similar codes and ideology which most do not understand, accept or even acknowledge might not survive this new experience. I watch President Obama struggle within his new role living by a similar code and watch the misrepresentation and misunderstanding that passes for analysis of his position and how that fuels the drop in his poll numbers. More later in my posting on the transition including the impression of Alburquerque and Santa Fe (I love).

On the other hand their was my trip within Nigeria from Lagos to Otukpo in Benue state with my friend and brother Amali Amali. It was quite an education about Nigeria and especially about why Lagos is not Nigeria and vice versa. I have some pictures here and more later.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Came across your blog and just wanted to say your insightfulness and love for our culture is truly inspiring. I wanted to comment on many of your posts but decided against it as i am first a child then a nigerian hence i do not througly understand the culture and challenges enough to give my 2 pence. However on a general note i had like to make an observation that u seem to believe things are either black or white sir.. i know it is said that this is initially everyones believe but then one gets to an age where everything is grey and old age makes it all black and white again. As i am of the age where it should still be black and white but it is grey..i have to say sir some of your opinions i.e about obama, MEIN, nigerian politics E.T.C are dangerously black and white.

God i only commented to show my admiration i have instead gone on a rant!! Anyhows its inspiring to read intelligent pieces by a fellow ibadan/gbagi descendant!!Its necessary that reflection is not a luxury afforded to the overly educated and westernized lagosians!!

Onibudo said...

It is best to rant than admire. There is a masquerade in Ibadan called the Alapasanpa, it has the most vicious whips for beating people in its path. For many observers it is a painful experience. I remember being beaten behind the said masquerade when I was in secondary school and falling ill with some kind of fever afterwards. It seemed to me that it was an hateful deed by a despicable deity or ancestral spirit. I wondered why anyone would inflict such pain on its civic minded citizens. There appeared to be nothing more black and white. My wife a descendant of Ijesha farmers on her father's side grew up a tradition of a father delivering hefty spiritual curses on his children. Using quite disturbing and vivid descriptions that invoke very frightening gods.

Both are designed for the same thing that this blog attempts to do, disturb, disrupt and generate disequilibrum. That my brother comes not from grey areas but from constructive but definite deviation or divergent thinking. Please rant do not admire and thanks for allowing the post into your box.

Anonymous said...

As a nigerian woman, i have to say nigerian women are so beautiful.

I just came across your blog and i love it already, a while back, i listened to a pocast of yours too.