Too many things have gone wrong in Nigeria and the belief that change will come with my generation and not the present crop of leaders really gets me worried. As I look around, interact with my colleagues at work and listen to the radio, I am burdened that my generation may not be able to cause the needed change. I fear that we cannot cause that change to happen because you can only preserve what you cherish. I fear that we do not cherish our country because we are losing our identity. I fear that we do not place enough value on ourselves as Nigerians. The reasons behind my fears are not farfetched - we want to dress like Americans, talk like Americans, and spend the American dollar in Nigeria. We say we are proudly 9ja but do not want to speak with a Nigerian accent that would clearly distinguish us anywhere in the world.
When I talk about speaking with a Nigerian accent, I do not mean with the h-factor i.e. HAIR pronounced as ‘air’; HEAR pronounced as ‘ear’; or the r-factor i.e. UMBRELLA pronounced as ‘umbrerra’, PLEASE pronounced as ‘prease’ or generally poor pronunciation like YES pronounced as ‘yels’, FINE GIRL pronounced as ‘fine ger’; BOYS pronounced as ‘bois’ and the numerous examples you all are aware of. I do believe however, that there is a respectable Nigerian accent that you can speak anywhere in the world and you’d be accepted. Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chimamanda Adichie and a host of well respected Nigerians address audiences globally and speak with that ‘respected Nigerian accent’ and they receive standing ovations.
Last week, as I listened to the news on my way to work a brief excerpt from Professor Wole Soyinka’s address to Lawyers at their annual conference was aired. The Nobel Laureate stood out in his usual manual for his impeccable spoken English, but one thing was certain, he spoke with a clear and respectable Nigerian accent. On the flip side, the news presenter struggled with an accent which was neither here nor there. It was clearly not Nigerian, neither was it British or American. What baffles me most about several radio presenters in Lagos is that most have this fake accent that places them neither here nor there. I have actually wondered if that has become a criterion for getting employed in a radio station.
A new phenomenon with Nigerian employers these days is a preference for hiring Nigerians who speak with a British or American accent whether or not they have content. That same intimidation they face when they come in contact with a white man is what has translated into their recruitment style. Yet we complain that we are not respected and are discriminated against when we travel abroad, when we discriminate against ourselves. I think it is ridiculous claim because as they say, 'charity begins at home'.
Dan Forster, an African-American radio presenter at Inspiration FM in Lagos who has lived in Nigeria for about 10 years now tries to speak Yoruba but doesn’t want to lose his American accent. The French man may not speak English as well as you and I do, but when he speaks English, he does it proudly with his French accent, and so does the Germany. They have a clear identity. So why do we want to lose ours?
I was fortunate to be at the Platform 8.0, an annual motivational and leadership seminar organised by the Covenant Christain Centre earlier this year and my biggest take-out was the definition of modernisation by Anand Giridharadas, columnist for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times online. Anand says “Modernisations is not when you create your own version of Google and rename it Noogle for instance. That would be mimickery and not modernisation. Modernisation is when the world asks, what would the world look like when they begin to do things like Nigerians did?”
Let’s not lose our identity to mimickery!
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Prostitution is not an option but I have an Aristo!
Sorry love, but that makes you a prostitute. Let’s not get it twisted, young and suave at 30 or bald and pot-bellied in his fifties, as long as he’s married, he’s an Aristo.
Similarly, young, pretty and undergraduate at 18 or trendy, working-class lady at 30, single and pretty, as long as you share his bed with the hope of some monetary gain, you are a prostitute!
Let’s not get it twisted or disabuse ourselves into thinking that it is only the ladies that stand along the street by Sheraton hotel, Ikeja or Ynot in Victoria Island or wherever, waiting to be picked-up or those who sit in their brothels are the only ones who qualify to be called prostitutes.
The dictionary describes prostitution as the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money. Am not just blabbing; even the holy book, the Bible which we all swear by defines it in like manner.
According to Hosea 2: 4-5, the Bible defines a prostitute as a woman who goes after lovers who give bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink. The scripture states “I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the children of harlotry. For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.”
So as long you have a lover for monetary or material gain, you’re a prostitute love!
I am inclined to write this because of several criticisms that trail prostitutes such as a particular episode of Chaz B’s Sharing life’s issues themed: Is Prostitution an Option?
Whether street girl or high class Lagos bigz girl, as long as you are sleeping with a man for material gain, you are a prostitute. The only difference between you and the street girl is that she stands on the street or sits in her room in the brothel and doesn’t need any wooing as long as her lover can pay the price. You on the other hand, will wait to be wooed with a preconceived price in mind.
Some would say to themselves, if he’s not stingy or can spoil me, I’ll date him. Some go further and say if he can buy me a car, I’ll date him. A holiday abroad and I’ll date him, or a few thousand nairas for school and gold and I’ll date him. A Hermes bag and I’ll date. Different prices for different classes of women.
There was a lot of castigation on that show and I felt pained because lots of people said poverty is not reason enough for prostitution. My question then, is a car, jewelry or clothes reason enough to have an Aristo?
Not that I agree that prostitution is an option but sometimes it is worth feeling the pain of those ladies on the street. But if I was to empathise I would rather the street hooker who was born and raised in a brothel and knows no other life, than the undergrad who has an Aristo because she wants to competes with her friends as to who has the bigger gold bracelet! If you read Francine Rivers' novel, Redeeming Love, then you would understand that some women are thrust into prostitution and know no other life.
Chaz B lost his temper with me that evening for seemingly sitting on the fence. But what really gives us a right to judge? Aristotle said some will be Kings while others are marked for subjugation. That’s the reality of our society today. There will always be the rich and the poor and by inference, prostitution! Like I said to Chaz B on that fateful day, I do not have the panacea for prostitution, but as with every menace in our society, it’s about the man in the mirror.
Similarly, young, pretty and undergraduate at 18 or trendy, working-class lady at 30, single and pretty, as long as you share his bed with the hope of some monetary gain, you are a prostitute!
Let’s not get it twisted or disabuse ourselves into thinking that it is only the ladies that stand along the street by Sheraton hotel, Ikeja or Ynot in Victoria Island or wherever, waiting to be picked-up or those who sit in their brothels are the only ones who qualify to be called prostitutes.
The dictionary describes prostitution as the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money. Am not just blabbing; even the holy book, the Bible which we all swear by defines it in like manner.
According to Hosea 2: 4-5, the Bible defines a prostitute as a woman who goes after lovers who give bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink. The scripture states “I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the children of harlotry. For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.”
So as long you have a lover for monetary or material gain, you’re a prostitute love!
I am inclined to write this because of several criticisms that trail prostitutes such as a particular episode of Chaz B’s Sharing life’s issues themed: Is Prostitution an Option?
Whether street girl or high class Lagos bigz girl, as long as you are sleeping with a man for material gain, you are a prostitute. The only difference between you and the street girl is that she stands on the street or sits in her room in the brothel and doesn’t need any wooing as long as her lover can pay the price. You on the other hand, will wait to be wooed with a preconceived price in mind.
Some would say to themselves, if he’s not stingy or can spoil me, I’ll date him. Some go further and say if he can buy me a car, I’ll date him. A holiday abroad and I’ll date him, or a few thousand nairas for school and gold and I’ll date him. A Hermes bag and I’ll date. Different prices for different classes of women.
There was a lot of castigation on that show and I felt pained because lots of people said poverty is not reason enough for prostitution. My question then, is a car, jewelry or clothes reason enough to have an Aristo?
Not that I agree that prostitution is an option but sometimes it is worth feeling the pain of those ladies on the street. But if I was to empathise I would rather the street hooker who was born and raised in a brothel and knows no other life, than the undergrad who has an Aristo because she wants to competes with her friends as to who has the bigger gold bracelet! If you read Francine Rivers' novel, Redeeming Love, then you would understand that some women are thrust into prostitution and know no other life.
Chaz B lost his temper with me that evening for seemingly sitting on the fence. But what really gives us a right to judge? Aristotle said some will be Kings while others are marked for subjugation. That’s the reality of our society today. There will always be the rich and the poor and by inference, prostitution! Like I said to Chaz B on that fateful day, I do not have the panacea for prostitution, but as with every menace in our society, it’s about the man in the mirror.
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