Third term, tenure elongation…omo I don tire for the issue, dwelling on it just leaves me angry. So I’ve taken the siddon look approach. Part of which included watching the live transmission of its debate in the House of Reps on Wednesday (May 10th). I must say it’s been very interesting and entertaining. In my opinion laugh, fun and health wise being a legislator is far better than holding an executive post e.g. governor. Experiencing the communal feeling in the house is a thing to die for, it’s like you’re back in the university lecture hall with your course mates, this time your honourable colleagues from different parts of the country kicking convo back and forth on issues of common importance. Each rep is given about five minutes to state his stand on the constitutional amendment. Most of the speeches have been powerful, sensible and in some cases funny. There’ve have been a few boring ones. During and after each speech there are cheers, claps and boos depending on the camp of the speaker. I must say the better arguments have been from the anti-third term camp. From my calculations they’re also in the majority, so there’s hope.

Obasanjo: An exit strategy By Reuben Abati

We say it’s third term agenda, they say its tenure elongation/
Naija we know is tender, it could have grave implications/
But when you’re power drunk you could do anything for an extension/
A double dose of funk and you’re indispensable to the nation/
The sycophants will hail you, go for three not just a pale two/
A close look at the AU, Museveni is the way to (way to go)/
But wise men still will tell you, leave when ovation is the loudest/
Cos when the shit don fell through, history’ll say that you lacked soundness/

How do i get this third term now, how?

So it’s my birthday today, I’m 23. Yeah yeah who cares; OBJ is 79 and is gunning for another four years. Ok I kid, I kid; dude is 69 and wants to be life President. Yep, we all got the third term blues. At times I wish I wasn’t so interested in politics and could just take the passive/siddon look approach. Anyways being that I am interested I’m going to roll out some of my observations on the third term issue.

1) Asking OBJ to continue for a third term in office is like asking Austin Jay Jay Okocha to continue playing and captaining the Super Eagles (defying age and despite all the bright young talent out there) for another four years. Agreed, Okocha is one of the best Nigerian players ever but without him we ended our WorldCup/Cup of Nations campaign on an excellent note and still went on to win bronze at Egypt 2006. Word is born Okocha is not indispensable to the national team. In the same vein in a country of over 120million people OBJ is not the only person who can run things well. And please don’t come with that stuff that the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know. What we’re fighting for is to get it into the Nigerian psyche that no matter how well (you think) you’ve done you should never overstay your welcome.

2) The NTA we’re seeing these days is slowly turning into the NTA of the 1998 era. Then everything was pro-Abacha. Abacha for president this, Nigeria needs Abacha that. Nowadays if the NTA is your only source of news you’d be fooled to think the nation overwhelmingly supports OBJ third term bid. But after thinking the issue over being that the NTA is the government’s baby it’s to be expected. Compare the NTA-OBJ situation to a large household. If something really bad happens within the household like a scuffle between sibling A and B and sibling B is left critically injured you don’t expect the household’s spokesman to come out publicly and rubbish siblings A’s image. Surely he’ll be admonished but being that blood is thicker than water it won’t be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. The case would be acknowledged as an unfortunate incident but the dirty incidents won’t be washed in public, everything would be dealt with on the low low. Nonetheless NTA still owes it to the public to always portray both sides of the story.

3) The NTA issue can make you want to cry, but thank God for little mercies like the independent press. Yes kudos to AIT, Channels television and co for correctly feeling the pulse of the people. Political discourse phone-in programs on the stations lets us know that unlike the claims of Mantu and co Nigerians as a whole are anti-third term. There are other news outlets like the radio, newspapers and the internet but being that television is king it’s good that our leaders some of who don’t know better can at least know what the word on the streets is by simply switching channels.

Picture originally available at foolscap

The phrase for today is “man must wack!” It’s Nigerian Pidgin English and it means the same thing as “person no go chop again?”, “man no go chop?”, “I suppose eat now”, “I gotta get paid” and “man must survive”. Now here are some examples of the use of these phrases in everyday human speech.

Some many wack guys dey this game of hip hop/
If you ask dem dey go be like: “ah ah man no go chop?”/
Massai in “onye kwulu oto…”

You gotta operate the easy way/
“I made a G today” but you made it in a sleazy way/
Selling crack to the kids. “I gotta get paid,”/
Well hey…well that’s the way it is/
Tupac Shakur in “changes”

For real in Nigeria we’re using these phrases more and more everyday. We knowingly go ahead to do what we’re not supposed to do all because of the material gain that can come out of such actions. At times we’re pushed to do so by poverty, at other times it’s plain laziness and not wanting to follow the long but right way. I got thinking about this phenomenon because unlike before we’re now watching Nigerian films in my house like crazy. Ever since my younger sister started studying Theater Arts at the university it’s been all borrow this film this, attend this audition that. I must confess some Nigerian films are really good but the majority are crap, crap, crap (anyways, somebody please tell Stephanie Okereke that I think she’s sexy). But the fact remains that despite all the mediocrity, day after day auditions are being held, scenes are being shot and films are being marketed. Why is this so? The answer is “man must wack!” Let me spell out the “man must wack” scenario in Nigeria for you starting from Nigerian films.

-Yes the film industry is in a mess but it’s better to get a waka pass roll (be an extra in a film) and collect your #2,000 while waiting for your big break, then to keep on writing job applications. Or if you’re lucky get a minor roll and be paid #20,000. And knowing that Nigerian films are shot in one week you could actually collect that salary four times in a month. Now that’s something ain’t it? For the established actors they know most of the films they act are repeats but “man must wack”. And so they keep acting, bumping out a film every fortnight and smiling home with their 2 million Naira check every month. For the producers and marketers they keep putting out the below par films knowing that they can make a fortune by selling them in African where people are Nigerian film crazy or to Nigerians in Diaspora in North America and Europe where Nigerian films helps to kill the home sickness.

-Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu is also a fan of the “man must wack” phrase. As the chairman of the sub committee on the review of the 1999 constitution he went ahead to recommend three terms of four years for Presidents and Governors. And by what means? By a dubious voice vote. He backed up his actions with the claim that as a representative of the people he is only doing their wish. Crazy ain’t it? Because we all know that if a survey is conducted today, the result will overwhelmingly recommend that OBJ retires come 2007 and heads back to his Ota farm. But alas “man must wack”. Mantu and his colleagues in power must continue to collect their fat salaries, get the juicy contracts, move about the corridors of power, have people bow down to them and see their faces on TV and in the papers.

-Obasanjo’s mouth piece, Fani Kayode is another lover of the man must wack phrase. Before his appointment he never wasted time to point out the errors of the government. But now that he’s in the presidency he’s kissing major ass and regards OBJ as a god that can do no wrong. To justify his salary he’s ready to verbally harass anyone that questions OBJ’s actions or words. He very much reminds me of Daniel Kanu of the YEAA (Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha) fame.

-Chris Uba the self acclaimed God father in Anambra politics also knows what the “man must wack” phrase implies and uses it to his full advantage. For all his evil deeds to the people of Anambra and to Nigeria as a whole he deserves to be imprisoned. But instead he was readmitted into the PDP while Ngige was expelled and as being forced to leave the country after being dethroned as Governor. All this is because he’s financially useful to Anambra politicians, to the PDP and to the presidency.

-Also in this league are Nigerian girls, ladies or women. Right from their childhood their mothers have schooled them on what the “man must wack” (woman must wack) phrase means. Thus young girls forget about guys their age who really love them but ain’t yet made and go ahead to marry much older men who they hardly know, talk less of love but who are made. And in some cases marry such men as the second, third or fourth wife. Others become groupies. Yes we know it’s cool to fuck a celebrity but more importantly, it pays.

-And finally men of God in Nigeria. Particularly those of the non-Catholic, Anglican or Methodist type. Being that competition is high in the field, opening of their own churches is something that must be done to perfection. Not just because they love God and genuinely want to partake in evangelism but because “man must wack”. The more people you’re able to bring into your flock, the more money for you. As for me, I no go lie. E get as e go be man pikin go…. You know every now, “man must wack!”

“Man must wack” and so the rich keep enjoying the best of the harvest, while the poor keep doing all sorts of menial jobs to keep body and soul together

There’re so many disagreements/disputes in international relations or world politics today. The US versus North Korea, Israel versus Palestine, Zimbabwe versus England, 3rd world countries versus the developed West, the list goes on. In this post I want to give my own explanation of why things are the way they are and what can be done to make things better

I’ve always been the inquisitive type and good at critical thinking thus able to discover the truths about situations and get very good points of view about them. I studied Economics and Political Science in the University, maybe it fostered that inquisitiveness, I don’t know for sure. Anyway props to Dr. Assisi Asobie my lecturer in the Political Science department; he sure was a damn good lecturer; I only wish I was much more serious with my academics back then. Also when I was younger I guess I didn’t really cherish the concept of friendship (I wasn’t good at keeping them) and social interaction; plus being a late developer (puberty thing) I got picked on a lot. Also of recent I’ve learnt from interactions in real life situations and on the internet that beef/quarreling is of very little benefit and very anti progressive. Because of all these I’ve grown to be a freak for relating with people cordially and diplomatically.

I guess I over did it there anyway back to what I’m trying to say, here’s my theory. Nations in the world are like brothers (siblings) in a family. Some merely 13 years old, others as old as 50. Some wild and headstrong and some reserved. Some very wealthy and some poor. Thus for peaceful coexistence it’s natural that while the rights of all should be respected it should also be that some brothers be accorded more respect than others based on factors like age and achievements in life. All should recognize their role and position in the scheme of life/things and play it well. It’s really simple, we all know at home we respect our elders and in return they should behave in a matter to justify the respect accorded. For example 3 brothers A, B and C embark on a journey, A being the eldest and C the youngest. A brings the car for the journey and the cash that might be needed, B brings along cooking utensils, while C brings along only a football for recreation. While each of them contributed to the success of the journey it’s clear that A contributed the vital things needed, followed by B and then C. Night time comes and what they have is a mattress and two mats, who do you think then deserves to sleep on the mattress? A of course. It then baffles me why in the university (in a lot of the courses I took from my first to final year), Nigerian press, Nigerian circles on the web and in the country there is so much agitation for we the 3rd world to be neck to neck with our more developed brothers in absolutely all aspects. In fact there are so many irrational anti-west beliefs. It’s a crazy world, headstrong North Korea, Jihadist and terrorist in the Middle East, people too eager to walk before they crawl among the Nigerian masses and among the Zimbabwean government. And yes the US at times getting carried away by their super power status. If we all reason along line that we’re all brothers and no one wants to see another die some of these disagreements would be laid to rest soon.

Bush and Obasanjo. Oga sirs, what’s so funny. How country now?

“If life’s a bitch, procrastination is a cheap ho
I’m the president of rap so I address my people
Every time I grab the microphone I make my teeth show
It’s excitement like watching sex through a peephole”

Modenine in “Formidable” from his “Malcolm IX” album

Yep that’s how I feel right now, like addressing my people. Sort of like that Wyclef “If I was president” shit. Although I ain’t the president am a still talk to y’all on politics and of course rap.

Of recent a lot of people have been mailing me their songs in MP3 format to listen to or referring me to sites where I can hear their stuff. And I’ve been listening and liking some. This coupled with the numerous hot tracks I hear on radio these days (Abuja sure has a lot of promising upcoming stars) makes me wanna go record my own song straight away. Shit I’ve been foot dragging for too long. It’s been almost two years since I last recorded. I even missed a chance to record with my boy Dramatik some weeks back due to some school shit. But I think I’ll finally do it. Record like three songs hopefully before my 22nd birthday on April 17th (Yep it’s the same old shit like last year: “they say a TRAE flow is the very thing/and April is the Seventeenth/). I ain’t really going for the big time publicity thing, but if it comes no probs. I Just wanna fulfill a personal ambition of making tracks that people will really feel and enjoy. And in the process contribute to something I believe in and love so much: Hip hop. But I guess all this will come to pass if only I can get past procrastination which has a knack for frequently tying me down (yeah it’s a cheap ho like Modenine said. We fuck with it so easily). I’m also awaiting an instrumental/beat from a cyber pal to see what I can do with it/kind of music I can make out of it. I’m also considering applying for a job at an Abuja FM station that just started broadcasting. At least to remain useful while hustling for my degree and the NYSC call up thing.

Now for some of my thoughts on politics. If it’s within the scope of reference for the upcoming National Political Reform Conference in Abuja I suggest those guys suggest the rotational presidency thing for Nigeria. Right now the political atmosphere is charged over the battle for the presidency in 2007. God knows what will happen next year when the campaigns get in full swing. A five-year single presidential term rotated among the six geo-political zones will be well welcomed by all if you ask me. I believe it’s the best way to solve the problem of who should rule. Nigerians are so open-eyed that the only way to satisfy everyone is to let everyone have a piece of the cake in turn. Let it start with the presidency going to the South South in 2007 (Let’s be honest they definitely deserve it based on marginalization grounds in the past) and then other top post be zoned according to the federal character idea.

Also I must say rest in peace to General. Abdulkarim Adisa (Rtd), a former Henchman of late Nigerian head of State Sani Abacha. Memories of him that remain in my mind are at the Oputa panel in 2000 and more recently at the Funmi Iyanda’s “New Dawn” show on NTA. He appeared on the show sometime in late 2004 where he had a tough time answering questions from Funmi and her co-female presenters on his role in Nigerian Politics in the past and why he wanted to enter politics again. He sure was a funny man with a heavy Yoruba accent. He didn’t sound intelligent and articulate at all. I wonder how and why people like him ever made it to the top political offices in Nigeria. Rest in peace too to my uncle who died last month. Life’s so unpredictable man. One week we was with him running around to properly bury a relative, the next week we find ourselves practically planning his own funeral. God knows best anyway.

Last word, check out my man Fishe’s site and listen to some of his songs. He’s a Nigerian rapper based in the United States who’s about to release his debut album. For real the brother is a real lyrical wordsmith. And for my Nigerian GSM users www.mobilenigeria.com is a must site for you. There you can let your feelings on the industry be known to fellow users and your mobile telephone company executives.

I’m signing out with this pic Modenine sent to me personally. It’s him rocking the stage on February 4th at “Ek’abo” an MTN sponsored gig organized by the French cultural centre in Lagos. Sorry guys Modenine is now based in Lagos. But no probs Abuja still rocks. Ask Six Foot Plus, Terry tha Rapman and OD and they’ll tell you.