Nigeria we truly hail thee!
A diary of the days (thoughts and opinions) of Trae; mainly as concerns Technology, Writing, Public Speaking, Football, Music, Chess, Fitness, Liberalism and Afrocentrism.
Preface: “Wood for the trees” as an idiom means not seeing the big picture (woods…aka forest) because you pay so much attention to the little details (trees). Barzini was probably right in quoting the opposite “the trees for the wood” as it implies seeing through the big picture/Western propaganda to understand the little detail that matters, how Western powers are innocuously using brain psychology to make us believe Africa is doomed and salvation comes only from the white man’s intervention.
Posted by trae_z | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2014
Category: Music (Hip hop) , Socials , Technology
Giving the toast
-Good day every one; you could be anywhere in the world today but you’re here with us; thank you for making this happen.
-My name is Tochukwu, a lot of you know me as Trae; I’m the younger brother to Ebele.
-There’s a popular saying about chess; that it takes a day to learn, but a lifetime to master! Trust me on that! I learnt to play chess over 10 years ago but my play today is still very much like a beginner. This can be compared to relationships and marriage. Like chess you could meet someone new today and fall in love in a couple of hours, butterflies in your stomach and all what not. But for you to decide that you want to spend the rest of your life with the person requires months of getting to know and understand each other just like with chess. So I’m glad ladies and gentlemen that this is what we’re seeing today with Andrea and Ebele after about three years. Theirs like their program brochure is themed has been “a beautiful story”.
-One great thing about Ebele is that he has always been a dependable fellow and someone you can always count on. There are numerous times while growing up that he has been there for me in many ways than one. I remembered being flat broke and knocked out in Jos some years back and he coming to my rescue to pay my rent. Ebele is simply reliable! Likewise Andrea is a very good hearted and likeable person, and I’ve always felt that way right from the first day I knew her. Together they’re two of the best people I’ve ever known.
-On that note I'll like us to raise our glasses to the bride and groom. Andrea and Ebele these are my wishes for you, and I’m sure in doing so I speak the mind of everyone here. Wishing you prosperity, a lifetime of happiness, lot of babies and may this your beautiful story be ever alive. To the bride and the groom!!!
The closing words here of Techcabal’s Bankole Oluwafemi inspired this:
“PS: I don’t care about how many people I’m following, and hardly unfollow people because I stopped reading my timeline a long time ago. Created an ultra curated list for my sanity ages ago.”
1. If we love ourselves we must kill our inner narcissism. Following so many people so they can follow you back and you can grow your followers list… #TeamFollowBack things is so not cool. Really what does it profit you to follow so many people on Twitter yet at the end being scared of reading your own timeline?
2. I don’t want to have to go secondary and use lists just to enjoy Twitter. It's like downloading an app to get the best out of your mobile phone battery instead of going all out to get a phone with great battery life from start. Like the alpha male would say "what’s the point of marrying a wife when there’s no food on the table at the close of work and you still have to subject yourself to eating out on the regular"? Go for the best from the start so you don’t have to force yourself to adapt to mediocrity.
3. On social media I don’t do the follow back shit. I let it be my prerogative alone to choose my friends. Fake things (not being real to oneself) to me are having like over 1,000 Facebook friends, over 500 connections on LinkedIn, following over 500 on Twitter etc. I don’t make friends for making sake…or to grow my digits. If I dig you on social media (want to call you my friend) I want to be able to get a steady stream of your thoughts on a regular basis and be happy while doing so. Truth is, time is money and in this internet age we really need to embrace those habits which will help us guard our sanity and prevent information overload.
4. Real recognize real and the sooner we start to understand that the better for us. Like they say bull shit might get you to the top but it won’t keep you there. Real staying power or popularity on social media is not dubious; it’s saying or doing stuff that makes sense to others.
5. If your excuse is that you’re popular you still don’t have to let your fans overwhelm you. On Facebook for one you could activate the subscriber feature, accepting only people you consider your friends and letting all others be subscribers. Plus for private stuff you could limit the view of such posts to only friends and all other stuff to the public or friends of friends as the case may be.
Ada Chinedu once upon a time ... Circa 1990
Someone once said "cherish all of your memories for they are the experiences that mould you”. And rightly so I’ve always been one for mementos; keeping a journal of key dates on my route to recovery post my car accident of July 15th. Glancing at the run down I’m ultimately filled with gratitude and just thought to share. Everyone’s rehab is not the same but this might just come in handy for someone someday.
A-July 15th 2012. Driving a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck I survived a head on collision road accident with an empty tank truck. The fallouts were a comminuted fracture in the mid segment of my right femur (thigh bone), a transverse fracture around my left ulna (left wrist) and sixth nerve palsy in my left eye.
B-July 19th 2012. Had surgeries for my fractures. Intramedullary rod inserted into the femur and external fixation done for the wrist.
C-August 2nd 2012. External fixation removed from the wrist and replaced with orthopedic cast (plaster of paris cast…POP).
D-August 6th 2012. Discharged from the hospital in a wheel chair as my left wrist was too weak to use crutches.
E-September 10th 2012. Orthopedic cast (POP) removed.
F-September 17th 2012. CT scan of the head done and first appointment with an Ophthalmologist. Siddon look approach adopted for the eye.
G-September 19th 2012. Started noticing greater flexibility in my left wrist. I.e.: started feeling like I had two hands again.
H-October 19th 2012. Dumped the wheelchair and started using crutches. Injured right leg suspended and hopping on the good left leg.
I-October 21st 2012. Confirmed the sixth nerve palsy 95% gone and vision almost back to normal.
J-November 17th 2012. Stopped hopping on crutches and started partial weight bearing on my right foot.
K-December 7th 2012. 3 days post first physiotherapy session. Started using only a single crutch.
L-December 14th 2012. Dropped crutches all together and started walking unaided; though limping.
I now hope to stop limping in the coming weeks as the muscles in the right leg strengthen. So a time cap would be that recovery took six months. But complete recovery with running and a return to full physical fitness post the accident usually takes anywhere between 12 to 18 months. Insha Allah 2013 is definitely the year for me though. Peace and be inspired!
So feeling lonely with my girlfriend away at her place of primary assignment, Sugabelly the returnee from the US grumbling about her orientation camp, Asteroid the entertainer finally happy to be mobilized for NYSC and Temidayo influencing her posting to Oyo State for fear of Boko Haram; I couldn’t but reminisce about my own corper days.
Upon finally securing release from an extended stay at UNN I was posted to Benue State to serve my country for the duration of a year starting from September 2006 till August 2007.
Camp at the Government Secondary School Gboko (…or was it Government Girls?) as I’ve said so many times before was all fun. I like to consider it one of the best three weeks of my entire life. Melting pot of culture, meeting people from all over the nation and all what not.
When the magic of camp ended I was posted to Ukum Local Government Area to teach, at a newly established catholic boys secondary school called Holy Ghost College Sankara. The school was a humble setup, though impressive and promising. It was founded by a returnee reverend father. I think I was carefully selected to be posted there being that I was catholic (funny thing is that I consider myself agnostic these days), along with a quiet Port Harcourt chick called Kome.
I initially looked forward to the experience but on learning that there was no GSM network coverage yet at Sankara (as at then) and that our accommodation was piss poor and far off from the school premises and from most other corps members serving in the local government area I contrived to get myself rejected and moved down to Zaki-Biam (the main town in Ukum LGA) to see what I could do with myself for the next 11 or so months.
The proprietor of the school wasn’t happy at all and reported me to the NYSC office at Makurdi. After a summoning there and some motherly advice from the NYSC official in charge I returned back to Holy Ghost College Sankara.
The high point of my stay working at Holy Ghost College was an excursion with the boys to different places in Benue. We visited a farm run by an Irish or so reverend father who had lived in Nigeria for over two decades, we also visited the state run radio station at Makurdi. And it was great seeing the excitement in the boys’ eyes most of whom had never set foot outside Ukum LGA. But sadly as the young and heady days of Trae often went I fell out with the proprietor over salary issues as he didn’t want to pay up all that was due. I couldn’t care less and moved back to Zaki-Biam with all pleasure to stay with my guys there.
Sankara was a bordering town to Taraba State, Wukari Local Government Area in particular. Wukari being much more developed than Ukum and nearer than Makurdi I planned a visit there with Kome for sightseeing purposes and to be able to browse the internet. Yes, those were the days cyber cafes held sway before the profligation of 3G services.
I still won’t ever forget calling my mum (or was it she calling me?) at the Zaki-Biam market right after we came back from our Wukari trip. It was about 2 weeks or so to Christmas and it was fun speaking to her and prepping up for the holidays. That was the last I was to ever hear from her as she died on the 15th of December. It was a car accident very similar to the one I survived four months back. She was going to Gwagwalada in Abuja and had a head on collision with a tanker near Giri. I got out of mine with fractures and a temporal dysfunction to my eye…but she never made hers. Rest in peace ma; love you forever!
The burial followed in the East in January. After that the rest of my service year was basically on-site ghosting and community development work. I found myself on the road a lot and visited Abakaliki in Ebonyi state to see a dear friend. I also hanged back in Abuja for a while cutting my teeth in the job search game.
Still I was in love with Benue and came back where I immersed myself studying for the NIM exams with Chimezie, making all night calls to my phone buddy Bendra and generally having fun with the guys.
The POP passing out parade was fixed for august and we all said good bye to Ukum LGA and relocated to Makurdi. The final days left a tear in my eye, after collecting my discharge certificate I couldn’t but hug all my close buddies wishing them well in the future as we didn’t know if we’d ever see each other again.
On the night of my discharge I hung out with my man Kelechi; our then senior corper as he was privileged to serve and be retained by Ecobank. I also drank my first full bottle of Star that night and got slightly tipsy. Yes I was a good boy like that.
The closure part is that someday in my lifetime I want to return to Holy Ghost College Sankara, see what it has become and make amends, putting in back my 2 cents in cash or kind. Jah bless everyone!
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