SEEK INNER PEACE ♥♥♥

Seek inner peace and when you find it,

Life then becomes a harmonious symphony,

A beautiful synchronized dance,

A temptingly delicious gourmet meal,

A wonderful bouquet of sweet smelling iflowers,

A beautiful heart-rending poem,

A melodious lullaby crooned by a loving mum.

Like the beautiful patterns on a butterfly's wings.

Like the sweet gentle caress of ones lover,

Like the early morning dew on the grass,

Like the dawn light creeping over the horizon,

Like the brilliant rainbow in a dull sky,

Like the shiny stars lighting up a dark night,

Like an eagle soaring to the highest heights in the skies.

One starts to read the signs, notice the signposts of life,

Understand the omens, read the handwriting on the wall,

All the pieces of the complicated jigsaw finally fit,

Everything that has ever happened to one starts to make sense,

One could actually walk on water if one tried, smiles,

Life becomes a calm, delightful meandering stroll with one's Creator,

Just as it was meant to be from the very beginning.
 Hallelujah.

By Christie Nonyelum Akumabor -14/11/12

Chilaxing in the peace I have found with my creator

Our lives indeed become a beautiful, liberating dance

Then we can soar like eagles to any heights he chooses

The beautiful dawn light creeping over the horizon..

A caress from one's lover, a most beautiful thing

Our tomorrows, so filled with beautiful promise

WEEP NOT MY NAIJA CHILD, WEEP NOT...

Weep not my dear Naija child, weep not..
Wipe your tears dear for I weep on your behalf too,
I weep tears of blood when I think of your plight.
I weep when I look into your eyes hawking on our streets,
I weep when I see the total desperation and hopelessness there.

Weep not my Nigerian child, weep not..
For we have done this to you, this dreadful wrong,
We who should have cared and protected you.
We who should have stopped the abuse,
Stopped the careless degradation of your innocent souls.

Weep not beautiful soul, my lovely Naija child.
Weep not because Yemisi Suswan, first lady of Benue state,
One of the poorest in the land, commissioned a designer perfume,
To be distributed to guests on her 45th birthday!!!
What will she do for her fiftieth? I shudder to think...

Weep not my uneducated Nigerian child, weep not.
Because I weep on your behalf when the "first" lady of Ekiti state,
Tells us her child's been in boarding school in the UK since age 9!!!
Weep not as she tells us she visits her every 3 weeks (at whose expense?)
Weep not as we ponder and try and compute how much this all costs.
And compare it to how much is spent on the education of the average Ekiti child.

Weep not my motherless Nigerian child, weep not.
For we weep tears of blood as your mother lies dying of invasive breast cancer,
Dying through lack of funds for treatment because she is so poor.
Whilst her governor takes delivery of a $45,000,000 private jet in Akwa Ibom

Weep not that we wasted BILLIONS on an extravagant golden jubilee,
When we don't immunise Nigerian children anymore,
So polio and other killer diseases have been left to reign unchecked.
When we now have the highest Maternal Mortality Rate in the world...

Weep not my innocent Nigerian child, weep not,
Cos I weep as you're disposed of your late father's property.
Leaving you as a servant where your fortunes may be as varied as the wind.

Weep not child because soon there will be reason to weep no longer.
Weep not because your salvation is coming soon I pray,
Sooner than we think, though I know not from where.
Wipe your tears my child, soon ALL your oppressors will be done and gone.

We will wipe each others tears, because this insanity can't continue much longer.
We will weep no more when the winds of change blow through our nation,
And sweep clean ALL the ills in our society especially those affecting the defenceless and poor.

Weep not my dear Nigerian child, as your older siblings languish and die in the sands of the Sahara and the deep blue seas of the Mediterranean.
They die as they brave deserts and seas to seek the elusive golden fleece, a better future in foreign lands.
Because those we call our leaders are actually callous beastly beings masquerading in human flesh.

Weep not my dear child as we prepare to take back your destiny from those who have sold it for pennies.
Wipe your tears dear as we prepare to celebrate a new dawn, a renewed land of hope.
When your tears will become a distant memory in the annals of time and we'll all weep no more.

By Christie Nonyelum Akumabor © 08/11/12 Reworked today 06/12/17

She is the future of Naija, we have NOT served her well...

 Poor children being fed by a charity scheme run by one of the Pentecostal churches in Lagos

The environment which we expect to produce the leaders of tomorrow. No wonder we have sit-tight rulers.

RUMBLE OBAMA RUMBLE!

This was inspired by the words of a friend, Bola Opere..

Rumble Obama Rumble!

Rumble honorary Kenyan Rumble!!

Rumble illustrious son and pride of Africa Rumble!!!

Rumble loving husband of Michelle Rumble!!!!

Rumble proud father of Malia and Sasha Rumble!!!!!

Rumble on first African American President of the USA,

Rumble on Nobel peace prize winner,

Rumble on man of the people.

Rumble on brilliant lawyer and author,

Rumble on son of Ann Dunham and Barack Senior.

Rumble on changer of destinies,

Rumble on defender of the sick with Obama Care.

Rumble on a worthy commander in chief,

Rumble on defender of womens right to choose.

Rumble on provider of American jobs.

Rumble Barack Hussein Obama, Rumble.

Rumble son of destiny, chosen by God, Rumble.

Rumble child of the islands and land of the Masai Mara, Rumble.

Rumble you descendant of noble Africans, Rumble.

Rumble faithful husband and doting father, Rumble.

Rumble on inspirer of dreams, yes we can!

Rumble on you good example of persistence and diligence.

Rumble on a humble and caring community activist, then president.

Rumble on cos you were voted in on my birthday, 4th of  Nov 2008.

Rumble on and do an even better job this time around, Obama !!!!!!!

IGNORANCE IS ONE OF OUR GREATEST KILLERS IN NAIJA SADLY. :-(

Ignorance is killing us rapidly in Nigeria. Ignorance of the early symptoms of diseases, ignorance of where to seek proper treatment, ignorance of the treatable nature of many hitherto untreatable conditions. And this ignorance is COMPOUNDED by our saaaaaaaad culture of HIDING our illnesses from even our nearest and dearest!!!

And some of our priests and pastors are also worsening matters by preying on the poor, innocent, desperate, sick and gullible in their most dire moments. We all know what I'm talking about... I am a Christian and DO believe in miracles BUT God does not call for me to suspend my common sense!!! Which of us who is hungry and has raw foodstuff in the kitchen will kneel down and pray for God to fill our stomachs instead of getting up and going into the kitchen to prepare the food ourselves??? 

This is what we've reduced God to in Nigeria, our "house help", who does those tasks we are too lazy or can't be bothered to deal with ourselves, chei... But this is not about faith healing or none-healing as the case may be. This is about raising awareness about THREE COMMON KILLER CANCERS IN NIGERIA and addressing and recognising some of our cultural practices which prevent dissemination of this information to ALL who need to know and hear about them.

I'm talking about BREAST, CERVICAL AND PROSTATE CANCER IN NIGERIANS!!!

These three cancers have claimed an increasing nos of lives in Nigeria, of people in their prime, often with young dependents, causing untold hardship and suffering to those left behind as well as causing gruelling, excruciatingly painful, long drawn out illnesses in the afflicted. And whilst some cancer cases will inevitably lead to death, COMPREHENSIVE SCREENING, KNOWLEDGE OF SYMPTOMS & SIGNS; EARLY DETECTION could seriously reduce the mortality and morbidity of these diseases!!!

I have no statistics for the incidence of any of these diseases in Naija as we are notably abysmal at keeping records. But anecdotally I personally know over 15 young Nigerian women  between the ages or 30-45 who have kost their lives to breast cancer... One of my pastors died from it just beforehand her 41st birthday!!! My Aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer 16 years ago too, she was treated and cancer free for 15years, and had treatment this year when it recurred. We thank God that it has been successfully dealt with again. The Edo state governors wife, Mrs Oshiomole died from one if these csncers!!! So these ailments are no respecter of persons O.

Now my cause for concern is the lack of knowledge and awareness that these diseases even exist back home and our almost total lack of teaching women to examine their breasts, and what to do if they find a lump!!! And this applies to Nigerian women living both at home and abroad. We are notoriouly BAD at taking on board preventative measures, with the usual attitude of "it's not my portion". Whose portion is it??? Jesus Christ the son of God was crucified on the cross!!! Stephen his disciple was stoned to death, others were killed in various gory ways, so exactly whose portion it is to be afflicted with breast, cervical or prostrate cancer??? We know not!!! All that is certain is that we MUST all die from something, and its only If we are blessed will it be from the complications of a ripe old age...

So hiding our illnesses does NOT make them go away. In fact we might even be doing untold damage to our families. If a daughter does not know her mother survived or died from breast cancer HOW ON EARTH DOES SHE KNOW TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT BREAST EXAMINATIONS OR TO DEMAND EARLIER MAMMOGRAPHY SCREENING WHERE SUCH IS AVAILABLE TO HER???  We have to get over this our fear that if we talk about something the "demons" will hear and attack us with what we were talking about. Kai such upside down thinking. As if any demons need us to decide what harm they will unleash on we humans!!!  

Similar issues apply for cervical cancer and prostate cancer. People NEED TO KNOW TO SEEK MEDICAL HELP WHEN THEY HAVE CERTAIN SYMPTOMS, such as irregular bleeding, bleeding after sex, persistent discharge or odour or anything which is unusual with regards to their private parts. For the men we are looking at the signs of prostate enlargement,  such as difficulty passing urine, poor stream, regularly waking up at night to pass urine, constipation or persistent lower back pain etc.

An enlarged prostate is often NOT cancerous, but if it is ever removed please ENSURE that the doctor does a BIOPSY of the tissue to rule out cancer. This SHOULD all be part of the standard treatment of any enlarged prostate in Naija but sadly like the rest of our defunct systems in Naija, good medical practice has also deteriorated terribly. So please tell your fathers, husbands, brothers and anyone you know who is having prostate surgery (that's if they let you know in the first place) that they must INSIST THAT THEIR DOCTOR SENDS THEIR PROSTATIC TISSUE TO A REPUTABLE HISTOPATHOLOGY LAB FOR ANALYSIS!!! Also let them have their PSA measured. This is a blood test measuring Prostate-Specific-Antigen (PSA) and is a good marker for the presence or absence of prostate cancer. Because if these diseases are detected early, particularly Prostate Cancer then a good chance of a full cure is possible... 

In our forefathers time when there was less understanding and information about the nature and causes of many diseases, being secretive made sense to them. But now that we are in the age of enlightenment we should not allow IGNORANCE to still hold us hostage. Imagine the case of a lady only finding out as an adult that her maternal grandmother dues if breast cancer, her own mother had breast cancer several years earlier and is stikk suffering from some complications of the illness and treatment but has NEVER told her daughters that this is what she suffered from, so that they could even be vigilant about breast examinations and lumps or even take advantage of early screening programmes which are available where they live!!! This is the sad reality on the ground and unfortunately our yeye govt also do NOT care about their citizens so no national health campaigns are organised. 

Sadly our churches too which COULD be good platforms to disseminate LIFE SAVING INFORMATION are generally too busy preaching prosperity messages to spend any time to teach COMMON SENSE, LIFE SAVING INFORMATION to their congregation. Some of them are simply not aware that these are huge problems, but we can ALL no longer ignore the many pictures of dying women with massive fungating breast lesions, with their beleaguered relatives vainly trying to raise funds for what amounts to terminal care!!! 

It could be me affected next, it could be you or your wife, sister, mother, husband, brother or father affected by any of these illnesses. We MUST raise awareness about them to help save lives. I salute the efforts of a growing nos of organisatios in Nigeria that have taken on board this noble cause. But we ALL need to do more, however we can and end this conspiracy of silence and ignorance that continues to decimate Nigerian lives at home and even abroad. May God bless all of us as we help spread this message, amen..

ONE MAY KILL THE POET BUT NEVER HIS IDEAS; A TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT FELA♥♥♥

One may kill the poet, but never the idea.

One may silence the artist, but their words will live on.

Once spoken, words can never be retracted from the minds of the hearers.

Once an idea is birthed and shared,

It develops a life of its own and goes where it will...

Thank you Abami Eda for the ideas you espoused.

Thank you for being one of the few of your age that really cared about the people.

Thank you for caring despite the many arrests,

Thank you for caring even when they killed your dear mother.

Thank you for refusing to be silent even in the face of terrible tyranny.

Thank you for recording your ideas in song, so they remained to inspire me and countless others.

Thank you for refusing to conform,

Because in refusing, you could see and expose the mental chains that still held us bound.

Abami Eda, you exposed the hypocrisy of the west,

Of our government, of our elite and academia,

Of our religious institutions, of ourselves. ..

You saw that for any form of government to work in a society,

It MUST grow organically from said society,

Driven and adapted from our own norms and culture.

You said, and I concur totally, "Our democracy is a demonstration of craze".

Because we've FAILED to adapt it to our situation,

Or even come up with a totally new concept.

A new concept of government that would work for us,

Because we are a unique people, and one size does NOT fit all.

It NEVER did, and I thank you Abami Eda for seeing and pointing this out to us.

We did not all fully understand you then.

Some of your messages got lost in translation.

Lost to those who refused to see beyond your unique persona to the sound ideas you had.

Lost to some of us who were then too young to fully appreciate all your messages.

But we do now... And I know I speak for myself and many others,

When I say thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring and sharing.

The task is not yet done, we have not yet reached Uhuru.

We cry today where is Fela, we ask where is Gani Fawehimi???

We miss your strident voices in the morass that is Nigeria of today.

We wish you were here to speak on our behalf,

But you have done your part,

You have both finished your tasks here on earth,

And finish well indeed you did...

You deserve your well earned rest my brother, my brothers...

Because I know my father in heaven saw into your hearts.

We miss you because there has been nobody to carry on the torch.

Nobody to be the conscience of the nation.

Nobody to be the voice for the voiceless.

Nobody who burns with as much passion against injustice as you did.

Nobody who has the spirit or stamina to stand tall against all odds,

Just because they believe in the cause they are fighting for.

Well we await that person, that voice that will not be quiet.

Not a messiah, just simply someone who will speak for the people.

Someone who will articulate the needs of even the most lowly.

Someone who will speak for the voiceless as both you and Gani did.

The flame still burns, the torch you lit will be passed on,

Rest well my brothers, as we continue the struggle,

Aluta continua, Victoria acerta!!!

 

By Christie Nonye Akumabor 29/10/12



Abami Eda, the man himself....

 

.

ANGELS WITHOUT WINGS

Angels without wings;
Who are they, when do they appear?
And who sends them when we need them most???

Angels without wings;
As unexpected friends and even strangers,
Appearing at the times of our greatest needs,
 With the answers to our quests, to our unspoken yearnings.
 Not solicited, but most appreciated,
Giving freely of themselves, small favours,
But to us, the most miraculous of deeds..

Angels without wings;
One of the Creators ways of prompting,
When He reminds us of His boundless love.
These angels come totally unbidden,
 but all the same most welcome,
When God lets us know,
That He cares for us, ALWAYS, ALWAYS...

Angels without wings;
The friend who lends a listening ear unbidden,
Even when our needs were so hidden.
The gent who pointed out the way,
 When we got lost amidst the fray.
The passer by who answered our cry for help,
 with not a thought of what it might cost.

Angels without wings:
The lady who drove an unconscious accident victim to hospital,
 Contacted the victims family and friends by phone,
But left no name.
The boy who knocked on a strangers door,
Offering a smile, a leaflet of hope,
That stopped them taking that last fatal step to suicide...
The gent who went out of his way to return my rather expensive phone last night,
When there was nothing stopping him from keeping it for himself.

Angels without wings;
 I know I have met one or two in my life,
 I may have even been one sometime, perhaps.
They happen upon us not because we're deserving,
Not even because we are believing.
 But because God loves us so dearly,
 And as He holds our lives in His hands,
 He knows when we are most in need,
And sends us those kind and wonderful helping hands.

Angels without wings:
So let's listen to those promptings in our souls,
That urge us to reach out to friends, relatives and even strangers,
 Cos we never know when we too might become,
 Angels without wings...

My little Angel has lost one it's wings...