Being A King

So I keep quiet because “I don’t want to be tagged miss goody two shoes”... So I keep quiet because “I want to fit in”… So I keep quiet because “hey it’s not my business, she’s not my child, brother, sister, and therefore why should I correct them”? So I keep quiet because “it’s just easier not to say anything than to get into a silly argument”... So I keep quiet because “I’m not ready to be insulted, more so from my juniors”.

I keep quiet and miss an opportunity to teach... I keep quiet and miss an opportunity to preach... I keep quiet and God shakes His head in disapproval. I don’t get to see that action because I can’t see him with my physical eyes, but my spiritual eyes see the disapproval and in my heart i feel a thread loosen.. One more thread of truth dissolve away as a result of unspoken words. Let me be! I have my life to live, heck I’m not perfect therefore why should I worry about another man’s issues?

Why should I care that she’s wearing a top with half her boobs pouring out? Why should I care that a child is destroying the back of the seats with a pencil? Why should I care that my friend is clearly on a downward spiral engaging in illicit affairs? Why should I care that all he cares about is the next pretty chic he can ‘meet’? Why should I care that she’s disrespectful, rude and arrogant? Why should I care that he’s so self-centered and only uses people for his advantage? Why should I care that she has such a bad attitude, no one cares to tell her or even remain close? Why should I care that all that proceeds from his mouth is foul language? Why do I care to be nicer at work and give a damn about everyone else around me, after all I dislike the place? Should i be pleased to drink another man's panadol?

 Why should I care to be different and not keep quiet when I see wrongdoing? When do I know to speak out because it might save a soul? Do I withhold because the log of wood is still in my eyes? When will I see clearly in order to help others see? When do I know not to be politically correct but spiritually exact? When will it show that I am different or can be different? How will people recognize it when they see it? Is it in my speech, clothes, walk, talk, composure, lifestyle, attitude, what is it in? When will I realize that I have been pre-designed to be powerful? When will I see that the path I walk is the path I have chosen not that which has been created for me? How will the world know that I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a king in the order of Melchizedek, a person set apart to show forth the praise of Him who has called me out of darkness? How will they know that as a king I do not beg for what I desire, but I declare for what I wish? How will they know that when I speak as a King, mountains move, the underworld trembles, Satan flees! How will they know that who I am makes the enemy fidget? How will they know that the God WHO IS, is my Father?

What is it about me that sets me apart? Who am I? Who am I to be?

FIRE LAST NIGHT

I was going to write today about how sometimes as a writer one struggles with 'writer's block', and then fortunately for my writing but unfortunately for my house, i got a topic in the form of fire last night! 

It was about 1230am, I was already lying in bed and had just gotten off the phone with my boo when it all began. First of all the lights went out and i thought to myself, 'PHCN abi NEPA is at it again' but i was so sure they'd bring it back shortly as these days we seemed to have a lot of light. Anyway ten minutes or so later, the light flickers on and off and that's when i heard the spark. Already accustomed to electrical sparks every now and again, i didn't budge from my bed and wasn't shaken by the sounds of the sparks until it got worse and i heard footsteps and voices outside. I got up from my bed and looked out the window to see our 'meter house' in smoke, and i thought wow this might be serious. 
The meter house is a small house that houses all the electrical connections of the two storey building where i live. You don't want to imagine what kind of poor connection is in there, seeing as we are hardly safety conscious about such and getting 'unqualified' electricians to constantly fix one issue or the other isn't out of the norm. So anyway as at that time it was just smoke coming out of the house so i thought 'oh somethings probably blown and cut out the lights'. At that point my flatmate walks out of her room to ask if i know what's going on cause she saw the smoke and all and i said i had a perfect view of it all. Anyway within a span of two minutes, fire starts and my flatmate's driver who is outside calls for tenants to rush downstairs and move their cars. Again i stall thinking 'oh c'mon it can't be that serious' and even though i hold the car keys, i still wait. Anyway finally i decide to rush downstairs to see what's up and lo and behold, there's an actual fire! And guess who's car is parked right in front of the meter house??! I was scared sh** to get into the car and move it back seeing as there was 'sparks' or 'explosions' with the fire. Anyway people shout to me to get in and move it out, and i dash in, start the car and try to reverse. The car won't budge easily and I'm thinking what da hell is wrong with the car, not realizing the hand brake was still up!! Anyway i manage to reverse the car out of harm's way (with the hand brake still up), people rush to their cars to reverse and to bring out their extinguishers, neighbors from the next compound rush to assist and finally the fire is put out! (OK the fire wasn't that big since small extinguishers could put it out but still....) It coulda been worse seeing as there were fuel and diesel filled generators all around the meter house. I just thank God it wasn't.

My building is presently without power and i hear our (my flat) prepaid meter is completely fried and is estimated to cost plus other electrical damages at least $650! Who da hell is gonna pay for that?? No way I'm taking up the landlord's cost! This is exactly why i said in one of my older posts, "LANDLORD TRAVEL & SEE"!! I mean why build a house you're not prepared to take full responsibility and insurance for?! Anyway i think I'll have to move for the time being to my sister's house (if she'll have me:) till this brouhaha ends!

When does it all end? So much drama living in a house that is not yours! I gotta have my own house for shizzy...

THE COCONUT VS THE COCOYAM

A coconut is brown on the outside and white on the inside, so is a cocoyam. For those who do not know, a cocoyam is a locally grown edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants found mostly in West Africa. I’m hoping I don’t need to tell us what a coconut is? OK web definition says A coconut is the fruit of the coconut palm, native to southeast Asia but found in tropical regions. The coconut is sweeter and smoother on the inside and outside than a cocoyam is. A cocoyam is bland and rough around the edges, nothing too fabulous to remember. (See pictures for proof)

Coconut

Cocoyam

Why am I talking about coconut and cocoyam? Well because I’m a Cocoyam and my twin, is a Coconut! (She’ll kill me for saying this here).. I just think she looks brown on the outside but is more “white” on the inside, hence the tag coconut! If you’re looking for her, you’ll most likely catch her in Southeast Asia, specifically Laos! (Have you even heard of the place? Believe it or not she’s been there!!) She craves intercontinental dishes I could never imagine craving for, hummus and garlic bread, chili con-carne, sushi and any other funny name etc. She can only be found in airplanes (on her way to a different continent), theatres, ice rinks and London tube! You’ll also find her auditioning for the likes of X-factor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!

I on the other hand, I'm a cocoyam through and through!! If you’re looking for me you’ll find me in tropical Africa, specifically Nigeria (9ja for life)!! I’m brown on the outside and by serious fertilization (if you know what I mean) creamish/whitish. I can only be caught eating eba and afang, isi-ewu and designer jollof rice (favorite spot being Natives in Victoria Island). I can be found on okada’s, yellow taxis and buses and occasionally if I feel like I want the experience of sitting in a ‘convertible car’, I’ll hop on “keke-napep aka auto rikshaw (as the Indians call it). Auditions? I think I recall dreaming to get on ‘tales by moonlight’ as a kid, that’s as far as my auditions resume ends. Oh and to be a little posh now, I’m hoping to apply for Big Brother Africa, let me see if I can switch to a coconut small..hehehe.

So you see a Coconut and a Cocoyam are very similar but very different. And this is our story, the Coconut Vs Cocoyam… Loool! I hope you enjoyed reading this  as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Hasta luego!

Chinny ;)

                                                                                                                                         

CONFORMITY OR NECESSITY TO VOTE

All i hear these days is everyone preaching the gospel according to “Have you registered?”, “You should register?”, “We must vote”. It sounds all quite proactive and encouraging to see that people in this country have become sensitized to the need to rise up and speak out. And yet I ask myself if I am to register am I doing so because of conformity to the crowd or necessity because I actually believe in the presidential aspirants?

Who are these people? Where did they come from? What does their history say? What steps have they taken to get to where they are today? What courses or classes did they take? What positions have they held? Whose lives have they changed? What impact have they brought? What change will they bring? What legacy will they leave? I don’t know all the answers to these questions. So I ask myself the question, should I register? Should I vote? You may read this and have differing opinions on what I’m saying but its OK, we all beg to differ. Am I obligated to vote, out of conformity or necessity? No. Am I obligated to vote because my vote counts (in my mind)? Yes. Will I vote? No. I’m not going to vote and not because I don’t care, I’m not going to vote because I care. I care who sits at the cockpit manning the plane. Is he a trained pilot? Or is he a wannabe pilot? Does he have a license to fly or has he been selected and shoved into the seat, willingly, to cater for lives of his passengers? Our country has been likened to an airplane filled with passengers and left in the hands of a neophyte to fly. He crashes the plane and is blamed for the crash whereas no one sought to ask if he had the right qualifications to fly the plane in the first place. The saying goes that the “devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know”, is this really true? I mean the devil is the devil and an angel is an angel. Each has their own characteristics, good and bad. What works for the goose may not work for the gander. There are people who believe Mother Theresa wasn’t ALL THAT or even Nelson Mandela. I say this to highlight the differences in opinions and analysis of characters.

If we were all to ask ourselves the above questions about the presidential aspirants, will we reconsider voting? Are you voting out of conformity because everyone says we should vote and because our vote does count? Or are you voting because you absolutely believe in the candidate and therefore it is imperative you play your part in putting him on the seat?

Ask yourselves these questions people and then decide to vote or not. 

Don’t judge me because I won’t vote.  I’ll vote when in my spirit the conviction is as necessary as I breathe. 

Till my next blog,

Tuyo por siempre.

Chinny! :)