THE  OBIAGELI  SPIRIT  IN ALL OF US

It was sometime  in  1986  when  I  was  a  Higher Executive Officer  with the  Lagos  State Ministry of  Finance, old  secretariat  Ikeja,  Lagos  Nigeria  that  I met  her.

Our  daily  routine  then  was  to  visit  the  Kosei (bean cake)  seller  every  morning  to buy  bean  cake  and  bread  which  together served  as the breakfast for  almost  everybody in my office.  We couldn’t afford anything better because our salary was poor.

So  on this  fateful  day,  I  was  waiting  for  my  turn  to  be  served  when  she emerged  from God  knows  where.

A young  lady, beautiful  with round  large eyeballs,  average height,  succulent  with blemish-free skin and  a  sonorous  voice  joined  the  queue just  behind  me.

Although  she  was  simply  clad  in her  native  attire, the  aroma oozing from  her  body  was  a  “discovery”.  Unlike  the  usual perfumes and  scents from  body creams usually  worn by  ladies,  this  was  a  natural  one; something  unique and  different.

I,  a  Lagos  boy  was  coming  in  contact  with  something  fresh  from the  hinterland ,  something  not  diluted or staged managed.  This was nature at its best.

So I moved closer and introduced myself.  She smiled. Those  rosy  and  robust  cheeks  came alive  and  she looked more  beautiful  in my  eyes.  It was  then that  I  discovered the  gap in  her  upper frontal  teeth and  for  a  brief moment  I  was  consumed  by  the  sheer  beauty  of this  “water maid”  from the bush  that  I  forgot  completely my  mission  to the  bean cake seller.

Then   softly  and  in  a  very  innocent  manner  she told  me  her  name -  Obiageli.

I asked  for the  meaning  and  she  replied “ somebody  who  has  come to  the  world  to  enjoy”.  She  also  told  me  that  she  is  from Umunede  in  Delta  state and  that she  was staying  with  her  brother  who  was  a police  officer  at the  old  secretariat  barracks.

It  was at  this  stage  that  I  recovered from my  “momentary  loss  of  memory”  and  I  reminded  her  that  this is  Lagos  and  for  her  to  enjoy or  survive she  must  be prepared for  hard  work

Emphatically  and  with  a  rare  display  of  faith  and  innocence  she  responded “ my  name  will follow  me”.

I took  her  out  a  few times and  showed  her  a  few  places  in  Lagos  but  somehow we lost  contact  with each other  until  one  day  when  I  ran  into  her  on  the  Lagos  Marina.  She  was  clutching  an  album jacket, painted  her  face with the  usual stuff, attired in  city  clothes and  was  looking  every  inch   the  normal  city  lady.

She told  me that  she  had  just  been  signed on  by  a  recording  company  and  that  her  album  would  be  out  soon. She  even boasted  that  I will  not  be  able  to  recognize  her  in the  video  because  she  had been transformed from the  village  girl  that  I  knew  to  a  superstar!

I  don’t  know  where  she  is  now  but  I  wish  her  the  best  in  this  life  and  the  hereafter.  She made  a  lasting impression  on  my  mind  in  terms of  beauty, sincerity, innocence, faith and  above  all  a  strong  conviction  that  her  name  “will  follow  her”

That is Obiageli for you.

My  contact  with  Obiageli also introduced  me  to  the interesting and intricate  world of  Ibo names.  Ibo  names  can  be  very  interesting, informative and  insightful;  they  tell  you  almost  everything  about  the  bearer.  Examples include: Uzoamaka (the road is good), Ogadinma (E go better), Uloma (good house), Chika odinaka (it is in God’s hand), Chinasa (God answers everything),Chigaazu(God will take care of  the child) etc.   There  is  this  string  of  expectations, hope and  sometimes  resignation to  fate in  most  of  these  names.

Honestly  I have no  problem  with  the  name Obiageli  and  would  not  have  minded  if it  was added  to  my  names  at  birth  but  what I  detest is  the  Obiageli  Spirit.

The Obiageli Spirit which can be  translated  to mean reaping  where  you  did  not  sow, expecting  service without  payment, a life  of enjoyment  without  responsibility, a  careless and  fraudulent  lifestyle (credit card, 419, exam malpractices etc) is  present in almost  all of  us  in  Nigeria.

This explains our failures, calamities and under-development.

Some of  the  practical  application  of  this  spirit  in our  daily lives  include:

• Refusal  to pay  NEPA bills  or by-passing  NEPA pre-paid meters  and  expecting NEPA  to perform
• Refusal  to pay Customs duties and going to the public media  to lampoon customs officials
• Tax evasion
• Stealing  public monies  and masquerading  as  a  big  man in  society (when indeed you  should be in jail)
• Refusal to pay  Estate  dues/levies and complaining  about  security and  other services in the  estate
• Automatic redefinition of your  duty  for  which you  are  paid salary as an  avenue for  oppressing others and  extorting money  from  them 
• Students  will neither attend  classes  nor  read for  examinations yet  will regard  passing  in flying colors as  their  right
• Voting  for  people  who  are known  criminals after  collecting  bribes  from them  yet expecting  good  governance and  accountability
• The masses celebrating as achievements the minimum services that their “elected” representatives should deliver to them. Sometimes I wonder if  it  is  not madness  for  someone  to  celebrate the sinking of  boreholes in  Lagos given  the  fact  that  pipe-borne water  had  been in  existence there long  before 1960
• Refusal  to  ask  local government  chairmen and  state  governors  to  account for  monthly  allocations preferring instead to  look  at  far  away  Abuja for succor.
• Collecting  honorary  PhDs  by  people  who  could not  pass  school  certificate  examinations  and  their  insistence on being  referred to  as  Ph. D  holders

The  list  is  endless  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  my  readers  will  add  more.

Given  the  state of  mind  of  almost  all Nigerians  today,  which  espouses  the  Obiageli  spirit, it  is  doubtful  if  we  can  ever  develop  or  achieve  the  desired level of  decent  living  and  well  being  that  we  crave  for  everyday.

According  to Adam  Smith,  “the  real  price of  everything, what  everything  really  costs  to the  man  who  wants  to acquire it,  is the  toil and  trouble of  acquiring it”

Furthermore both Christianity and Islam talk about diligence and condemn laziness and stealing.

Yet over 90% of Nigerians are Muslims and Christians!

Is it  not  ironic  that  we  are  daily  looking  for  miracles  and  prosperity in  a  land  filled  with  milk  and  honey?  Has it  ever  occurred  to  us  to  apply our  God-given  talents  towards looking for   the  reasons for  our  poverty  and  miseries  instead of  disturbing God  with our  frivolous  and laughable  requests?  Is  it not  time  we  stopped  heaping  blames  on  witches  and  wizards, generational  curses  etc  when it  appears  that those things are  actually resident  in  us; in our  minds  and  hearts.

Are  we  not  aware of  the attitudes  of  most of  us to  our  jobs  in our  various  offices?  Why is it difficult to punish indolence and reward hard work and good conduct?  Why  do  the  good  and  brilliant  guys  always  lose  and  the  bad, incompetent  ones  win?  Why is  politics  in  the  office (attending same  church or  mosque with the  boss, cleaning  his  children’s nappies, going to  his  house  to play with his  wife and kids,  worshipping  at  his  feet, claiming to be  from his  local  government area or courtyard etc) more  important  than  qualitative  output  in both the  public  and  private  sectors.

To  what  extent  do  we  honestly  and  diligently  seek  to achieve  organizational  goals  and  objectives?

Indeed  if  the  other  unimportant  and  extraneous  factors  are  what  we  hold  dear  and we prefer them to  those that  will  ensure growth and  development at  both  the micro/macro, public/private sector levels, then it  is  a waste of  time  to  bemoan  our  fate  every time we reap the fruits of  our  failures via  accidents, plane crashes, impeachments, improper judicial conducts, pronouncements etc?.

Indeed Voltaire’s  theory  that  “work keeps  us  from  the  three  great evils, boredom,  vice and  need” is  a  failure  in  Nigeria as  almost  every  work is  regarded  as  burden  and  an avenue for  extorting  from other  people, inflicting  pains on  them  and  amassing  wealth.  Even the market men and women are not left out in this rat race!

In other words, our collective attitudes, aspirations are values in today’s Nigeria are anti-development.

Therefore,  in  order to make  progress and  live  a  decent,  orderly and  fulfilled  lives,  we  must  listen  to  Sir Thomas Browne’s  counsel “ to  enjoy  true  happiness  we  must travel into  a  very  far country,  and  out  of ourselves”

Whereas most public  commentators and  opinion leaders   are honest, loyal and  conscious of development,  our  decision makers are  guided and  driven  by such vices  as  greed, power, influence,  ambition etc.

It is  my  hope that  we will kick  the  obiageli  spirit out  of  our  lives  and  pray  to God  to open our eyes  to  the  fact  that  our  miseries  are  self  inflicted.  As  the  yorubas  will  say, “ ai gbofa  lan  woke, ifa  kan ko si ni para”  which  translates to “it  is  only  when one  doesn’t  understand  the  language  of  the  oracle that  he  gazes at  the  sky as none  is written  thereon”.  We have left the leprosy and are busy fighting ringworm. 

We  have  been  foolish  for  too  long  and  the  chickens  are  now coming  home  to  roost.

I pray  to God  to  forgive  us  of our  foolishness and  to  show  us  the  road  to  sanity  and  love  for  fellow  human beings  no  matter  their  social status.

Thanks for having read this article

Taslim Anibaba (FCA).                                                                  
5th , November 2006

Robot  Villager

# 1 THE OBIAGELI SPIRIT IN US It was sometime&nb...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 07.11.2006 06:17

Ani  Villager

# 2 Oga Taslim, long time no read. Nice Article. The Obiageli spirit has come to stay with us here in naija and i don't think we should be blamed. be it as it may, i'm only guilty of two charges; Refusal to pay NEPA bills or by-passing NEPA pre-paid meters and expecting NEPA to perform Refusal to pay Estate dues/levies and complaining about security and other services in the estate As per the NEPA issue, NEPA officials come to my house and ask me to pay a token to them and everything would be alright.i have to oblige them because if i refuse and pay to NEPA coffers instead, the boys would get annoyed and cut-off my electricity supply and i cannot go to NEPA office and report because the NEPA official in the office would ask me why i did not co-operate in the first place.Besides, it's cheaper to pay the NEPA "boys" (who do all the work anyway) than to pay my NEPA bills. Estate dues; we both know that the estate "executive" put some of our monies in thier own pocket. In the estate where i reside, there are well over 1000 houses/flats, so if i don't pay mine, i should see very visible infrastructural development with the money others paid.All i see is worsening road conditions, no working streetlights, no adequate security. i see no incentive to pay my estate dues. afterall no be estate executives pay my rent! But, i'm working on improving. Posted by Ani| 07.11.2006 08:45

Odinaka  Villager

# 3 Hello Oga Taslim, I hardly log on to the NVS these days because I have been on the move for some weeks now; that's also one of the reasons why I have not been making comments in recent times. But the beauty of your article forced me to stop for a moment. At first, I thought you were writing about that girl who jilted you after you've been going out for quite some time (or rather the girl whose parents came in between the two of you, I still consider everything her fault, but that's not the issue now) Well, from one view point, your article can pass as one of the most romantic on NVS this year, by my own standard. On the other hand, you also tried to drive home a bitter truth about Nigeria. I am not too sure that the problem will be solved too soon, there are a lot of factors that will make getting a solution in the nearest farthest future difficult. I will not bother to delve into those factors now, some how, NVS members have commented or written on them severally. Cheers and welcome on board the 2007 political bandwagon (we shouldn't expect much from the drivers and conductors of the molue) PS: To be fair to the bearers of the name Obiageri (or Obiageli), the name does not have a connotation of reaping where one has not sown. Your argument is clear though. Posted by Odinaka| 07.11.2006 09:14

Obugi  Villager

# 4 Taslim, Busy as I am, I couldn't help posting to thank you 4 this beautiful piece. Given the state of mind of almost all Nigerians today, which espouses the Obiageli spirit, it is doubtful if we can ever develop or achieve the desired level of decent living and well being that we crave for everyday. According to Adam Smith, “the real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it” Furthermore both Christianity and Islam talk about diligence and condemn laziness and stealing. I have written on this Nigerian penchant for theft and aversion 2 risk and hard work on previous occassions. See the thread: Fuel Subsidy Debate Grown wo/men are not ashamed to benefit from the theft of property from their fellow citizens. Yet we say we are compatriots. The disease extends right to our desire 2 live in the ready-made enabling environments created by others. Ask the diasporan and he will huff and puff, "I work hard in America" or "I earned post fellowship doctoral degree, so I deserve a job". Not that being a jobber is wrong, or being risk averse is necessarily bad in all circumstances, but the problem is that ALL of us are like that. There is no variety at all in the African outlook on life. We just do whatever will feed us, clothe us and sex us up for the moment. Surprisingly, the worst afflicted are precisely the most educated amongst us. People are deathly afraid of even taking the risk of being different.......and why not, when your fellow Africans will readily tear you to pieces! Our ppl lack an elementary comprehension of risk/reward and simple economics. Africans are like animals, they act on pure instinct alone. You have to wonder how it is ever going to be possible for such a ppl to create a livable community that they would want to live in. Let's keep waiting 4 God. Yeye people. Obugi. Posted by Obugi| 07.11.2006 09:50

Abraxas  Villager

# 5 Hi, Mr. Taslim ANIBABA (FCA)!! Ahhemmm! Kp-h-he-hemmhhm-Kp-hemmhhm!!! Sorry-o. Err... em …mmhhhhmm, make I clear my t'roat sef, see road: … Ehen, first of all, I want make you rememba say na exactly 6 months, 21 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes, and 13 seconds wey remain make dat yeye man …em, em,.... wetin be dat ‘im name again sef, ehm, em, e-h-e-n ….. Ogbeni Atata, Balogun Zeneral Matiyu Segun Okikiolakan Aremu OBASANJO (GCFR) go com’mot finally (pata-pata) from Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, go siddon, cool-e, for ‘im fillage wey dey for Ibogun, via Owu. I beg, make you no forget-o! Also, before you forget to remember, make I take ALLAH beg you welli-welli-o. I beg, jo, n’tori Olodumare, n’tori Olorun, biko nu, paa sisi, make you helep us make our Fillage sweet for boat ogbonge Fillagers like you, and fisitors, by not presenting off-topic gist, or partaking in gratuitous rudeness, and/or ad-hominem insults, or/and covert or overt ethnocentric slurs and/or racial chauvinism, or/and pro-Aso Rock Villa sycophancy, and/or PARTICULARLY pro-establishment praise-singing, or/and executive arsehole hair licking, and/or ego massaging. Consequently, I implore you to always consciously endeavour to partake in civilized exchange of creativity and progressive thoughts, like the article on this thread, whenever you happen to be in the Square. (I beg, jo, I take GOD beg you). Finally, by the powers conferred on me, on behalf of the Global Coalition for the Total De-Militarization of Nigerian Politics, post-Obasanjo, the Special Task Force on the Effective Evacuation of Balogun Okikiolakan from Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, to Ibogun, via Owu, via Abeokuta, and the Pan-Nigerian Alliance for the Expedited Impeachment of both General Olusegun OBASANJO (GCFR), and Customs Officer Atiku ABUBAKAR (GCON), I do hereby cordially welcome you back, very wholeheartedly and warmly, on board the Nigerian Village Square. Welcome back on board the flagship of the Nigerian cyber-literati, and cheerio! Muchas gracias. Don Juan Carlos ABRAXAS (III). (His Eminence, Sheikh Sadiq d’Fcuk of Sakkwato Sultanate & Dubai Emirate) (Welcomer-in-Chief) Posted by Abraxas| 07.11.2006 09:53

omobaale  JJC

# 6 Mr. Anibaba, thank you for a wonderful article! Funny enough, I was just thinking of writing such an article with the central theme being whether our media reenforces our politicians' and their ill-doings. I was going to research just how many articles are written about Obasanjo's 3rd term, Ladoja's impeachment or all the monies that have been stolen. I wonder how many articles have been written on business ideas or praising successful people and detailing their roads to success and not just giving highlights and pacifiers. How many articles encourage us to emulate their steps to success apart from the flashy cars, clothes and jewelry that oppress us and really encourage stealing? I believe that if we are able to show that tons of money can be made legitimately, if we are able to demonstrate the value in working hard and self discipline, if we can show how having inner peace, self respect and self pride in yourself are more valuable than keeping up with the Johnsons we might begin the turn the tide. Furthermore, I believe that the politicians and the ex-politicians and all the rest of their gang who have raped, sodomized, and stolen from the rest of us are but 5% of the population so why do we concentrate on them? Why do we accord them front page and bother to write and comment on them? If that is not a life you subscribe to they should be nothing to you. It's the 75% who are poor and hungry we should be concerned with. It's the 20% who make up the lower to middle classes who struggle everyday to irk out a living. Those are the true heroes of our country and we should be writing about them and praising them as such. Why are we not applauding their honesty? One lesson i have learnt that is so true is that if you are going to point out something is wrong, you better offer a solution. So if Mr Anibaba and me and the other commentators are going to point out that this is wrong, it behooves us to offer a possible solution. If we do not, we are worse than the ones we set out to correct in the first place because all we have done is exercised our penmanship and got a few nods in the process. We have done less than nothing because at least Ali Baba and his 40 thieves are stealing and think what you like but it aint easy to steal. For one thing i dont think you sleep with your 2 eyes closed. So what are we going to do about it? Are we going to come together to brainstorm on a solution and create something no matter how small that can be held up and shown to the world that see what can be done? I think we can and we should. But Mr Anibaba you will find the twin brother of Nigeria's Archilles heel - enjoyment - will at that moment raise its also ugly head and sneer "it will fail because you people do not and will not trust each other". We need trust to work together. A society without trust is what - Nigeria - a failed state. I'll give you something else to think about as it has made me think. My company released its quarterly newsletter today detailing the state of the economy and investments especially in emerging markets - its for public viewing so i'm not breaking any codes. Some facts: Global commercial real estate is valued at $15 - $20 trillion Total equity market capitalization of all US stocks is about $18 trillion Private equity firms have raised more than $300b since 2005 - 2006 is not yet over They now control over $1 trillion of funds and with leverage this represents $4-$5 trillion in purchasing power. And Ali Baba and his gang have stolen what $500b since 1960? In fact they should be flogged because in 40 something odd years that's all the wealth they could generate. The US has an est. population of 300m while Nigeria has est 150m so maybe it truly is a case of our classmate (the US) has 2 heads and that's why he is coming first and we are last. I agree with the person who wrote the article was romantic. It was and it was well-written but Mr. Anibaba, it fell short. Where is your solution? Even in the Bible, if you remove an evil spirit, replace it with something good and strong because the dark ones will come back and bring their family and friends - Ali Baba will return with not just his 40 thieves but they will come back with their wives, children, grandchildren, neighbors, extended family, girlfriends, mistresses and they will keep coming back! Posted by omobaale| 07.11.2006 20:27

What?  Villager

# 7 Great article, but I would like us to look at the root of the offending tree before we prune it. Nigeria was formed as a contraption to loot and exploit the natives under the guise of bringing civilization and western services such as education and healthcare. Despite the myopic and uninformed wails that things were better under colonization, education and healthcare past the barest minimum to sustain life to early adulthood and serve the exploitative process were available mostly to the wealthy.The average native who was not empowered by the imposed state of affairs did the most sensible thing, they extracted as much as they could while giving back as little as possible. Fast foward to 2006, Nigeria is still built around extracting raw materials and then re-selling the value added goods to the population, while rationing education and healthcare to those who can afford it often by playing by the rules of exploitation. Those with less formidable resources try to extract as much for as little effort Most 'Nigerians' care about the next ethnic group as long as they can get as much for as little as possible without complaint and see the state as a source of providing services they are not obliged to pay for, even at a fair market-driven price. Even moreso, these services are now part of their rights without considering how they are funded, or what contributions they can make if only to better the lot of their own village only. The worst culprits are the elite who now see themselves as the District Officers and demand their tribute even though most of them are only good for collecting salaries while grumbling and sulking their way through work every day and cursing the wretched country and wretched people they have been forced to work among. The colonial officers did it so they assume that a western education automatically qualifies them of a certain lifestyle without any risk or extra effort. The overseas natives now demand that their current environment be re-created in Nigeria before they deem the environment conducive, yet Asians are flooding their country seem oblivious to the poor enabling environment. Despite this the Nigerian believes that the country he is in came with a kit from Home Depot for infrastructure, ignoring that his ancestors who founded civilizations with the resources they could carry on his back while transporting themselves on foot. The moral of this winding treatise is though the Union Jack went down, the colonization was absolute going by the failure of African political, economic, and moral culture to evolve and fill the vacuum. As such people are still doing what they know and making up the rest as they go along. The concept of ownership touted in business circles is alien to the Nigerian , that is why they gleefully shout to the world all sorts of nasty statements both true and false about Nigeria. They claim it is because they like truth and uprightness yet none will come out and announce their sibling has bad breath or webbed toes in the name of being righteous. Nigerians are still trapped in States that are long gone, or never existed, or may only be viable based on mutually beneficial alliances with their neighbors. The importance of forming new alliances and common interests to further their existence as independent and self-sufficient people is not seen as important, the most important is acceptance from the colonizers as being civilized, possible appointments to oversee the exploitation of other natives for primitive accumulation with a few visas thrown in as bonuses. Posted by What?| 07.11.2006 23:32

tanibaba  Villager

# 8 I want to thank you all for your wonderful contributions. I want to especially thank Abraxas (my sparing partner) for his magnanimity and words of encouragement. Your contributions are so true that no further comments will be made by me except in the following two cases: @Ani You wrote: In the estate where i reside, there are well over 1000 houses/flats, so if i don't pay mine, i should see very visible infrastructural development with the money others paid.All i see is worsening road conditions, no working streetlights, no adequate security. i see no incentive to pay my estate dues. afterall no be estate executives pay my rent ! Your thoughts reminded me of a story about a King who wanted to test the loyalty and love of his subjects. He directed that each of his subjects should drop a can of milk at the villagesquare. Somehow each of these subjects thought independently “if I don’t drop mine, others will” and so refused to do as the king had directed. The result was that there was no milk at the villagesquare for the king to drink. This is something for you to think about because the assumed “money others paid” may be a hoax . @ Omobaale You wrote: So if Mr Anibaba and me and the other commentators are going to point out that this is wrong, it behooves us to offer a possible solution. If we do not, we are worse than the ones we set out to correct in the first place because all we have done is exercised our penmanship and got a few nods in the process. We have done less than nothing because at least Ali Baba and his 40 thieves are stealing and think what you like but it aint easy to steal. For one thing i dont think you sleep with your 2 eyes closed I enjoyed and agreed with your views until you got to this junction. It is true that I have always, like many others called for not only complaints but suggested solutions. However, the fact that a writer is not suggesting solutions does not make him/her “than the ones we set out to correct in the first place”. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. The first automobile, plane or house is almost likely to be different from what we have today. Generating ideas or being able to identify lapses, abnormal behaviour or shortfall is a great task on its own. My contacts with marketing and management theories also revealed that while some people are very good in formulating ideas or identifying opportunities, some other people are better at execution, maintenance and improvements. Can you ever believe that Whitney Huston will cart away awards by singing an old song first made popular by Dolly Parton. With respect to this article, suggested solutions are embedded but they are not sufficient. They are not sufficient because the problem is pervasive cutting across social, ethnic, religious etc strata and manifests in different forms. It is hydra-headed and tends to be more of a psychological/spiritual problem. Perhaps a better economy and as some people have suggested, a spiritual rebirth will help. However, I am aware that this will take us to the egg/chicken story. With Obiageli mentality, a better economy is almost likely to be a mirage. With the level of poverty so high and the pathological feeling of insecurity by almost everybody including those with billions of dollars both here and overseas it is difficult to proffer lasting solutions. For any solution, other than the Rawlings option (which a Mahatma Ghandi will oppose) which has its own drawbacks such solution needs to be detailed and phased over time. Or we forget about this “generation with sticky fingers” and concentrate on the next generation. Unfortunately we are now trying to take education away from that generation. It is a vicious cycle. Thanks for your perspectives Taslim Posted by tanibaba| 08.11.2006 05:04

truthsayer33  Villager

# 9 if only the writer praised the bean cake seller for turning up every morning to sell cheap and nourishing food......our problem is that we do not even notice the diligence of the many people who manage to make life bearable in nigeria. I praise the okada boys,the hawkers at motor parks risking life and limb to sell their wares,the money changer who gives you the exact amount promised and of course the Suya man who brings spicy flavour to polluted and fetid Lagos. Posted by truthsayer33| 08.11.2006 08:37

.bebi  Villager

# 10 =truthsayer33;137871>if only the writer praised the bean cake seller for turning up every morning to sell cheap and nourishing food......our problem is that we do not even notice the diligence of the many people who manage to make life bearable in nigeria. I praise the okada boys,the hawkers at motor parks risking life and limb to sell their wares,the money changer who gives you the exact amount promised and of course the Suya man who brings spicy flavour to polluted and fetid Lagos. these people mentioned are trying to make ends meet but not all are honest.e be like say they never cheat u before. taslim,u did a good job on the article but now u have confused non-ibos with this your obiageli interpretation.lol Posted by .bebi| 09.11.2006 08:18