Articles

Change, Politics

#EndSARS: 365 Days from October the Twentieth

Jilomes

French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr declared in 1849 that “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. From a literal interpretation, if things that are changing end up being like the former state, how much more when no attempt is made at creating a change, or when such change, though promised, takes up residence in a large void filled with disclaimed promises. One year after the popular protests tagged #EndSARS, has anything really changed with Nigerian policing?

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Politics

Of Biafra, IPOB and Diabolic Strategies

Jilomes

“So, Jonah, what do you think about IPOB?” This question, posed by an Igbo friend, would lead to a discussion between myself, the questioner, and a second Igbo friend; none of us fans of IPOB, and has also triggered this article. In case you are uninitiated, IPOB stands for the Indigenous People of Biafra, an organisation that seeks the formation of a new country called Biafra, and that appears to assume that someone like me, a non-Igbo from Rivers State, is automatically and unquestionably a citizen of Biafra.

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Change, Inspiration

The Privilege Vs Responsibility Divide

Jilomes

“Privilege is when you think something is not a problem because it’s not a problem to you personally”

David Gaider

The headline quote for this article is one that I think requires some deep introspection. But even if you were to undertake the shallowest form of reflection, it is easy to see at least one area of privilege regardless of how badly you think you lost the proverbial birth lottery. For me, my mind is burdened as I try to draw a line between privilege and responsibility. Permit me to selflessly unload my burden on you.

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Randoms

Of Scams that Seek the Unemployed

Jilomes

I once read a tweet that angrily demanded that the worst spaces in hell be reserved for those who fart in airplanes at high altitudes. If someone could be so disgusted about a natural phenomenon, imagine the anger when you see people prey on persons seeking jobs to earn a living. In a country with high unemployment levels, many persons are desperately seeking employment opportunities. Sadly, many fall prey to crooks whose job is to scam the jobless. The scammed are even the fortunate ones; some applicants are robbed, beaten, raped, or even killed.

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Change, Energy

Download Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (OCR Version)

Jilomes

On Monday, 16 August 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Bill into law, potentially setting the stage for significant changes in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. I do not intend to provide any real commentary on the Act. I am merely providing a populace-friendly version of the Act that can be searched electronically.

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Change, Politics

Saving Nigeria Through Resource Control

Jilomes

Of all the myriad issues that have plagued Nigeria since its independence in 1960, resource control is one of the biggest, arguably resent-laced issues that straddles everything from equity, political control, to plain expropriation. Nigeria is currently in the process of another piecemeal constitutional amendment, with resource control being a recurring demand from the oil producing region, while an affiliated demand seems to have contributed to delaying the Petroleum Industry Bill. Is there a way to redefine the pie and allow all stakeholders to go home happy?

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Inspiration

Father, Behold Thy Child

Jilomes

In an era of a myriad of re-definitions, where ancient landmarks are being removed, and the operating manual of humanity seems to be undergoing a major revision, it would seem that fathers are unnecessary vestiges of a world left behind; a time when humans thought it took two and a village to raise a child. But as a son who is father of a son, I look at the world around with a knowing that a father, if he truly be one, would always have a place in a child’s heart.

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Randoms

Nigeria is Better than America

Jilomes

Prologue: There is a message purportedly written by a Nigerian living in the US, that is being shared across WhatsApp groups. The following is a response to the points raised by the purported author.
It is adapted from a reply I posted when the message was forwarded to one group where I belong.
Note: My responses are italicised, and preceded by “Response”. The original message (by the American resident) has not been changed in any way.

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Change, Inspiration

The Big Man in Us

Jilomes

Do you know any person who used to complain about an alcoholic father, but is now an alcoholic? Or, maybe it’s someone who complained about a terrible boss, but is now competing for that title? Maybe you know a woman who always complained about her mother-in-law, but is now doing to her daughter-in-law the very things she used to whine about. I have seen a quote that says “we become what we hate”. However, I disagree. Maybe it’s not that we become what we hate, but that what we hate might be the default “normal” for humans, and we ought to actively seek to be different rather than merely complain.

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Randoms

He was Golden

Jilomes

“Jonah, daddy is dead”. With just four words on the phone, my younger brother informed me that our father had moved on. It had been a fast-paced day from collapsing in church in the morning, to resuscitation, admission in one hospital, referral to a teaching hospital, admission in the tertiary care hospital, and death just before 5pm. Lacking the emotional make-up of most humans, the only time I would shed tears would be as I fell to my knees to tell God He would be responsible for funding the burial and I had no intention of burying two parents in one year, as I worried about my mom. Less than thirty minutes after hearing my father was dead, my mind switched to burial planning mode, and I would come to realise that it takes a village to bury their child.

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