Allah is Not Obliged...

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Yoruba: Oore tí a ṣe fádìẹ ò gbé; bó pẹ́ títí a ṣomi tooro síni lẹ́nu.
Eng: The favor one does a chicken is not for nought; in due course it will make stew to delight one's mouth. - Yoruba Proverb.
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This is how this books starts. When I bought it at Farafina, Lagos, I started reading in once I got home. As soon as I read the first line, I thought, Oh no! Let's put this aside and have it as dessert. Great decision because after very tough and more in-depth books, the lightness of this story (even despite the war and wild-west context) was soothing. Birahima is hilarious. Such a good book. If Ahmadou Kourouma were alive, I would love to listen to stories at his feet.

Page 1.

Birahima uses his dictionaries (which were gifted to him) to dig out big words and then explains to the reader what the words mean as if he grew up understanding these words. What's funny is half the time, he abandons the actual definition and just explains it the way he knows best.

Page 126

Haha, Birahima sha. I'll stay with this character for a long time just like I did with Uwem Akpan's characters.

Page 163

The book is saturated with innocent comments like the ones below. Well, innocence or sarcasm depending on how you see the world. 

Page 176

Page 203

Birahima is a child-soldier. So, his storytelling is very much like that of a child but his environment shows up in the words he uses A LOT. Faforo, walahe, gnamokode, nigger, fuck, shit, bitch, etc.

Biko, because of literature, read this book!

NakedSha.

Inside my head {1}

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
"Arugbo Ojo, Iwo laseda, lameda, laweda o. Iwo loni ogo, loni ola...Arugbo Ojo."
......................................................................................................................................
* The stories that I want to tell but cannot arrange, torment me. Is there another language but speech and written words? Should I dance out my stories as they are in my head? This dance will be scattered.

* I have not learned how to ache properly. "Brittle" and I share a trait.

* Many things will die with me like my quest to read the charms of the juju man.

* You can get into my head because I think simple. But men and women like to think too deep. So, they read my thoughts and pass them as thoughts of sheep.

* I would like the red mud mixture that the indigenous women of the Himba ethnic group of Opuwo, Namibia use on their skin.

* My greatest inspiration remains the plain, white wall. I have found countless stories staring at it.

* I am like Kirikou.

* Arugbo Ojo, Iwo laseda, lameda, laweda o. Iwo loni ogo, loni ola...Arugbo Ojo.

* If I pass before I bear a child, wear white. If I pass after I bear a child, wear Polka Dot.

NOW READING:

{* How I want to be more and more like Jesus. That is faith, not religion.}

NakedSha.

My fascination with the Juju man / Books of 2010

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Esan (Ishan): Ẹwa’ẹn Aah rẹ gbi udia nọ timan bhi ikpẹkẹn. 
Eng: Killing a tsetse fly that perches on one’s scrotum demands wisdom. - Esan Proverb
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[I am fascinated by the juju man. His confidence (in his god) is on another level. He turns everything into a toy. He takes food for the gods and them eats them. The man, and his priests, cannot whisper. They must shout. Perhaps the god of the juju man is half deaf. A long time ago, being from Ogbomos(h)o and Benin City, could I have become a juju priestess?


But I have never seen a juju woman.


I am writing a story about a juju man; I have had to find out a lot about him. But each juju man differs from the next one. If I dare enough, I will write about a juju woman.]


On another note:
[What books do we have lined up to read in 2011? I've presented my list [of Nigerian books] below. There are just five books listed and definitely, I will read more than that but I usually pick as I go. I will also be reading non-Nigerian literature, of course. Please share yours so that we can all be aware of books that are out / good.  I'm so excited for the new year, 2010 was a fantastic literary year.] 


1. Feddie Girl                                          - Nona David
2. You Must Set Forth at Dawn             - Prof. Wole Soyinka
3. The Icarus Girl                                   -Helen Oyeyemi
4. The Blacksmith's Daughter               - Ngozi Achebe
5.  Abyssinian Boy                                  - Onyeka Nwelue


To see the books I read in 2010, check here.


Have a Blessed Rest-of-the-year, 2010,
NakedSha.

Blind Boy

...Omonoba..
Our people say:

• An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb 

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Just Read : 'This Child Will Be Great' by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf {Liberian president and first female president of any African country}.

Now Reading: 'Virgin of Flames' by Christopher Abani.
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One creative  blog which I think everyone should check out : http://www.newdressaday.com/
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Ever wondered what a blind person may see? How a blind person - from birth - may dream? I'm meeting up with a blind person very soon; it's been postponed over and over again. Will keep you updated. I wrote a poem:

Blind Boy.

Blind boy, what do you see?

Nothingness?

Flimsy film of darkness

melting into oblivion?

Circles of illusive light

wolfed by pitch black

before light can be seen?

Like a drop of your tears

engulfed by a fervent tide.

Blind boy, you do not see

this bedlam.

The light and the form

have conquered this place.

The sanity here is thinner

than a sharpened pencil tip.

Our plenty light is too much.

The sight of your ear and those

of your skin and your stick

are sufficient for fulfillment.

Blessings,

My name is NakedSha.

Tell them why you're a little happier.

...Omonoba...
Our People Say:
Eng: It is only when you kill a mad man that you will find out that he has relatives. - Igbo Proverb.
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I read the book: I do not Come to You by Chance written by Adaobi Nwaubani. I liked it a lot. I'm not very great at doing reviews so this would be quite brief. Her sentences are crisp and clear and she sometimes uses repitition and common language to drive home her point. I like her writing style more than any other aspect of this book. Also, she tells a story of '419' (scam(s)) and the daily conflicts between becoming a 'big-boy' and providing for family from the '419' business in everyday Nigeria. I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a next book authored by a Nigerian. I have a slight fetish for long and complex native names and two characters (even though, minor) in this book had interesting Igbo names (Chikaodinaka and Odinkemelu).  The book was generally well sentenced and the grammar was clean except for one sentence that peeved me:

'...none of his posters were...' 

This grammatical error is so common and even the editor probably missed it. But oh well!

On a similar note, My friend, Osondu Awaraka reviews books very well. Both of us are in a book-reading pact for this new semester because we were slacking slightly. As I go, I'll update my list of read books and keep you in the loop. Visit his blog and let him know what you think about it. I am currently reading Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah. I know I'm late but better late than never. As usual, I'd let you know what I think when I'm done.

Yesterday, I had these delicious Nigerian Village-tasting pineapples for breakfast:

{Pineapples from Sprouts Farmer's Market.}

Eat more fruits and read more books. Then tell others why you're a little happier...

Once in a while, I bleed...

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Yoruba: Onísùúrù ní ńse oko omo Aláhúsá.
Eng: Only the patient person will win the daughter of the Hausa man. - Yoruba Proverb.
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It's a lot of work to find oneself all over again. It's very interesting and rewarding but it's not always easy. It's HARD. One of those things that eventually, one can say is truly WORTH THE WHILE.
.........................................................................................................................
Jaycee, FYI: I have fallen in love with Coelho...big time.
.......................................................................................................................
I grew up exposed to so many different cultures understanding that I am bi-cultural and permit me to claim the Rivers state heritage also since I grew up there and will forever have nostalgic churns in my stomach and flooded eyes with the mention of The Old Place. Moving later on away from this bliss - this perfection of love and joy and togetherness - I was already biased against wherever it was that I would be moving to. I partly blame my dislike for the new place therefore, on this warped state of my mind. But, I wish it proved me wrong and at least fought to correct my impression. Almost everything was different from what I recognized as normal and yet the new place is within Nigeria. Suddenly, it was an issue that I had grown up in The Old Place and not somewhere else. Growing up in a different environment from what everyone else was used to the meant that I was spoiled and too easy-going and accepting of others. All of a sudden, it was thrown in my face that I was not just the normal Yoruba girl - I had Edo blood and therefore, I must be diluted. I, along with the ones that I love, fought to try to explain carefully that it was beautiful to be immersed in other cultures and learn from them but that was a futile move. Then, I chose instead to watch how things were done and why they were done as such in the new place. It was quite difficult to determine but with time, it was clear. Now, I'm terribly flooded with awful memories of wickedness. It is wickedness because this new place sought bitterly to rid me of the simplicity that I had known and the love that will help to move the world forward - the kind that even Christ would approve of. In all honesty, if I could, I would get rid of every single moment in the new place and grow up until this point in The Old Place because (TOP) reminds me of stripped beauty and love. Last Christmas, when I made my annual trip back home, I went through (TOP) and dare I say that I would not be doing this again. Landing in (TOP) had me crying uncontrollably because I was almost forced out of there and definitely not to a better place. Sleeping in its hotel bed over-night was much better though because we - the city and I - seemed to be communicating and catching up on old times and I heard it almost audibly reach out its comforting arms to me. The next morning, I moved on to the new place. Now, I think I may return home to serve (NYSC) since those of us who go to school outside Nigeria have a choice of where we may serve. People have sworn that I would choose Abuja or Calabar or The New Place...and betray (TOP)? Never! It was almost as if I was turning mad with all my nostalgic outbreaks regarding this city where I grew and lived and learned and failed and succeeded and schooled and then left by everything but choice, until one of the ones that I love recently confessed that he felt the same way too. So, the militants had control over it for a while and it does not necessarily have the most cinema houses or shopping malls but I understand the language of the earth of the Garden City and it understands mine. So, tomorrow, when I want to write a memoir of my life, I would make sure that honor is given to whom honor is due. Maybe if I was removed to a better place or at the very worst, the same place but with a different experience, I would have a different story to tell. But every time I speak of my childhood, I speak of love and peace and my eyes cry. The new place - the one that I have tried so hard to love - does not feel the same.
...........................................................................................................................

And The Old Place (and all the people who were in it with me) taught me to see far beyond tribe and culture and see a person for who he / she is. The new place fought hard to make me myopic.

From bleeding NakedSha,
Bless...

I wake up in the morning...

...Omonoba...
Our people say:

Yoruba: Kò sí ohun tí ńle tí kì í ro.
Eng: There is nothing that gets hard that does not eventually become soft. -Yoruba Proverb.
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Today's thoughts: 'Find self and then let go of it'- NakedSha.
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From a prev. post:

When I read a book, I am privileged to create my own imagery and enter into the world of the characters. I form a relationshop with them - the characters - and we communicate. It is as if I am a part of their story and I become equipped to re-tell it. When I watch a movie, I am subjected to the point-of-view of the director. Good movies are awesome but good books are even better. Go Books!
-NakedSha.
(This post can be found here).

{Six months ago; the hair was still so low - almost gorimakpa :|}

Books are fun, books are great

Let's sit down with a book today

Books are fun, books are great

Let's sit down with a book today

It's time to read a book.

-Barney and Friends.

I have just opened the first page of the book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Hopefully, I would fall in love with the author. At the right corner of my blog, I have a list of books I have read this year (2010).
Find yourself a good book today and read.

Bless,
NakedSha.

This is Why I read

...Omonoba...
Our People Say:
Eng: If the singer is a fool, the listener is also a fool.- Ijaw Proverb.
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I did a post sometime ago titled This is Why I Write. But writing is not the only thing I do. I cannot get enough of good books. Every writer is a reader and every good writer is an even better reader.

When I read a book, I am privileged to create my own imagery and enter into the world of the characters. I form a relationship with them- the characters-and we communicate. It is as if I am a part of their story and I become equipped to re-tell it. When I watch a movie, I am subjected to the point of view of the director. Good movies are awesome but good books are even better! Go Books!!! 
- NakedSha.


This is why I read.

From under the tree: Tolu Akanni's Story.

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Yoruba: Ó pé títí ni “A-benu-bí-enu-òbo”; ká sá so pé, “Ìwọ Lámonrín, òbo ni ó.”
Eng: It is mere circumlocution to say “A person has a mouth like a monkey's”; one should rather say, “You, so-and-so, you are a monkey.” - Yoruba Proverb.
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Hello beautiful people,

It is exciting to see the results of the NigerianBlogAwards 2010, category A. Congratulations to all the winners. I am thrilled for you and you all deserve this.

I came in contact with Tolu Akanni, who I think is very phenomenal. He is a fellow blogger, a student of class '10, an entrepreneur and now, a writer. Tolu has written a book called A-Z Life Lessons which would be launched officially at the TerraKulture, Lagos, on the 9th of July, 2010. If you are in Lagos, you definitely should be there. I felt obliged to share this persona with you all. Since Tolu has received / is receiving a lot of attention on blog(s)ville regarding the author side of him, I decided to showcase the other interesting parts of him. Here goes:

Could you give us a brief biography about yourself and an insight into your latest project, A-Z Life lesson? 

I was born and raised in Lagos Nigeria. I had a very interesting childhood growing up with a very good relationship with my two brothers who are 9 and 7 years older than me. This accelerated my maturity as a growing child and I was always a step ahead. I am a product of influence and I am able to command the level of things I command today because of God and the people He has surrounded me with who have given me the opportunity to express myself. This book took me 365days, but the interesting thing is that I never started out to write a book. The book is purely a compilation of a selection I made from my 365-day old archive of written thoughts. I found it publication-worthy, my friends liked the idea, and with the right encouragement from friends I resolved to show it to the world. A-Z LIFE LESSONS is just the beginning. 

What has the blogging experience been like and what has the general reaction been towards this book?

I started blogging in July 2009.The blogging community has been very supportive. The likes of Harry, Myne Whitman and Muyiwa have been pushing the right buttons on my behalf, also comments on the book excerpts I put up online have been fantastic.  The book was dedicated to God on my 21st birthday. The demo copy was made available for viewing to guests that were present at the birthday gig and there was no one that didn't like it, in fact they all loved it. Most people that have heard about the book in my school can't wait to buy their copies. My Lagos friends are equally anticipating my July 9 Lagos launch. Mr Fela Durotoye of Visible Impact has endorsed the book and Mr Leke Alder of Alder Consultancy has also commended my efforts in writing a book that lovely; to me that's a great start.  

Electrical Engineering and Motivational Writing?

Writing started off for me as something I fell back to at moments of boredom then my passion to add value to lives set in. I wrote my first article, "A-Z OF SCHOOL: 26things that made primary & secondary school worthwhile in our days" in March 2009 during my internship. That particular article was featured in the 1st edition of Mitre Magazine, published July 2009. I love to think, I love to create, I enjoy strategy, I'm all about improving values and that is what my branding, events and business consultancy outfit, El Fiz Concept is all about; that is where my passion lies for now. But it might interest you to know my passion for creativity is very relevant to my degree, so in the long run these 5years walk in earning this degree would not be in vain considering the fact that I have esoteric long term plans to establish myself in that industry. Writing is not a full-time career for me; it is something I resolve to after my regular career day- it's just an overflow of my thoughts. 

Favorite book(s) / author(s)?

Think big by Dr Ben Carson

Think like a billionaire by Donald Trump

Life as I see it by Leke Alder

Parable of dollars by Rev Sam Adeyemi

Food or Fruits?

Fooooooooooood, then fruits.

Zobo or Kunu or Palwine?

Kunu.

A book that you currently are reading?

What's your excuse by John P. Foppe.

One thing that you would like to tell upcoming writers that no one told you

You might start out writing for yourself, but soon you will wake up to realise that your stuff should not be limited to the pages of your personal journal, you will soon wake up with a burning desire to have the world read your piece but don't rush. Slowly but surely you will get there, just seek to add value.

If you were a type of food, what would you be and why.

Chicken and chips, because I'm the kind of guy you will always want to hang out with.

If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on?

The 10% that makes the remainder relevant would go to God, 50% on my business, and for the remaining 40% I would spend big on my parents and I would treat myself to a great deal of vain pleasures - fancy cars, clothes, houses, vacations.

How would you explain childbirth to a four year old?

It is the point in time when mummy will go to the hospital with her big belly and she will come back home with a small belly and a baby in her hands.

I thought his story had to be told. Thank you for reading!

Inside my black tote!

...Omonoba...

I have this black tote which I carry to school. I used to have a red one previously and then a backpack but the red one became too small and the backpack was just less convenient. So, I got this black tote. I like it a lot, its big, roomy and has enough compartments for all the stuff I will need from the moment I walk out of my room door. Even though I live on campus, I try not to return to my room (which by the way, is on the other end of campus from majority of my classes) before I'm through because my bed has very seductive tendencies and ha, sometimes I happen to yield. And, when I see my guitar and my laptop (which I have stopped carrying around for obvious reasons), there will be 6 million things to do other than school work.
Anyway, here's what's usually inside my black bag. This was today's content:












I live in a very dry region and always have to be prepared. I haven't used a lot of make-up this semester but I have my Estee Lauder set always :) and of course some vaseline(yes! I'm from Nigeria).


With my needle, thread and pins, i can fix a whole lot. I have the stack in my room, handy! Those who know me know that I LOVE my fruits. That's the second apple this morning, as at now while I'm typing this, I've eaten it...
Its C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O and we could have four weather types in one day. I cannot be caught unawares oh...my beanie (which I have never worn by the way)and gloves. I usually have a pashmina also.

































I actually just finished reading Myne Whitman's book, A HEART TO MEND. It was good, I recommend it.
My Buff Card (my school ID card) but without my ID details, sorry guys! And, my planner. Phew! Bless God for planners.

As a student, I always have my books with me. Again, I try to grab any free time to get homework done or study. And these books are so big, so thankfully, the tote is even bigger :)
That Marie Claire magazine, I have not read :( I don't know why they still send me mags after I have cancelled my subscription.




AND....*drum rolls*

MY BIBLE. My Bible is my map, my mirror and a lamp to my feet. It goes everywhere with me and is my favourite book ever! I need it to be able to pop open when I need my questions answered. Best place to be!

I mean, I'm thankful for the bag and all in it! :) Thought I'd share.