On reading paragraph one of "America's snubbing of Nigeria: BY TUNDE FAGBENLE" (About Nigeria's strategic importance more later, suffice it to say that should Nigeria be further destabilised, as we all know, that would impact on not only the rest of the ECOWAS region, but even on the US of A )
You know, I personally deleted more than 1,000 (one thousand) of my postings at FOISL - because I'm not in competition with anyone and I did so just to show someone that I don't care a pig's tail about competition, especially competition with any big bad black start guitar and there are so many – many, very different, some not so unique, some are inspirational and I have been following them closely for years. In all fields, there are those we look up to. I guess it's cultural. It's also a matter of common sense, not just judge-mental intelligence On the word front Ishmael Reed is one such. He's got charisma, flair ,he's got spunk. Among many others, Cornel West too. He's not a lacklustre, pathetic wanna be academic, sounding off making most noise and signifying nuttin', like a white man's castrated fat little eunuch - a decorated black sambo, with some predictable, recycled pedestrian, mumbo-jumbo & still dreaming of being tha USA-Africa series' Fidel Castro when Wes Montgomery's in da hall
As they say "He who is down fears no fall." Others say keep a low profile
– keep a low profile until you die?
I guess that's part of it. With Nigeria, it's the opposite:
Big boss,
Most populous,
Nigeria the biggest guy on the continental block
cannot - will not and certainly does not want to keep a low profile or whisper, I'm Black and proud!
In my experience if you offend a Nigerian and he or she gets really pissed - you can forget about that important component of Yom Kippur, about man having to forgive man, about man having to seek forgiveness from his fellow man because the Almighty cannot do that for you,because sufficiently pissed the N -man - he'll say, "God punish you!"and really mean it. A taxi driver almost runs over a pedestrian and what do you hear - not " Thank God! That was a narrow escape", but
"God PUNISH you!". I've heard others say "Only God forgives!" - although some offences that man commits against his fellow man can only be forgiven by his fellow man.(I'm still waiting for forgiveness for not attending someone's Sabbath dinner.)
As The Last Poets Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan, and Abiodun Oyewole say (although they were not chanting specifically about Nigerians,
"The first thing they say when they're mad: 'Fuck it' You play a little too much with them They say 'Fuck you'" And when sufficiently really pissed, they say "GOD punish you!
I hope that when it comes to Nigeria being bypassed, this Brother Obama's first second term visit to Africa, Nigerians will eventually forgive Brother Obama (in their hearts) and not by their lips only or in some big grammar articles. Surely, Nigeria is big enough to understand AND forgive. Nigeria knows that the Almighty is mightier than Nigeria. The problem is that sometimes the US of A, think that they are The Almighty – just as that rich man got to understand that it was he himself that was being referred to as the Almighty, when he asked his poor-boy daughter's suitor "And who is going to buy my daughter beautiful Jewellery ?" to which the poor boy answered humbly,"The Almighty will provide!" - followed by "And who is going to buy her the latest designs from the fashion houses of Paris, Milan and Helsinki ?" to which the poor boy again humbly,replied, "The Almighty will provide." "It was at that point", Mr. Cuba told me, at Norra Bantorget, "it was at that point that the rich man realised that it was he himself that was being referred to as "the Almighty."Sometimes it's ditto with the US. Some of the bread-basket development aid cases and assorted, power-hungry sycophants are standing in line outside the bathroom door with the toilet paper in hand, knocking on the door politely enquiring if the boss would like to have his ass wiped. The Nigerians that I know do not have that mentality – on the contrary, they can be like John Amos in " Coming to America" - one moment when he's pleased he's smiling and courtesying to his majesty the prince and the next moment when he's really pissed, he's threatening His majesty face to face and you hear him saying, " Now, you say one more word about Lisa, and I'll break my foot off in your royal ass! " - that's Nigeria for you. That's the real Nigerian. He doesn't take too much nonsense. He can take some nonsense, yes up to a certain point - but you don't cross his red line, without at least verbal or physical punish-ment.
A few simple facts :
Nigeria is bigger than Obama.
Looking at reality squarely in the eye the tears and disappointment that's "lamenting Nigeria's exclusion from America's President Obama's forthcoming African tour", simultaneously realises that altogether a good fifty African countries great and small are also excluded from Brother Obama's visit to the fatherland. The people on both banks of the River Gambia are also weeping profusely and increasing the water levels of that river – although with Brother Obama visiting Senegal, the Gambia should feel at least partly included - as the English poet requested in that love poem to his girl friend, "Let me be the Gambia in your Senegal". But it's tears for many of the other mighty nations among the excluded (although the presidents of Senegal, Sierra Leone,Malawi, Cape Verde were special invitees to the White House late in march this year. But what about other big little nations like landlocked Lesotho and Djibouti just by the sea - do the tears of their little populations not amount to much? And what about the Congos? Mafia Congo (where the difference between the bloated pictures of Kabila that adorn Kinshasa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is that the picture posters are more developed than the country) and what about Brazza? If it were logistically (and realistically) possible, then Brother Obama who can, would (if he only could) visit one and all, each and every country, possibly rounding it all up in Obamaland, Kenyatta's Kenya for the grand finale before Air Force One jets Brother Obama and First Lady Michelle & all on board back to the United States of America...
The crime/criminal offence : Visiting Africa and not touching down to pay homage to Nigeria! Hurting someone else's national pride.
Because it sounds like that's what the larger-than-life,chest-beating patriotic Nigerians want: that others (all black men and wo-men - and especially powerful leaders with an atom of black blood should first and foremost pay homage to Nigeria.
To me - as badly informed as I am, it reeks less of a snub and more of an avoidance a deliberate avoidance and almost of necessity – the avoidance of a hornet's nest. Having to preach once again – about terrorism with Boko Haram likely to perpetrate some spectacular terrorist offensives during an Obama visit - just to embarrass Goodluck Jonathan – even then fortuitously so since that would be the most opportune time for President Jonathan to request some drones with which to hide-and -hit the terrorists – a request that he could be less likely to refuse in such circumstances – once again, the main reservation being such sophisticated technology falling into the wrong hands
Now if there was a United States of Africa then Brother Obama would touch down in the capital – Addis Ababa or Abuja or Khartoum or Pretoria or wherever and then each individual state would not be complaining about having been marginalised, snubbed or terminalised …
Some regard this flying over Nigeria without stopping by as the equivalent of the US president making a one week-long visit to Asia and not stopping by to say hello in China or India. Or visiting South America without stopping over in the papal sub- headquarters in Buenos Aires. Sorry.
To be continued
http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/corneliushamelberg/
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