End of year party

End-of-Year Party for Lagos Writers
~
All authors and aspiring authors are hereby invited toa get-together organised by the Lagos Branch ofAssociation of Nigerian Authors (ANA Lagos), to markthe end of the year 2006.
~
Theme: The Writer and the Publishing Industry in Nigeria
~
Speakers: Osarobu Igudia and Toni Kan OnwordiSpecial
~
Guest: Mr Steve Shaba, MD, Kraft Books LTD, Ibadan
~
Date: Saturday, December 9, 2006
~
Venue: Cultural Hall, National Gallery of Art (Aina Onabolu Complex), National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
~
Time: 2.00 p.m. prompt
~
The special event, which will be spiced with exciting recitations, performances and readings from creative works of new and established writers, will present theright atmosphere for the exhibition of creative talents. All (published) authors are implored to bringcopies of their publications for presentation and sale at the event.
~
New members are enjoined to formalise their membershipon or before the December 9 fete. (Membership registration: #3,000; Annual Dues: #1,000)
~
Folu Agoi
0803 725 7165 / 0802 611 8565
Chairman, ANA Lagos

A story I Like by Anietie Isong

The Last Messenger
Anietie Isong
They called him The Last Messenger. His predictions had the uncanny precision of a chisel. Word went round that many heads of states consulted him on the calamity that might befall their nations. But where the presidents stopped, the public proceeded. In The Last Messenger's website, followers posted volleys of questions: Will Mugabe be ousted? Who will discover the cure for AIDS? What will be the fate of Neverland? Who will arrest Osama?
On 12 May, The Last Messenger presented a lecture at the Centre for Religious Studies in London. When he appeared on stage, nine people on the front row, (mostly his followers), fell to the floor, in reverence. The man wore a red robe and black sandals. The followers analysed that. They said that the colour was symbolic. Red was the colour of earth, of fertility. His voice echoed in the hall as he spoke of his role: "I am not a medicine man. Neither am I a prophet. I am just a messenger of the ancestors. We cannot possibly speak of religion without touching the subject of the ancestors. Since ancestors are nowhere and yet everywhere, it is difficult to speak of them comprehensively."
He paused and mobbed his brow with a handkerchief. The audience struggled to catch a glimpse of the piece of cloth: it was red. They exchanged knowing glances.
"Many of you would wonder who an ancestor is," The Last Messenger quipped. "I will tell you. An ancestor is someone who died a good death after having faithfully practised and transmitted to his descendants certain laws. An ancestor is a link that fosters communion between the living and the dead."
The Last Messenger argued that the living must expect much from their ancestors: protection from sickness, death, the acquisition of wealth, long life, wealth or many children. An ancestor, he announced was expected to be faithful to his earthly kin, to provide answers for their many needs.
He spoke: "In Africa, religious beliefs are found in everyday life and no distinction is made between the sacred and the secular. The African therefore does not need to prove the existence of the Creator to anyone. He is self existing and needs no proof."
There were many questions afterwards. Someone wanted to know why the ancestors did not stop the Tsunami. If the creator had so much power why couldn't he end poverty in Africa? Why didn't he do something about the corrupt leaders in that continent? Why did the genocide in Rwanda happen? Were the ancestors not drunk from drinking so much blood?
The Last Messenger answered these questions. The press reported that his countenance did not change, that his smile illuminated the hall.
"The Creator is an angry and merciful one," The Last Messenger revealed. "He is behind all the events in the world. He is the Fountain of life and power. What the world is experiencing is a phase. And like the night, this will pass."
The Last Messenger could only spare a private consultation with Ralph, a professor of history.
"Professor Ralph," The Last Messenger offered his hands. "How may I help you?"
The professor remained silent. He tapped his feet on the padded floor. Perhaps he was crazy to be there. He had written several papers on religion in Africa. He had dismissed the likes of The Last Messenger as fakes, evil geniuses who manipulated the poor people of Third World countries. Why was he there then?
"Professor," the Last Messenger called softly. "Your heart bleeds."
"Yes, my heart bleeds."
They stared at each other while time seemed still and framed.
"Life is made of journeys," the Last Messenger growled. "For some the journey never ends, it's almost everlasting. Many journey in search of wisdom, love and fortress. Many unfortunately, never find the solace they seek."
The Last Messenger noted the discomfort of the professor fading away, falling off like dry leaves on a harmattan morning.
"Messenger," Ralph"s voice quivered, "do you think that I am losing my sanity? It worries me, you see, the way my mind goes back and forth, the way my heart hammers and peace eludes me."
The Last Messenger laughed. It was said that he rarely laughed. Ralph was just one of the privileged few who witnessed his laughter.
"My dear professor, you belong to that category of people who journey in vain to seek inner peace."
"Why? I have read books. I have written, observed and studied . . ."
"Knowledge is not hidden in books. Knowledge is bestowed by the Creator. He alone decides who to give wisdom…your hands."
"What?"
"Give me your hands."
The professor extended his arms. The Last Messenger traced the lines in his palms. He closed his eyes. It was said that he saw well when his eyes were closed. He began the journey then. A mazy journey of torment and discovery. He entered the professor's innermost chambers. He climbed several staircases. But on each level of the step was a mask, a mask that shed tears. He moved quickly. But the mask was everywhere. He tried to walk with great care…
"I see a mask, professor."
Ralph was petrified. "A mask?"
"A weeping mask."
The professor felt a sensation in his throat. Perhaps he was going to die. He was going to die then in the presence of this African. Would he be mourned?
"What type of mask is that?" He was surprised he could still speak.
"An African mask with whiskers. That mask is in your bedroom now. It does not belong there."
The professor fell to the floor. (Later when he reported this to his friends, they said it must have been his knees. Professor Joe said he suspected Ralph had always had arthritis.)
"You may think that a mask is just a mask," The Last Messenger said. "But I am afraid it is not. A mask has its own soul. It has the capacity to hold and evoke memories, to build bridges to past times, peoples and places. You must return this mask to its original peoples and place…"
When Ralph rushed out of the private room, covering his ears and screaming invectives, his colleagues in psychiatry offered to treat him.
Nobody knew how the Last Messenger left England. Critics of the Labour government swore he took advantage of the lax immigration system in Britain and sneaked out through one of the loose borders.
But his followers said that he simply vanished, as he was known to have special powers.
However, in his website, the following week, The Last Messenger wrote: "Never mind the calamities we are facing now. Like night, this will pass."
Anietie Isong
Anietie Isong's native language is Ibibio, one of the many dialects in southern Nigeria. He began writing in English in primary school. English, he says, offers him "a rich palette of words to choose from. In this language, I can play around with synonyms and antonyms. For instance, I can use the following synonyms: obstacles, impediment, hurdle and snag to refer to the word, problem. In Ibibio, the vocabulary is limited." Anietie's works have been published in Okike, Farafina, Spirit of the Commonwealth, New Fiction and other media. He lives Leicester, England.
In Posse: Potentially, might be . . .
Return

When the security guard is the thief

I used to work at an airline some years back. Someday the guards who were keeping watch on the plane at the tarmac were caught sneaking away with aviation fuel, it was later discovered that that wasn't the first day. Several of them were involved. These people were paid to keep watch, to ensure that nothing is stolen from the plane but they became the thieves.

A couple of days ago, some policewomen stopped me and begged for money for the weekend. "Aunty please find something for us,abeg" one of them said. She didnt ask for my papers,or licence, all she wanted was money. Is this poverty or mere greed. She is paid an unsatisfactory salary I know, but so am I.

Something my pastor always says,oil flows from the head downwards. You probably won't find the people at NAFDAC stealing or begging. Dora has taught them better than that.
God forbid that I should ever have need to call the police, as it may just be the same begger on the street who would pick the call.

OUR DEEPEST FEAR

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light,not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, "who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous,talented,and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. we were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear,our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

This is something I came accross somewhere. Nice.

You dey suffer, you dey smile, na your fault be that.

The lyrics of the legendary Fela’s song rings loud in my ears as I speak to one subscriber after the other.
I get to work one morning, singing to myself, high from some touch of God. The conditions have been changed, the hours are longer. My target is higher, but my pay remains the same. I want to protest, I want to scream unfairness but I am afraid or as they say in my country’s language, I don’t have the liver. So I keep quiet and get on with the day’s job.
There is a guy working beside me, after every call, he swears, he curses, “I’m getting out of here, I can’t take this crap anymore. I have been here for too long.” I smile to myself remembering him, he said the same thing a year ago. Like me, he too does not have the liver.
I spent over an hour in traffic this morning, same old cause, bad roads, that road had actually been fixed a few months ago, today its gone back to the same condition, no body is going to say or do anything, the contractors have men in high places who would defend them, so much money was passed around, every one had a hand it . The people who didn’t, the few people who still have integrity, have no liver to protest.

Now I understand why my country is like this, why there is so much corruption, why we can't have 24 hrs electricity, why there is no security(my brother in law was the other day harassed by social miscreants-what a nice name- he got away and ran to the nearest police station, they asked him to go fetch the miscreants for them to deal with. yes that’s what the police told him),and why there are so many air accidents.
At work, we hurdle together, all of us complaining about how terrible the system has become, how the company was a better place three years ago. Ninety percent of us here hate it here but we are still here smiling believing that one day we will wake up and everything will be fine. At home we sit in front of our TV sets and complain about our government, but complain is all we do and nothing changes.
When I was 22,I quit a job because my boss told me I didn’t have a choice but to do what he asked and so I showed him that I did, That was many years ago, I was young, I believed in myself, I was a non-conformist, I had my principles and I lived strictly by them. You don’t like crap, you don’t take crap. If my boss asks me to cut out one of my hands today, I probably would, after all I would still be able to work for him with one hand. I miss being 22.
I probably should quit but how many options do I have, who would pay my bills? I can leave the country, and go scrub floors, no thank you, I would rather be a slave in my own country. Funny when I was 22. I had fewer options than I do now, so why can’t I just leave? why do I stay on to take the licking here and keep on taking it. Like many others ,I simply have no liver.

Silence

There is so much in my head but no words to speak them. I am passing through the distance between time and death. Maybe the silence will help.