BUNMILOFE'S MUSINGS

I like to think I love Christmas. I mean, who doesn't? It’s the one time when our lack of street lights does not matter because Christmas lights flood the streets. It’s the time when everyone claims to do discounts and sales, only that the clothes one actually wants are never really on sales. It’s also that time when your employer gives you a bonus that you end up spending  to pay up the gift debts you acquired all through the year. Well, not that I am complaining, the fact that there is a bonus to spend and dear ones to spend it on is in itself a blessing. However, the process of picking so many special gifts for so many special people without spending so much is like solving a further maths inspired word problem in two minutes without a scientific calculator. How does one buy the perfectly special yet affordable gift? This nagging question reminds me of an experience I had few Fridays back on the trip home from work. There was this Hausa man standing in the traffic, not

Going by the date on my last post, it would seem like I took a year long vacation from posting on this blog. This blog that I started with so much zest, commitment, and hope. It would look like I share kinship with that guy who started his building project without first counting the cost, only to realize halfway that he would die of starvation if he dared to buy just one more block. But, that is not my case, at least, not exactly. I am probably like the unenlightened young lady who started with Adamu. Adamu who found her when she was oblivious, who discovered her beauty before she understood the language of mirrors, by whose words she defined her girlhood, who bought the jigida beads and aran that marked her coming out. Adamu; her link to the world, the reader and transmitter of her deepest thoughts. Until she met Dolamu. Dolamu with his suaveness, popularity and wide spread reviews. Dolamu who didn't even have to sell himself to her, because everyone else could not kee

About two Wednesdays ago, it was still October, late October though, but still October.   I was on a drive to Falomo with a colleague. As we drove past the Civic center, I observed that someone had adorned the fence with Christmas lights. Surprised, I retorted "why are these people rushing, Christmas lights already?" Laughing, my colleague responded, "but its October already, how far away is Christmas?" Smiling, I let the matter drop, still somewhat convinced the lights had been placed too early. Fast forward another two days, I’m talking to a dear friend over the phone and  he says; "I can smell Christmas already". Finally I realized, it isn’t people who are rushing, it is the year that is running by. And it is not just running, it already ran. The year is over already, Christmas is here! But, wasn’t it just new year a couple of months ago? Even if Christmas and new year happened long ago, what about Valentine, Easter, all the Eid’s? When did th

I like reading car stickers. Some are downright funny, some are almost annoying, others are thought starters, and some others just simply make no sense. They come in different categories.   Religious car stickers easily take the position of most popular. At least, one of every four cars  you encounter on a Lagos road would have one. There are the general ones which are just statements of religious affiliation. For instance the car belonging to a Christian would often times carry ‘if God be for me....’   or ‘touch not my anointed’, or   ‘a life without Christ is in crisis’, ‘no Jesus, no peace; know Jesus, know peace’ , and the list goes on. The Muslim establishing his affiliation to Allah too would have ‘Allah reigns’ conspicuously displayed somewhere around his plate number. Religious stickers sometimes take it further. Beyond just establishing that the car owner is a Christian or Muslim, it can continue to tell you the denomination and doctrine he buys into. So you would see ‘So

I love Nigerians!   We are the definition of the phrase: ‘your brother’s keeper’. We watch out for others so much it is almost too much.   It could be almost annoying at times, at other times it could be the saving grace in certain situations. For instance, in my quest to get to work this morning, I had to wait a few minutes at car-wash bus-stop for the God-sent who was going to help me to work. As I waited, a young woman driving one of those extremely feminine Beetle cars parked and got out of her car.   She hurriedly opened the bonnet and discovered the car was overheating. Leaving the bonnet open, she went to her car to get a bottle of water. She was about to pour the water into the carburetor   when one of the LAWMA officials   who had already crossed the road to go wherever it is he was going hurriedly crossed back screaming: “madam, no pour the water, no pour the water!”. Shocked, she paused to look. In no time, the man was standing by her and explaining the effect of po

I have been in somewhat of a mood this week. A lot of things on my mind, not altogether serious or bad, just thought provoking occurrences and yes, good ones too. Even the good ones got me thinking. For instance, I am getting a lot of positive feedback about the blog and it is mighty encouraging. My aim is to provoke deep thinking as well as create an escape from the stress that comes with living. And so far, responses have proven that it is being achieved. Yet, with successes come bigger challenges.  My first success is that I started, finally! After much thought, consideration, procrastination and feet dragging, I finally started. That immediately brings with it the challenge of continuing, one that seems oh so simple but isn't quite elementary. Its not enough to start, I must continue. Next big success, people are reading and loving it. That is so flattering but again so challenging, it means I must ensure that the write ups do not just stay good, they must keep getting bet