Saturday, March 31, 2012

Gomorrah

This piece is inspired by the way of living of residents of the Shitta Housing Project, somewhere in Surulere. It is a creative approach to portraying their ways of life without passing judgement. There is no direct reference to any one individual personality and it is a reflection from the point of view of a cannabis user who visits there on a regular. why i felt the need to write this, i don't know. But someone needs to tell their story.

So much buzz around that I’m starting to think I’m in a bee hive.
Everybody is moving around with no destination in mind.
So much fuss about stuff like it’s the real deal
But it’s nothing but another episode in the ‘series’ called same old shit
Rumors spread within the community like some STD
And the chances of catching the virus becomes likely if you’re into the numbers (baba ijebu)
When it’s done, you’re going to need a healthy dose of whatever you get your release off.
Look around and see the right acts on the wrong scene.
This is a city that takes no prisoners except for those that get hooked on you know what.
We’re all keeping appearances, acting like we’ve got something good going.
The sons are peddlers, urchins or opportunists. The daughters sleep during the day and work at night.
They all switch roles with their parents by the time they turn 18.
Small clusters of people toasting to a fellowship that has yielded nothing but ‘hang over’
And with the multitude around, you won’t believe you are by yourself until shit hits the fence.
You’re yearning for acceptance from those around you who are looking at you with alarm on their faces.
They want out of what you’re trying to get into hence the expression on their faces
You have what they crave but soon it would be had
Presence is hardly missed like a good student, save for that of the dealer.
Whilst you are making yourself indispensable, your replacement is being groomed around the corner.
Before you know it, you’re lost like a dog on a green trail waiting for the hunter’s whistling which would never come.
A Sunday day turns grey in the long run and leaves you wondering why it always rains in your space.
Substance abuse puts you on the path of depression.
You are running away from your problems but the escape route is laid with quick sand
An induction of another destitute-to-be makes the survival statistics harsh
Outside seems too dull, the deafening noise of your surrounding clouds your awareness leaving your judgment impaired.
If chance is not doing you any favors you’re free to check out but would you?
Welcome to GOMORRAH; enjoy your stay for a while till the heat gets amplified if you don’t know when to check out of this mean hell’s kitchen.

MY NEW REALITY

It’s been what? 5 months since I last posted a blog article and I’m sure some of ‘them’ (we all know them) must have been snickering behind my back, educating others on how they (them) always knew I was a fluke. When I set out in January 2011 to really be dedicated to blogging, I never believed the intent behind that decision will be achieved 7 months later neither did I even imagine that the last blog entry will be on the subject it was about.
I didn’t run out of words to put together and give to you in the form of articles. What I’ve always prayed for and got is what has kept me away from hanging out with you via the blog. The last 8months, I’ve been living my dream and except for some minute details I never would have known back when I was dreaming; every other thing has been lovely. I feel blessed to have been able to live a part of the dream and at this rate the dream just keeps being lived, not by a dream snatcher but by the dreamer, myself. So from now, feel free to call me ‘the dreamer’.
I know sometimes when you read my articles, you all wonder why this boy (the Dreamer) always talk like he is an authority on the subject of healthy existential living. I’m not an authority on the subject but I’m an encyclopedia of diverse life experiences which gives me an understanding of a lot of life issues. I’ve come to realize that the wisest men are the most foolish. Ask, ‘why?’ the route they have taken or they take to arrive at the knowledge that makes them wise (am I saying I’m a wise guy?)
So 3 paragraphs on and I’ve still not hinted on what I’ve been doing this whole while that has kept from blogging and at the same time made me feel lucky (by virtue of me living my dream). You won’t believe it but it’s……….work x_x. You know that saying about ‘how God brings some people into your life for a purpose’ and that other one about ‘God sending people and not spirits or angels to your rescue’? I’m a living testament to both these wise cracks. There’s this girl I met sometime in 2006 and we finally really started hanging out in 2009, let’s call her Chigo. She was the bridge that was to transport me from my dream into my reality. It took 2 years for her to actualize this purpose though she didn’t even know what her mission was in my life.
I started hanging out with Chigo in 2009 like I said and some 6 months later, I was in love or so I thought. Whilst I was busy ‘toasting’ and chasing Chigo about thinking she was the angel assigned to make me love again, I totally skipped the detail. It wasn’t my negligence though, I guess the time just wasn’t right. Anyways somehow somehow, Chigo fulfilled her part in the movie called my life and I doubt that she’ll be playing a role anymore, at least not a prominent one. She got me the connect that turned my dreams into reality. The dream; as a result of my passions, music especially and literature to a larger extent, I always looked up to a certain group of people. These guys, I grew up reading about and familiarizing with via their works. I won’t throw names around to impress you but I work for one of them, have met two, no three? Even four of the others through the job sef.
What I just realized whilst writing this is that, had I met this guy earlier than I did, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to hold it down. See I used to be a cocky and heady F’er. A series of experience actually broke me down completely for God to remold. Ask anyone that knows me from back then, I was the ‘mother of motherfuckers’. The first lesson in my remodeling was some school issue, and then in October 1st, 2010 I had an experience I’ve never shared with anyone. I was using myself as a specimen, checking out the reaction of simultaneous application of stimulant (coca cola) and depressant (ganja plus codeine) on my body. 30 minutes later, a mild case of heart attack was the result. The next phase of my remodeling was in January 2011. I traveled out (to Cotonou lol!) and whilst away, I started experimenting with some controlled substance. This fucked my mind up for a while and rendered me timid as I wasn’t sure of myself anymore.
All these experiences catalyzed the change but the crowning moment was October 2011. I had been looking forward to my dad’s return cause I love and missed him but also because he was bringing me a new phone (BB) which I badly needed as the one I had prior to then had packed up. 9 days after he arrived, he died (I know, not again abi?). All of these occurrences have influenced in bits, my new approach to life. Your life (myself included) is not yours to do as you like with, use it well cause when the owner returns, you’ll have to account for every second of it (time is the unit of life right?). God help us all!! ‘What’s reality if you never get to live it?’